24 HOURS IN NAPLES

24

Hours in Naples

A SELECTION OF MUST-SEES AND MUST-DOS

The Village Shops on Venetian Bay

Naples Pier

If you happen to be on a limited visit and strapped for time, you can hit Naples’ highlights in a fun, jam-packed day. From sunrise to sunset, beach to bays, 24 hours in Naples will give you a taste of all the reasons to return for a longer stay. Words of advice: Get an early start.

Morning:

Start Your Day the Naples Way

The scent of fresh-brewed coffee and housemade pastries welcomes you inside Tony’s Off Third (tonysoffthird.com) in Old Naples, an artisan bakery with a dizzying array of pretty confections. Order mixed-berry scones and people watch from the garden courtyard or, if it happens to be Saturday, browse local produce, flowers, prepared foods, and dog treats at the Third Street Farmer’s Market (thirdstreetsouth.com) along garden-lined streets.

Greet the day along the waterfront. The iconic Naples Pier, extending 1,100 feet into the Gulf of Mexico, is a peaceful way to usher in the day. Or venture to the Naples City Dock (naplesgov. com), a working waterfront where an easterly orientation is ideal for sunrises that peer above the masts of sailboats, catamarans, fishing boats, and yachts bobbing in the calm Naples Bay water. Have your camera ready: Photo opportunities abound. Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park (floridastateparks.org) is another ideal location for greeting the sunrise. Get there before other beachcombers for the best shelling. Time travel during a two-hour Naples Historical Society Walking Tour (napleshistoricalsociety.org) offered on select Wednesdays. The onemile walk through the Naples Historic District includes a tour of the picket-fenced Palm Cottage and other important places, introducing the people who put Naples on the map, and delving into life in this sportsman’s paradise in the late 1800s.

Afternoon Adventures: Culture, Shopping, and Nature

For lunch, consider a Cuban sandwich at Rumba Cuban Café (rumbacubancafe.com), nationally recognized Brooks Burgers - Burgers & Dogs (brooksburgers.com), the flagship Tommy Bahama Restaurant (tommybahama. com/restaurants), or Brambles English Tearoom (bramblestearoomnaples.com).

For an air-conditioned respite and immersion in art, check out The Baker Museum at Artis-Naples (artisnaples.org). Explore the masterpieces of world-class artists featured in changing exhibits, such as, such as Henry

CLIFFORD PICKETT

Third Street South farmer’s market

Moore, Helen Levitt, Wassily Kandinsky, and René Magritte and works in the museum’s permanent collection by Diego Rivera, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, and others.

Traveling with the little ones? Meet the lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my) at Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens (napleszoo.org), boat around islands chattering with monkeys, watch the daily alligator feeding, and enjoy an up-close-and-personal visit with reptiles and other animals during daily zookeeper-led discussions. At the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, or CMON (cmon. Tony’s Off Third org), interactive exhibits inspire the kiddos to create, innovate, climb a banyan tree, and explore ecosystems and international cultures. If you’ve been planning to pick up a gift for a friend back home or a few additions for your own wardrobe, you’re in luck. From top luxury brands to art to souvenirs, Naples is home to many distinct shopping destinations. Discover the stores, boutiques, and galleries along Third Street South (thirdstreetsouth.com) and Fifth Avenue South (fifthavenuesouth.com), on the Gordon River at Tin City Waterfront Shops (tincityofnaples.com), uptown at hotspot Mercato (mercatoshops.com), upscale Waterside Shops (watersideshops.com), or the elegant Village Shops on Venetian Bay (venetianvillage. com) featuringOld World charm.

Tucked beyond the view of businesses on Goodlette-Frank Road is the 140-acre Gordon

Rhode’s End at Naples Grande Beach Resort

SAMANTHA BLOOM

Fifth Avenue South Naples Botanical GardenDoluptate vendios quis

qui cus, aut moluptaquo River Greenway Park (gordonrivergreenway. blaciditius molorro tem faccuptae vollorg), a pleasantly surprising urban oasis meandering through six native plant communities, mangroves, and along its namesake river. A 2.5-mile path offers overlooks and boardwalks and connects via a pedestrian bridge to the riverfront Baker Park. Both parks are petfriendly—ideal venues for taking a Humane Society Naples (hsnaples.org) rescue dog on an adventurous outing. You just might leave Naples with more than memories. The greenway borders the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (conservancy.org) which offers kayak and canoe rentals, and 45-minute sightseeing ecotours aboard an electric boat. Maybe you just want to be a beach bum? Within the City of Naples, there are 10 miles of shell-strewn, white-sand beaches and five beach parks. Enjoy a full-on mangrove immersion while wandering the .75-mile boardwalk from Clam Pass Park to a welcoming beach. Continue walking to Rhode’s End at Naples Grande Beach Resort (naplesgrande.com), where the ambience, cuisine, and blue-andwhite palette of this beachfront dining destination is reminiscent of Greece’s Santorini.

