Tampa is a city packed with so many things to do for couples of all ages. We spent 4 days here and never once got bored.
There is always something happening in Tampa, with a festival to celebrate almost everything, like a Greek Festival, Italian, festivals for Margarita cocktails, cigars, cupcake and even a Mac & Cheese festival! The most famous is the Gasparilla pirate festival in January, which celebrates José Gaspar, a Spanish pirate who used to roam and plunder across the Gulf of Mexico.
For the latest events taking place in Tampa, check Visit Tampa Bay’s website, as well as the Visit Florida website. For romantic inspiration, continue reading below for our 10 coolest things to do in Tampa for couples, based on our first hand experience.
1. A stroll through history in Ybor City
Ybor City is Tampa’s historic neighbourhood, once home to a prominent cigar industry. It is named after Vicente Martinez-Ybor who in 1880 selected this spot as the base for his industry. Back then, this was a tiny isolated village. Mr Ybor attracted thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Italy and Spain, who came here to work and subsequently developed a strong Latino culture here. At one point, Ybor City become a prominent base for Cuban revolutionaries like Jose Marti and Paulina Pedroso.
After Mr Ybor’s death in 1896, his cigar industry thrived, reaching a peak in the 1920s, when there were more cigar factories in Ybor City than in Cuba. Sadly it started to decline after the Great Depression hit in 1929, and also due to the growth of the cigarette industry. This led to a mass exodus of people between the 1930s-1980s from Ybor City. However since the 1980s, Ybor City has had a huge renaissance, becoming not only a hotspot for tourism, but a popular nightlife area with an excellent gay scene on Seventh Avenue.
We highly recommend taking a walking tour with a company like Ybor Walking Tours to learn more about Ybor City’s fascinating past.
Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay.