… consists of a tasty breakfast at Locale Market in downtown Saint Petersburg. This gourmet market specializes in regional produce, but also sells Italian sausage and cheese varieties and other specialties. FarmTable Kitchen, the market’s own restaurant, serves a vast selection of meals prepared from fresh organic ingredients.

The Dalí Museum is housed in a breathtaking, modern building designed by Yann Weymouth and located in the center of St. Petersburg. Salvador Dalí was one of the leading protagonists of Surrealism. Here, visitors can now view the largest collection of his paintings outside of Europe – eight of his 18 “masterpieces.” More than 2000 other artworks are also exhibited here – oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and sculptures.

Off to Fort De Soto Park, for a kayak tour amid intact nature! The 460-hectare park extends across five islands at the entrance to Tampa Bay, in the Gulf of Mexico. For paddlers, there’s a three-kilometer water trail, where you can spend two hours gliding past mangroves and seagrass areas. If you’re in luck, you might even catch a glimpse of the manatees that live in the depths of the ocean. If that tour sounds too short for you, you can always take the 16-kilometer trip to the main island, Mullet Key, or explore the less-frequented waters and islands.

Enjoy the area’s best fish – at Ted Peters Smoked Fish in Saint Petersburg! People have been coming here to sample its wide selection of excellent smoked fish for the past 65 years. After lunch, you could stop by the beach on your way to your next port of call and enjoy a postprandial stroll or a dip in the waves.

It’s time to visit Winter, the popular dolphin who starred in the movie Dolphin Tale, at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It’s a marine animal rescue center in the middle of Clearwater, which takes in, cares for and rehabilitates animals. As well as Winter and other rescued dolphins, visitors can also observe sea turtles and otters here. Feeding times, informative events and the fascinating 90-minute Sea Life Safari Boat Trip make a day out at the aquarium an unforgettable experience. And there’s also the Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure exhibition, which gives guests a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie.

An event for the whole family – absolutely free and out of doors: sunsets at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach, which TripAdvisor named the “best beach in the USA” in 2016. The event takes place every day in good weather and attracts tourists and locals alike. As the sun sinks below the horizon, a whole horde of musicians and street artists entertain the onlookers.

A culinary highlight – and right on the beach, too – that’s Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill. The huge selection of delicious food on the menu here spans fresh seafood, sandwiches and the restaurant’s popular She Crab Soup. Live music performed by local artists makes a fitting soundtrack to your meal.

Back in Saint Petersburg, our eventful day ends in a cozy atmosphere above the rooftops – at The Canopy Rooftop Lounge. Superb cocktails and a fantastic view over the nighttime city make for a fine end to a fine day.

A high-quality art museum with an increasingly strong permanent collection as well as some excellent temporary exhibitions. Both contemporary and classical artworks are well represented.

Part amusement park, part safari park, featuring more than 2,700 animals – among them cheetahs, meerkats, lemurs, lions and elephants – alongside a wealth of roller coasters and other adrenaline thrills.

An enjoyable platform for exploring the region’s long past, this interactive centre features everything from a 1920s cigar store to a cattle drive. A great bet for anyone interested in early American history.

Looking for outdoor adventure? This is the place. Offering self-guided canoe adventures, hourly rentals and guided paddling trips, Canoe Escape gives easy access to the wild beauty of the Hillsborough River, around 25km from Tampa.

One of the city’s prime downtown attractions, this large aquarium showcases more than 20,000 plants and marine creatures from the waters off Florida and much further afield. Expect to encounter everything from sharks to penguins.

Comprising a 31-gallery Museum of Art, a Circus Museum, a 56-room “palace”, gardens and a historic theatre, The Ringling provides a strong option for an out-of-town day visit.

This is Florida’s largest “jump center”, with around 1,115 square metres of trampolines – as well as the chance to play dodgeball. A good rainy day option for active families.

Offering two daily tours around a working ranch that specialises in exotic species, particularly giraffes, this attraction offers something different to the usual wildlife encounter. It’s 75km north of Tampa.

