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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Jacksonville
Florida's largest city and the anchor of the state's northeastern coast, Jacksonville has a wide range of personalities. The busy downtown is a maze of gleaming skyscrapers. Just across the St. Johns River, moss-draped oak trees and gracious mansions with wide porches remind you that you're just 40 miles from Georgia. Football fans come in droves to Alltel Stadium, both during the Jacksonville Jaguars' NFL season and for two huge college football events—the annual Florida-Georgia spectacle, affectionately called "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" and held the last Saturday in October, and the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day. But there's plenty to see when it's not a game day.
Attractions & Activities Much like the rest of Florida, Jacksonville is a driving city. Downtown, there are buses, three trolley lines, and the Skyway monorail, but these are most useful for commuters and visiting businesspeople (jtaonthemove.com). Renting a car will let you explore Jacksonville's historic neighborhoods and beachfront communities. The St. Johns River bisects downtown Jacksonville, creating two scenic riverbanks. On the north bank, the main draw is the Museum of Contemporary Art, a sleek six-floor building set on shady Hemming Plaza. In addition to five galleries featuring contemporary pieces by regional and national artists, there's a clever ArtExplorum Loft where kids can learn about modern art through brightly colored interactive activities and games. Resembling a gallery more than a restaurant, Cafe Nola has a chic atmosphere and New American fare that's almost too pretty to eat (904-366-6911; jmoma.org). Nearby, Jacksonville Landing is a modest outdoor dining complex with popular waterfront sports bars and a waterfront pavilion that hosts live performances most Friday and Saturday nights (904-353-1188; jacksonvillelanding.com). A visit to the light-filled Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, also on the north bank, is an easy way to work some culture into your itinerary. On two acres of formal English and Italian gardens that stretch from Riverside Avenue to the St. Johns River, the museum was founded in 1961 with Ninah Cummer's 60-piece private collection of European and American paintings. Now the organization has more than 6,000 pieces ranging from American Impressionist works to Japanese woodblock prints, as well as an impressive assortment of Meissen porcelain (904-356-6857; cummer.org). Along the southern side of the river, Museum Circle has an engaging Museum of Science and History, with a planetarium, live alligator exhibits, and an interactive science theater (904-396-6674; themosh.org). Nearby, the Jacksonville Maritime Museum is undergoing an expansion—only a few exhibits are open—but it's still worth a peek if you're in the area (904-398-9011; jaxmarmus.com), while the circular, 200 feet in diameter Friendship Fountain and surrounding pavilion are the most scenic part of the Southbank Riverwalk. Locals often picnic here, and kids love watching the water rocket 100 feet into the air. Jacksonville's prettiest neighborhood is historic Riverside-Avondale, along the St. Johns River to the southwest of downtown, where the picturesque streets, turn-of-the-century houses, and moss-festooned oak trees are more Georgia than Florida. Between Riverside Avenue and the river, Memorial Park is a pleasant spot for a picnic or a walk. Along St. Johns Avenue, the quaint Avondale shopping and dining area has upscale preppy shops. Country clubbers pick up tailored garden party frocks at J. Ashley (3588 St. Johns Ave.; 904-388-2118), while Carrie Bradshaw fans shop at Emily Benham, the city's best spot to pick up sky-high heels by Jimmy Choo, Miu Miu, and Manolo Blahnik (3635 St. Johns Ave.; 904-387-2121). Hip locals hang out in the Five Points area, a stretch of Park Street with dive bars, alternative music venues, and funky shops like Anomaly, with its edgy tees by Johnny Cupcakes, hoodies by Triple Five Soul, and quirky accessories and home goods (1021 Park St.; 904-354-7002), and Violet, where women can give their wardrobe a vintage infusion from the well-edited collection of clothes and shoes (1007 Park St.; 904-355-4449). Although sun and surf may be the first things that come to a Florida visitor's mind, Jacksonville's beaches are actually a short drive (about a half-hour) from the city center. The tony enclave of Ponte Vedra has high-end golf resorts, chic shopping areas, and massive mansions on private beaches, as well as stretches of public beach. Follow the packs