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San Carlos Institute

Key West

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Founded in 1871 by Cuban exiles, the San Carlos is a gorgeous building constructed in classical Spanish mission style. The current structure dates from 1924. The interior is spackled with tile work from Cuba and Seville (Spain), Italian marble and statues of Cuban luminaries, including Jose Martí, who spoke here and dubbed the building ‘La Casa Cuba.’

Today the building serves as library, art gallery, lecture hall and theater (big-name acts play here occasionally). You're free to wander through when it's open – always on weekends, and occasionally during the week.

Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¼´Ê±¿ª½±'s must-see attractions

  • Tourists and locals enjoy cocktails while viewing the sunset from pier at Mallory Square.

    Mallory Square

    0.45 MILES

    Take all those energies, subcultures and oddities of Keys life and focus them into one torchlit, family-friendly (but playfully edgy), sunset-enriched…

  • Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden

    Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden

    0.19 MILES

    Nancy, an environmental artist and fixture of the Keys community, invites you into her backyard oasis where chatty rescued parrots and macaws await…

  • Flying to Dry Tortugas National Park

    Dry Tortugas National Park

    19.11 MILES

    Dry Tortugas National Park is America's most inaccessible national park. Reachable only by boat or seaplane, it rewards you for your effort in getting…

  • Ernest Hemingway home and museum. Key West. Florida. USA

    Hemingway House

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    Key West’s biggest darling, Ernest Hemingway, lived in this gorgeous Spanish Colonial house from 1931 to 1940. Papa moved here in his early 1930s with his…

  • Keywest, Florida, United States, January 17 2018:The Studios Of Key West

    Studios of Key West

    0.16 MILES

    This nonprofit showcases about a dozen artists’ studios in a three-story space, and hosts some of the best art openings in Key West on the first Thursday…

  • Sloppy Joe's Bar, Duval Street, Key West, Florida, USA

    Duval Street

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    Key West locals have a love-hate relationship with the most famous road in Key West (if not the Keys). Duval, Old Town Key West’s main strip, is a miracle…

  • Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center

    Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center

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    This 6000-sq-ft center is one of the best places in the Keys to learn about the extraordinary marine environments of South Florida. Start off with the 20…

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