The home stadium of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this 65,000-seater arena – often known as “The Ray Jay” – is a winner for sports fans. If you can’t get a ticket for an American Football match, it also hosts occasional monster truck races.

Welcoming more than 23 million visitors since its opening in 1929, these landscaped botanic gardens are known for their Mediterranean-style mansion and a “Singing Tower” carillon. They’re located inland from Tampa.

Offering 42 different takes on Martini, this Latin-flavoured nightspot often features live music.

Notable for its waterfront terrace and outdoor cabanas, this is a stylish option for a drink. There’s also a bistro.

An enjoyable vintage-style bowling alley, with food and drink also on offer.

Drawing an alternative crowd, this will give you a good introduction to Ybor City’s offbeat charm.

An Irish bar with a thatched roof and live entertainment.

A local institution serving up old-style steaks and boasting a separate dessert room.

A good Italian restaurant with an extensive wine list and a long choice of pasta sauces.

There’s decent Hawaiian fusion cuisine on offer at this chain restaurant.

A funky urban eatery where art, music and food combine to winning effect.

A family-owned rib joint drawing in locals and visitors for more than 35 years.

Wherever you look, whichever corner you turn in and around Tampa, you will always find yourself back by the water. On it and beside it, people pursue sports, now demonstrating their prowess on boards, now explaining the art of casting a line. Best ask a local if you want to find the top kayak spots in the area because the Weedon Island Preserve in the northwest of Tampa Bay is not so easy to find. Once you’ve made it there, you will be rewarded with a meandering, seven-kilometer paddling trail that takes you through seagrass flats and mangrove labyrinth with cranes and ibises for company. Sweetwater Kayaks delivers your boat – or if you prefer, a stand-up paddleboard – straight to the launch site.

Single kayaks cost 17 dollars for one hour, 34 for two hours, and 40 for four hours. Double kayaks cost 25 dollars for one hour, 50 dollars for two hours and 56 dollars for four hours.

Floridians love their seafood. If such a thing as an official Gulf Coast sandwich existed, the filling would doubtless be half a grouper. Universally venerated for its firm, white flesh, here the grouper can be pulled out of the water right on the doorstep. Ask anyone in Tampa and you will be told that Frenchy’s Rockaway Grill in Clearwater Beach serves the best grouper sandwiches hereabouts. But there’s not consensus of whether the deep-fried or grilled version is best.

In wintertime, the water temperature falls below 20 degrees in Tampa Bay. That’s when the manatees, or sea cows, begin to look for somewhere to keep warm. One of the most reliable places to spot one is the electricity company’s Manatee Viewing Center just half an hour south of downtown Tampa. Where the power station discharges its cooling water back into the bay, a kind of warm bath for sea cows has been created here. There’s an observation tower and a short trail, and both are open to the public. Admission is free.

Caladesi Island, one of the few untouched islands on the Gulf Coast, lies north of Clearwater Beach. There are no hotels or shopping malls here, but your chances of being accompanied by dolphins on the 20-minute ferry crossing are good. The beach, six kilometers of pristine white sandy, is the perfect place to hunt for shells in calm, clear waters. A five-kilometer hiking trail will bring you to the center of the island, where lush vegetation grows rampantly in all directions. If you prefer traveling by water, you can also rent a kayak and paddle through the mangroves.

At Romantic Honeymoon Island, you can rent a single kayak for 15 dollars an hour or 50 dollars for the whole day. Double kayaks cost double.

Sometimes, when the sun creeps below the horizon, it seems as though the last rays glow green in a final surge of light before disappearing altogether. On clear evenings, people sit watching for it on the sand in the small town of Clearwater Beach, just half an hour from the airport. The magazine USA Today named it the “best beach town in Florida.” During the evening sundown festivities, street artists strut their stuff on Pier 60. Some juggle, others play guitar, still others cause some alarm and lots of laughter as they stumble along the boardwalk dressed as pirates.