If you want to escape the city bustle, strike out for a long afternoon for a nearby side trek. Naples’ subtropical splendor transcends sand and surf and swaying palms. Large swaths of untamed wilderness preserving precious habitat for endangered and rare flora and fauna are surprisingly close by. Within the 13,000-acre Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (corkscrew.audubon.

The Dock at Crayton Cove

org), visitors are immersed in North America’s largest old-growth bald cypress forest, home to the largest colony of endangered wood storks in the United States, and, if the timing’s right, a super ghost orchid in full bloom. Bike or hike along old logging trails in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (floridastateparks.org). Its 75,000 acres boast the world’s only forest where bald cypress trees grow alongside royal palms, more orchids and bromeliads than anywhere else in North America, the best spot to see Florida panthers, and the 2,500foot Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk wending through cypress-studded sloughs and wetlands. Make your introduction to Everglades National Park (nps.gov) at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center near Everglades City. The western fringes of the one-and-a-half-million-acre River of Grass are best experienced by water. Boat tours, kayak and canoe rentals, and guided excursions are provided by Everglades Florida Adventures.

Tesoro at JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

LUKE FRANKE/AUDUBON

Everglades airboat tour

From Dusk to Dine:

Toast Along the Waterfront

Check local sunset times and plan accordingly to enjoy painterly sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico from Naples to Marco Island. Even if you aren’t staying at a local resort, you can enjoy the property’s cuisine, signature cocktails, and ambience.

Named third among the top 10 seafood restaurants in Naples by Money, Inc., Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar (baysideseafoodgrillandbar.com) offers two prime sunset-viewing destinations overlooking Venetian Bay—the second-floor Grill for fine dining (try the crispy mahi mahi with a Thai twist) or The Upper Deck, on the third level.

The Turtle Club (turtleclubnaples.com) stands out as one of the few beachfront restaurants where umbrellaed tables are staked in

The Turtle Club

NICK SHIRGHIO

Sale e Pepe

The Deck at 560

the sand for the ultimate sunset viewing. Its Famous Oysters Turtlefeller appetizer with apple-smoked bacon, Parmesan, and Pernod is a menu mainstay. Seafood is showcased through chowder, bisque, and ceviche, lobster frites, and market-fresh entrées.

If your dinner reservations are late, head to Gumbo Limbo at The Ritz-Carlton (ritzcarlton. com) on the beach and toast with Trouble in Paradise, a signature frozen rum drink with hints of banana liqueur and crème de coconut.

Edgewater Beach Hotel (edgewaternaples. com) is known for a focus on health and wellness and the philosophy extends to its dining options. At Coast, you’ll find a mindful menu featuring a daily catch, the uber-healthy zucchini noodle stir fry with seasonal tomatoes and veggies in basil-garlic broth, and the juice-forward tiki rum punch with fresh-pressed lime, orange and pineapple juices, angostura bitters, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Plan a return visit to Naples City Dock for dinner and drinks at the Dock at Crayton Cove (dockcraytoncove.com), a 46-year old Naples walk-in-only restaurant offering a Caribbeaninfluenced menu, open-air dockside dining, and a terrace overlooking Naples Bay. Start with the shrimp nacho appetizer and enjoy crowd favorites, including blackened grouper served with a blue crab cake and Key lime butter sauce or the pineapple Chilean sea bass.

On Marco Island, browse specialty stores and admire the boats at Rose Marina before dinner at The Esplanade Shoppes (esplanadeshoppesatmarcoisland.com), a residential-commercial destination overlooking Smokehouse Bay. If you’re traveling with your furr-ever friend, family-owned Mango’s Dockside Bistro (mangosdocksidebistro.com) welcomes dogs on the patio. Orange juice, mango vodka, and grenadine in the bistro’s signature Marco Sunset Martini echo the sunset hues. Try the bacon-wrapped shrimp appetizer or caramel-pecan salmon entrée.

For an outdoor sunset picnic on the curving ribbon of white sand at Tigertail Beach, stock up at Island Cheese Company (islandcheesecompany) with an assortment of artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, and wine.

The Deck at 560, an open-air dining venue at Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort and Spa (hiltonmarcoisland.com) overlooks the gulf and focuses on locally sourced, sustainable seafood and organic herbs cultivated from a holistic chef’s garden.

Sale e Pepe (sale-e-pepe.com) at the Marco Beach Ocean Resort (marcoresort.com) is revered for its curated wine menu—a Best of Award of Excellence winner from Wine Spectator for 15 consecutive years—and the authentic gourmet flavors of Naples, Italy. Dine alfresco on the breezy terrace or inside the upscale, Old World dining rooms replete with museumquality, hand-painted frescoes.