Key West: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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US 1 crosses 42 bridges between the mainland and Key West, much of it on the bed of Henry Flagler's railway, which reached Key West in 1912. A hurricane wrecked the line in 1935, and the state turned what was left into a road. This route covers the last 60 km or so, from the Seven Mile Bridge to the zero mile marker in Key West, with beaches, wildlife and a famous pub on the way. Drive it in daylight: the views are the point, and the Key deer cross the road at dusk.

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A short history of Key West

The Spanish called the island "Cayo Hueso", the island of bones, perhaps because of human bones they found on it. In 1821 Florida passed to the United States, and shortly afterwards a businessman named John Simonton bought the island. In the 19th century its residents grew rich from salvaging the cargo of ships wrecked on the reefs, and in 1890 Key West was the largest city in Florida. In 1912 Henry Flagler linked the island to the mainland with a railway across the sea, and in 1935 a hurricane destroyed the line. In its place the Overseas Highway opened in 1938. Ernest Hemingway lived here in the 1930s, and President Truman spent many months on the island during his presidency. In 1982 the residents jokingly "declared" independence as the Conch Republic.

The ten best sights in Key West

1
Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
Guided tours start every few minutes; the six-toed cats wander everywhere, but don't pick them up
2
Key West Lighthouse
Across the street from Hemingway's house; 88 steps to the top for a view over the roofs of Old Town
3
Harry S. Truman Little White House
Visits by guided tour only, about 45 minutes; the gardens around it are free to walk
4
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
Gold and silver from a Spanish galleon sunk in 1622; you can lift a real gold bar
5
Audubon House
A quiet garden and house in the middle of Old Town; a cool break from Duval Street
6
Fort Zachary Taylor
The fort and the best town beach are in the same state park; pay once and stay for the sunset
7
Key West Cemetery
The city cemetery has tombs above ground and humorous epitaphs; the self-guided map is worth having
8
Custom House Museum
Art and island history in a red-brick 1891 building by Mallory Square
9
Mallory Square
Come an hour before sunset for the street performers; the square fills up fast
10
Southernmost Point
The photo queue at the buoy can be long by midday; early morning there is almost no one

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Key West →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Key West:

Free walking tours in Key West

The last stretch of the Overseas Highway

Seven Mile Bridge · The bridge you drive on opened in 1982. Beside it runs the old bridge, built for Flagler's railway and turned into a road after the 1935 hurricane; the stretch near Marathon is now a path for walkers and cyclists.
Bahia Honda State Park · The old Bahia Honda bridge was too narrow for two lanes inside its steel trusses, so the road was laid on top of them. Two spans were later removed, and you can walk up the remaining section for the view.
Blue Hole · The pond is an old quarry dug for the rock of the railway and the road, and it is the largest body of fresh water in the Keys. Turtles, fish and an alligator live in it, and wading birds hunt along its edges.
National Key Deer Refuge · Key deer, a subspecies of white-tailed deer about the size of a large dog, live only in the Lower Keys. The refuge was created in 1957, when hunting and development had left only a few dozen of them; today there are several hundred, and cars are their main danger.
No Name Pub · The pub is hidden on a back road on Big Pine Key, and its walls and ceiling are covered with tens of thousands of dollar bills signed by visitors. It is known for its pizza as much as for the decor.
Mile Marker 0 · US 1 begins here and runs about 3,800 km north to Fort Kent, Maine, on the Canadian border. The sign at the corner of Whitehead and Fleming streets has been stolen so often that the city has replaced it many times.

Hemingway, Truman and the old town

For a small island town, Key West has had famous residents: a Nobel prize writer, a president who ran the country from here on holiday, and the naturalist Audubon, who came to draw birds. Their houses are all within a short walk of each other in Old Town, among wooden houses built by ship captains and wreckers. This walk is about 3 km on flat streets. Start in the morning, before the heat and the cruise ship crowds.

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum · Hemingway lived here in the 1930s and wrote much of 'To Have and Have Not' in the studio by the house. When his wife Pauline built the pool, it cost so much that he pressed a penny into the wet cement and said she might as well have his last cent; the coin is still there.
Key West Lighthouse · The tower was built in 1848, after a hurricane destroyed the first lighthouse and killed several of the keeper's family who had taken shelter in it. The keeper, Barbara Mabrity, ran the new light for many more years, one of the first women keepers in the country.
Audubon House · Despite the name, John James Audubon never lived here. The house belonged to Captain John Geiger, a harbour pilot and wrecker; Audubon visited Key West in 1832 and is said to have drawn birds in its garden.
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum · Mel Fisher hunted for the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha for 16 years, starting each day with 'Today's the day'. In 1985 his divers found the main pile of her treasure, sunk in 1622.
Harry S. Truman Little White House · Truman came here eleven times during his presidency and spent 175 days in the house, working in shorts and loud shirts. It was built in 1890 as officers' quarters for the naval station.
Key West Cemetery · The cemetery was moved to this higher ground after a hurricane in 1846 washed coffins out of the old one by the beach. One headstone, of B. P. Roberts, reads 'I told you I was sick'.