of teens on bikes north along Atlantic Boulevard to Jacksonville Beach, where old-timers in tank tops and well-tanned grandmas soak up the sun while college kids play lazy games of beach volleyball. Farther north, ramshackle bungalows give way to more refined homes near Neptune and Atlantic beaches, both of which have wide swaths of white sand and calm waters perfect for young swimmers. Après sunbathing, locals grab a light dinner at one of the Neptune Town Center's outdoor cafés. Jacksonville makes a good home base for day-trips to St. Augustine, a charming beach town about 35 miles south of Jacksonville that claims the status of being the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States (the Spanish first came here in 1565). A handful of museums detail aspects of the city's long history, and kids in particular love the two-block-long Colonial Spanish Quarter, with its authentic period buildings and performances by costumed actors illustrating aspects of 18th-century life (904-825-6830; historicaugustine.com). Lodging Catering to sports fans and business travelers, most of Jacksonville's downtown accommodations are ho-hum but reliable chain hotels. But what these properties lack in personality, they make up for in attentive service and convenience. The riverfront Hyatt Regency Jacksonville is within walking distance of the Jacksonville Landing restaurant development and has a rooftop pool and workout room. At the high-rise Omni Jacksonville, the central location (it's a five-minute walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the river) is a huge selling point. Historic Riverside-Avondale has a number of small, independent bed-and-breakfasts. One of the best-known is the Riverdale Inn, a 1901 mansion with ten guest rooms decorated with soft floral wallpaper and rich period furniture. Be sure to make time for afternoon tea at The Row, the inn's elegant restaurant. The Inn at Oak Street is a luxurious B&B. Owners Tina Musico and Robert Eagle restored the three-story 1902 residence, a classic Victorian with a huge wraparound porch, and gave each of the six suites a subtle theme, such the masculine Hemingway's Hideaway and the coolly contemporary St. Johns Room. Breakfast varies but always includes a hot dish—waffles one day, omelets the next—as well as home-baked breads and pastries. Dining Upmarket San Marco, east of the St. Johns River and south of downtown, has become a de facto foodie neighborhood and has a clutch of ambitious restaurants. Bistro Aix is the reigning favorite, and with good reason: The classy eatery has all the style and substance of a top New York restaurant without the steep prices. Servers are friendly and knowledgeable, and the menu of seasonal Mediterranean- and French-inspired dishes has almost too many enticing choices. Make it easy on yourself and go with the addictive house-made potato chips drizzled with decadent blue cheese sauce, the "paella-style" risotto punctuated with rich chorizo and crisp sugar snap peas, and the chocolate-banana bread pudding for dessert (1440 San Marco Blvd.; 904-398-1949; entrées, $16–$32). Chef Matthew Medure, formerly of the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, brings a bit of white-glove luxury to Jacksonville with Matthew's, a swanky special occasion spot. In the dramatic open kitchen, a phalanx of chefs prepare Medure's eclectic dishes, including farm-raised quail with sweet corn white cheddar grits, and Australian rack of lamb with haricots verts and truffled potato mousseline (2107 Hendricks Ave.; 904-396-9922; entrées, $18–$36). Avondale has a handful of stylish eateries, including Brick, which serves such crowd-pleasing (if not terribly original) fare as maple-glazed salmon and goat cheese and spinach-stuffed chicken breast. Ask for a table in the pleasant sidewalk seating area (3585 St. Johns Ave.; 904-387-0606; entrées, $16–$28). Dessert lovers should make their way down the street to Biscottis, a coolly elegant Italian café with a caseful of absolutely obscene desserts. You can't go wrong with any of the chocolaty confections (3556 St. Johns Ave.; 904-387-2060; desserts, $6–$7). On the southern bank of the St. Johns, a trio of meat-and-potatoes restaurants cater to sports fans and business travelers with expense accounts. The hometown favorite is the River City Brewing Company, popular with families and large groups. Get seats on the huge outdoor patio, order a draught of any of the house-made brews, such as the Jackson Pale Ale, and watch the boats on the St. Johns sail past (835 Museum Circle; 904-398-2299; entrées, $18–$33). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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