SHOPPING
The streets are full of stores selling everything from T-shirts to cat memorabilia (it’s the Hemingway influence) to original artwork. Old Town is where both funky and pricey boutiques are scattered. Fast Buck Freddie’s sells imaginative gifts, bathing suits and casual clothes and imported decorative items from around the world (500 Duval St., phone 294-2007). Haitian Art Company sells the works of more than 250 Haitian artists (600 Frances St., phone 296-8932). Made famous in the 1960s by Lilly Pulitzer’s designs, Key West Hand Print Fabrics and Fashions offers clothing and hand-painted fabrics (daily 10 am—6 pm; 201 Simonton St., phone 294-9535).
Key West Island Books stocks works by the island’s literary greats, past and present, as well as other rare and used books (513 Fleming St., phone 294-2904). Gingerbread Square Gallery showcases Keys artists. Even if you don’t buy, you’ll see a lot of artistic interpretations of the area (1207 Duval St., phone 296-8900). For skin- and hair-care products rich in aloe drop by Key West Aloe. (Open Monday-Friday 9 am—8 pm, Saturday-Sunday 9 am—7 pm; 524 Front St.) They also give free tours of their perfume factory (daily 9:30 am—5:30 pm; 540 Green St.).
For casual cotton clothes—to make you look more like a Key West resident—try H. T. Chittum (open daily 10 am—8 pm; 725 Duval, phone 292-9002) or assortment inc. (open Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm; Sunday 11 am-6 pm; 514 Fleming; phone 294-4066). For great stuffed animals, music boxes, wall hangings, clocks and carpets with an Ark theme stop at Noah’s Ark, Key West. (Open Monday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm, Sunday noon-3 pm; 416 Fleming, phone 294-ARKS.)
One store specializes in a single animal. The Cat House in Key West sells everything feline: figurines, candle holders, Christmas ornaments, calendars, book s, you name it (411 Greene St., 294-4779).
Shopping Hours: Daily 9 am-5 pm, though some shops are open late.
BEACHES
Key West is surrounded by clear, azure waters, but its beaches are unremarkable on the Florida Beach-O-Meter. The sand is a dingy beige, and seaweed laces the shoreline. Beneath the water, sea grasses, though harmless, make the water appear less than crystalline clear.
The two beaches worth noting are small and on the Atlantic side. Both tend to be crowded, especially on weekends. Smathers Beach, a city-owned stretch of sand just west of the airport (about 4 mi/6 km from the port), has decent swimming, but be wary of the rocky bottom. Informal water-sport rentals are offered from trucks parked on the roadside—you can rent rafts, umbrellas, jetskis and Windsurfers. Families prefer Higgs Beach, on Atlantic Boulevard between White Street and Reynolds Road, less than 3 mi/5 km from the port. Higgs has water-sport rentals, picnic areas and tennis courts. A stand of Aust ralian pines offers some shade.
There’s also a small beach known mostly to locals in a stand of pines at the Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site off Southard Street (US$1.50 admission).