About Sarasota Attractions
 Sarasota attractions include a remarkable range of things to see and do. Visitors and residents enjoy everything from upscale shopping to relaxing on a beautiful beach. The city's arts scene, in particular, is very active, thanks to the opportunities provided by the Ringling estate.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, designated the official state art museum of Florida, offers twenty-one galleries of European paintings as well as Cypriot antiquities and Asian, American, and contemporary art. The museum's art collection currently consists of more than 10,000 objects that include a wide variety of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, and decorative arts from ancient through contemporary periods and from around the world. The most celebrated items in the museum are 16th, 17th, and 18th century European paintings, including a world-renowned collection of Peter Paul Rubens paintings.
 Cą d'Zan, a Mediterranean Revival mansion in Sarasota, Florida, was the dream home of circus magnate John Ringling and his wife, Mable. Lovers of the Venetian esthetic, the Ringlings chose their building plot overlooking the Gulf of Mexico for its view, which reminded them of the lagoon of their favorite city. The home was commissioned from New York architect Dwight James Baum in 1924, completed in 1926, and restored in 2002. The name of the mansion comes from "House of John" in the Venetian dialect.
 One of Sarasota's most beautiful natural areas is Myakka River State Park. The park has an excellent system of hiking trails. Walking trails crisscross the Eastern side of the park, and biking and horseback riding are permitted on other trails and roads in the park. This part of the park is dominated by expanses of very low vegetation, fields of palmetto, that transitions to islands of tall pine and oak trees. A good portion of the park is reachable by automobile. Myakka River State Park's main road takes visitors to a boardwalk out to the river and lake, excellent for bird watching. Another short walk from the main road reveals Myakka's canopy walkway, a tower and suspension bridge providing researchers and visitors views of the forest canopy and a spectacular above-the-treetops view of the entire park. Picnic areas, canoeing, boat tours, and developed campsites are available.
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