The sea edge of the island

Key West is the southern end of the continental United States, closer to Havana than to Miami. Its history is the sea's: wrecks on the reef, forts against invasion, and ships that brought both trade and tragedy. This route goes round the island's shore, from the famous buoy along the south beaches to the old fort and the harbour, ending at the nightly sunset gathering. Do it by bike, rented in town; the island is flat and parking is hard.

Southernmost Point · The painted concrete buoy was put up by the city in 1983 and says 90 miles to Cuba. It is not quite the southernmost spot in the continental US: a point on the Navy base nearby, closed to the public, lies a little further south.
West Martello Tower · The brick fort was begun during the Civil War and never finished, and the army later used it for target practice. Today the Key West Garden Club keeps tropical gardens inside its ruined walls, free to enter.
African Cemetery at Higgs Beach · In 1860 the US Navy captured three slave ships and brought about 1,400 Africans to Key West. Some 294 of them died here and were buried on this beach; the memorial marks the site, found again only in 2002.
Fort Zachary Taylor · Florida left the Union, but this fort stayed in Union hands for the whole Civil War. Later its walls were filled in, and in the 1960s volunteers dug out the largest collection of Civil War cannon in the country from inside them.
Historic Seaport · The ferry from here sails about 110 km west to Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson, the largest brick fort in the Americas, built of some 16 million bricks. Dr Samuel Mudd, convicted after Lincoln's assassination, was imprisoned there.
Mallory Square · In the 1800s ships wrecked on the reef were salvaged and their cargo auctioned on these docks, and the trade made Key West one of the richest towns in America for its size. Since the 1960s people gather here every evening to watch the sun go down.

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Getting to Key West and getting around

Key West International Airport · Small airport with flights to Miami and other Florida and East Coast cities; handy if one driver flies out instead of driving back
Greyhound and Flix Station · Coaches to Miami leave from here near the airport, about four and a half hours; book ahead in high season

Cheap eats in Key West

Key West eats like the Caribbean it almost belongs to: Cuban coffee and sandwiches, conch fritters, fresh fish, and Key lime pie made with the small, sharp local limes. A café con leche and a Cuban mix at a window counter is the classic cheap breakfast. Seafood is the treat, and the casual shacks by the water serve it for less than the restaurants on Duval.

Sandy's Cafe · Cuban coffee and sandwiches at a window, about $5-12
Blue Heaven · Breakfast in a yard with roosters, about $12-22
El Siboney · Home-style Cuban plates, about $12-20
DJ's Clam Shack · Fried clams and lobster rolls on Duval, about $12-25
Pepe's Cafe · Old Key West breakfast spot, about $12-20
Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe · Key lime pie by the slice or frozen on a stick, about $5-9
Cuban Coffee Queen · Cuban sandwiches and coffee by the harbour, about $8-14

Museums in Key West

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum · The writer's house, studio and cats
Harry S. Truman Little White House · The president's winter office
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum · Treasure from the Atocha
Custom House Museum · Island history and art in an 1891 building
Audubon House · A captain's house with Audubon prints and gardens

Nature and day trips near Key West

Fort Zachary Taylor beach · The best beach in town, with shade trees and snorkelling
Bahia Honda State Park · White sand and clear water on the drive in
Blue Hole · Fresh-water pond with turtles and an alligator
Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden · Native forest and ponds on Stock Island
Smathers Beach · Long public beach on the south shore

Things to do in Key West with kids

Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory · Butterflies land on you; two flamingos live here too
Key West Aquarium · Small aquarium by Mallory Square with touch tanks
Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center · Free centre with a model of a reef research station
Key West Shipwreck Museum · Actors tell the wreckers' story; climb the lookout tower
Fort Zachary Taylor · Fort to explore and a beach after

Where to eat in Key West

Captain Tony's Saloon · Old bar with a tree growing through it
Sloppy Joe's · Loud bar with live music on Duval
The Green Parrot · Locals' bar with live music and no kitchen
Louie's Backyard · Dinner on a deck over the water
Half Shell Raw Bar · Oysters and fish on the harbour
Santiago's Bodega · Tapas in a quiet Old Town house

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Frequently asked questions about Key West

What is there to see in Key West?

The top sights in Key West are Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Key West Lighthouse and Harry S. Truman Little White House. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Key West?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Key West without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Key West?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Key West, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The last stretch of the Overseas Highway.

How do you get to Key West and get around?

The main ways are Key West International Airport and Greyhound and Flix Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Key West, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Key West that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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