CITY GUIDES | FLORIDA
The Best Things to Do in Jacksonville Right Now
Cross the St. Johns River, wander beneath the Fuller Warren Bridge, and follow Jacksonville all the way to its untamed Atlantic shoreline.
By Eric Barton
Updated Sept. 5, 2026
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
Jacksonville sprawls across Northeast Florida, following the St. Johns River toward the Atlantic and gathering beaches, historic neighborhoods, wetlands, museums, and breweries along the way. A morning here might begin among the maritime forests of the Talbot Islands, continue beneath the Fuller Warren Bridge at Riverside Arts Market, and end beside the river in Riverside or San Marco. The city’s sheer size means the best things to do in Jacksonville require some driving, but they also reveal just how many versions of Jacksonville fit inside one place. These are the museums, markets, outdoor adventures, and distinctly local experiences worth building a visit around.
Chamblin Bookmine
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The original Chamblin Bookmine on Roosevelt Boulevard contains the sort of inventory that makes a shopping list feel comically inadequate. The Jacksonville institution opened in 1976, and its gloriously labyrinthine flagship runs on packed shelves, increasingly specific category signs, and the possibility of finding a long-out-of-print gem. Used, rare, and antiquarian books dominate, though new titles turn up too. Browsing costs nothing; leaving empty-handed requires a level of discipline best described as theoretical.
Best for: Bibliophiles who enjoy a good treasure hunt
Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
The Cummer’s collection spans thousands of years and more than 5,000 works, but its riverfront gardens turn an afternoon at the museum into something distinctly Jacksonville. The Italian Garden, designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, frames marble sculptures and long reflecting pools against the St. Johns River. Nearby, the branches of the enormous Cummer Oak stretch over the grounds like a natural roof. Walk the galleries first, then carry a drink from the café outside and claim a bench along the water.
Best for: Art, architecture, and a quiet hour beside the St. Johns
FIVE
$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Five Points’ 1927 neighborhood theater has lived several lives, and its latest incarnation puts touring musicians back beneath the marquee. FIVE reopened in 2025 with a tiered main floor, mezzanine, modern sound, and room for roughly 1,250 people. The calendar jumps among indie rock, punk, electronic music, hip-hop, R&B, and country, with national acts arriving in a district built for dinner and drinks on either side of the show. Check the lineup, then make a Five Points night of it.
Best for: Touring acts in a historic neighborhood theater
Go Tuk’n Certified Public Art Tour
$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Jacksonville’s mural scene sprawls across enough neighborhoods to turn a walking tour into an endurance event. Go Tuk’n compresses the hunt into a 2.5-hour open-air ride through Downtown, Springfield, Riverside, Avondale, and San Marco, passing dozens of murals, mosaics, statues, and installations. Guides supply the artists and backstories, while the three-wheeled electric vehicles handle the mileage. The result is a smart introduction to the city’s urban core, with regular stops for closer looks and photographs.
Best for: Street-art fans and first-time visitors getting their bearings
Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens
$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Jacksonville’s century-old zoo entered a new era with the opening of Manatee River, a 330,000-gallon habitat where rescued manatees receive care in full view of visitors. It sits just beyond the new VyStar SkyScape entrance, an impressive beginning to more than 100 acres of animal habitats and botanical gardens. Continue toward Range of the Jaguar, where underwater viewing offers a clear look at the zoo’s namesake cats, then leave time for giraffes, great apes, and the sprawling children’s play and splash area.
Best for: Families and Florida wildlife fans
Jax Ale Trail
$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Jacksonville’s breweries are scattered across a city built on an enormous scale, and the Jax Ale Trail turns that geography into a self-guided drinking tour. Pick up a printed passport at a participating brewery or use the digital version in the Visit Jax app, then collect check-ins as you work through the list. Four stops earn a koozie, eight add a T-shirt, and completing the trail unlocks another prize. The rewards are fun; discovering breweries and neighborhoods well beyond downtown is the better payoff.
Best for: Craft beer drinkers ready to explore several sides of Jacksonville
Kona Skatepark
$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Long before skateparks became standard municipal equipment, Kona poured its snake run, bowls, banks, and concrete transitions in Arlington. Open since 1977, it holds the Guinness record as the world’s oldest surviving commercial skatepark, with nearly half a century of skate history embedded in its curves. Experienced riders can test features that helped shape the sport, and beginners can book lessons or join camps. Spectators get a living landmark and, quite possibly, a renewed appreciation for functional knee cartilage.
Best for: Skaters, skate-history obsessives, and fearless kids
Little Talbot Island State Park
$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Little Talbot Island preserves more than five miles of largely undeveloped Atlantic shoreline, backed by dunes, salt marshes, and maritime forest. Walk the Dune Ridge Trail, scan the beach for shorebirds, or paddle Myrtle Creek as it winds past bluffs and dense coastal vegetation. Erosion has closed the park’s south-end beach indefinitely, and north-beach access may be limited to designated boardwalks, so check current park alerts before leaving. The available stretches still offer one of Northeast Florida’s finest glimpses of its wilder coast.
Best for: Beach walks, birding, and paddling through coastal Florida
Riverside Arts Market
FREE | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Every Saturday, the space beneath the Fuller Warren Bridge fills with artists, farmers, bakers, musicians, and enough Jacksonville characters to make the people-watching part of the entertainment. Riverside Arts Market operates rain or shine, with more than 150 vendors rotating through stalls beside the St. Johns River. Arrive early for the free yoga session, pick up local produce and something ready to eat, then walk the Riverwalk or continue into Riverside and Five Points. Few weekly events capture Jacksonville’s creative side so efficiently.
Best for: Saturday browsing, local food, and Jacksonville-made finds
Toon Town Pickleball
$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Jacksonville answered pickleball fever inside a graffiti-covered warehouse two blocks from EverBank Stadium. Toon Town has six air-conditioned indoor courts, plus a pizzeria and bar for the inevitable post-match analysis. Beginners can join a leveled open-play session, while groups can reserve a full court and settle minor grievances with a paddle. It gives downtown an easy activity for a rainy afternoon, a punishingly hot summer day, or the hours before a Jaguars game.
Best for: Competitive friends and weatherproof downtown play
From Calle Ocho to the Coast: Where Miami Eats, Drinks, and Plays
Beyond the velvet ropes and resort menus, here’s the insider’s guide to the city’s best restaurants and things to do.
D.C.’s Best Restaurants Keep Moving the Goalposts
Just when our list of Washington, D.C., restaurants feels settled, two more great spots open in the capital.
