Gainesville is the largest city in northern Central Florida. Here is the state university, and in 2007 the city was declared No. 1 for life in North America. In the same year he received the title of one of the "best places for living and playing" in the US from National Geographic Adventure. The University plays a significant role in shaping the cultural life of the city, there are many institutions on its campus that attract not only students, but also citizens and guests of the city: theater, botanical garden, museum, exhibition grounds and sports arenas.

How to get to Gainesville

The nearest international airports are in Orlando and Jacksonville. In addition, the city has a regional airport. By car, you can get to the city by interstate number 75. In addition, Gainesville has regular bus services from Jacksonville, Ocala and Tallahassee.

A bit of history

According to archaeological data, these places were inhabited by Paleo-Indians still 12 thousand years ago. Then there lived the Indians Tymukua, later the Spanish colonizers appeared. The foundation date of the American city is 1853, although officially the city of Gainesville was only in 1869. Despite the subsequent development of industry and the opening of the university, Gainesville was and still is a city mainly agricultural, supplying almost all the fruit.

Gainesville Entertainment, Excursions and Attractions

Gainesville has preserved many old mansions and buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries . Many of they are included in the National Register of Historic Places . In particular, the house of Major Bailey, built in 1854 ., located on the 6th Northwest Street, which has a traditional veranda with columns . Looks like it and Matheson House, that on the 1 st Southwest Avenue, built in 1867 g . Another nice building, built as a private mansion in 1895 g ., is the house of Mary Pfeiffer McKenzie . Nowadays in this nice building with a corner polygonal turret the hotel is located . The building of the hotel "Thomas", built in 1910 ., today is better known as "Thomas- center: it is a building in the style of the classical Renaissance, where the center of local art and culture is now located . And in the beautiful building of the former post and court (1911 g .), built according to ancient models, today is the Hippodrome . @ The building of the Masonic Lodge (1908 g .), which is still performing its functions .

also is curious. "Sigl" ( "Dixie Hotel", "Kelly" Hotel) was started in 1920, during the boom, but for a long time it remained unfinished. In 1983 the building was completely restored, and today it is the highest in the city center.

The Florida Museum of Natural History is located on Hull Road. Here you can see the beautiful exposition of tropical butterflies (for an additional fee). Other permanent exhibitions focus on the aquatic ecosystems and wildlife of Florida, as well as prehistoric times and modern life in the state.

One of the city's highlights is the Wall of 34th Street. It was built in 1979 so that the hill does not crumble on the golf course of the nearby university. The wall of 300 meters long was covered with graffiti, and today in some of its sections there are already about 250 layers of paint. Most of the graffiti is drawn by students, although, in truth, this is not entirely legal.

The Boman Center is located on the campus of the University and includes two buildings off the shores of Lake Ellis. The main thing is a very specific design, something like a pavilion or a chapel. Inside, 96 people can sit and the building is used for meditations, weddings, funerals, chamber concerts and parties.

Samuel Harne Art Museum also belongs to the university, it is in the southwestern part of the campus. This is one of the largest university art museums in the southeast of the country: more than 6,200 works are stored here in the permanent collection alone. This is the art of Asia, Africa, modern and modern works, as well as photographs.

The Kanapaha Botanical Garden was opened to the public in 1986 . and boasts the largest bamboo garden in Florida open to visit . In addition, there is a butterfly garden, azalea and camellia garden, a cicada garden, an arboretum, a rock garden, rose garden, vineyard . The name of the botanical garden was named after the lake, the nearby . in addition, there is a small Gainesville Santa Fe Zoo - the only accredited training zoo in the country, the majority of graduates who work in the "Wild Kingdom Disney'c ». Here live ok olo 80 species of animals from all over the world, including gibbons, lemurs, Galapagos tortoises and tree kangaroos .

Davill's Millhopper Geological Park is one of the most famous outlandish in the region . It is located in the north-western part of the city and represents a bottle-shaped cavity depth of about 35 m, which grows miniature rainforest . Small streams flow down the steep slopes of limestone, disappearing in cracks in the soil . plurality of green is stored in shadow slopes even in the dry summer months . This is more than anything. geological formation discovered in the early 1880s . Since then fossilized shark teeth, sea shells and fossil bones of animals have been found here .

The first state reserve in Florida, Paynes-Prairie was founded in 1971. It lies slightly south of the city. Here you can see alligators, wild horses, bison and more than 260 species of birds. There are 8 pedestrian routes along the park, you can also ride horses and bicycles here. Special exhibitions and audiovisual programs are organized in the visitor center, near which stands a 15-meter observation tower, with a panoramic view of the reserve.

Events Gainesville

The city is known as a cultural center visual arts. Every year the Spring Festival of Arts (usually in early April) is held under the patronage of Santa Fe College. This is the first of the city's three largest annual events, and the festival is famous for its first-class exhibitions.

The world-famous Downtown Festival and art show are held in autumn with the support of the city authorities. Honored artists perform at this event, and usually more than 100,000 people gather to look at it.

One of the most important American alternative music festivals takes place in Gainesville. His program is mostly punk: hundreds of punk bands perform for eight days at eight or even more venues.

In addition, the city hosts a four-day festival of Gainesville "Improv", which gathers young talents in the field of sketchevyh improvisations, and a medieval fair "Hoggetaun", which has been held for more than 20 years.

Neighborhoods of Gainesville

The small town of Mikanopi is the second oldest European settlement in Florida, and if you count only the mainland - that's the oldest one . In this place less than 20 km from Gainesville time stopped centuries ago . FROM arye buildings and ancient oaks with magnolias, many antique shops and cute little restaurants, mental southern hospitality . in Micanopy easily spend an entire day without doing nothing at all, except for romantic walks .For those who need something more exciting, it is recommended to visit the historical museum of the city: it is also very small, but here it is easy to imagine what town was at its very beginning .

The state park of Icheatekni Springs is famous for its hot springs . Here, the whole year the water keeps one temperature, and in the reservoirs in the park you can do kayaking and even diving. In addition, in Ginny Springs, in High Springs, more than 100 places for camping with electricity and water and 300 more primitive, "natural" places are equipped. The park is located about 60 km north-west of the city, and people like to come here for a few days to relax from the metropolis and admire the stars.