St.Augustine, FL

The feel of the place is that some history happened here but it's mostly just another piece of Florida - pack in some restaurants and tourist junk. That said there were a couple authentic feeling coffee shops and european street layout but the Florida side is definitely winning. The fort - it's a two story shell-rock fort with a few old timey cannons and the bottom floor is mostly empty rooms with some info signs. Dark to read that this is where they held the native Americans like Osceola who fought back when it was in American hands as a fort. There used to be a moat around it but they drained it at some point and it's just grass. The cathedral is old and you could tell that it was nice but it's been way too over-restored. It doesn't feel old at all. It was nice to hear a fair amount of foreign language speakers - not so common through most of Florida. There are some area parks - the beaches are high energy (wind and waves) compared to other Florida beaches. In general it has something but just not nearly what it could and not enough for the drive you have to take to get here from anywhere but Jacksonville.