More about Pensacola

The beach offers a variety of accommodations from high-rise luxury condos to hotel resorts to cozy beach motels. And there´s plenty of entertainment-from energetic night clubs to laid-back beach bars and a tantalizing variety of restaurants.

Or just relax under an umbrella and enjoy the soothing sea breezes and salt air.  And if the fish beckon, there are miles of beaches and a 1,471-foot fishing pier-the longest on the Gulf-where you can wet a line.

Pensacola´s downtown is where the city began!  Here you´ll find an appealing blend of the new and the old--a history dating back more than 300 years. That history is reflected in the city´s historic districts where gracious Victorian and Georgian style homes and buildings today serve modern uses.

Downtown offers a terrific mix of art galleries, museums, theaters, intriguing shops, entertainment, trendy cafes, coffee shops, pizza parlors and upscale restaurants.

Downtown Pensacola is alive with things to do and places to visit. There are major arts and music festivals, Mardi Gras parades, Christmas celebrations, and festivities celebrating the heritage of the five nations whose flags have flown over the city. 

With miles of waterfront, there´s a water view almost everywhere you turn in the downtown area--from the Port of Pensacola to waterfront parks to boat-filled marinas.

Plus, the area is home to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. This 150-mile stretch of seashore, which runs from Cat Island in Mississippi to Santa Rosa Island at Pensacola Beach, offers sparkling blue water and many beautiful beaches all carefully preserved in a natural state.

Pensacola´s Naval Air Station is home to the Navy´s ever-popular Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team. From their base here, the Blue Angels thrill and inspire people around the world with their finely-honed aviation skills. During their exhibition season, the Blues can be seen practicing nearly every week in the skies around the Naval Air Station as they prepare for the next air show somewhere in the country. NAS Pensacola is the headquarters for the Navy´s flight training program, bringing young men and women from all over the country who will learn how to operate some of the nation´s most advanced and sophisticated military hardware.

Also at NAS is the acclaimed National Museum of Naval Aviation where wood and fabric biplanes from another era and spacecraft from the frontiers of space come together to chart the history of naval aviation. Admission is free to one of the largest and most beautiful air and space museums in the world. More than 140 artfully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation are on display. These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft can be seen both inside the 291,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on the Museum's 37-acre grounds.  

You´ll stand in awe in the seven-story glass and steel atrium that showcases four Blue Angel A-4 Skyhawks in a diving diamond formation; retrace the first flight across the Atlantic; stand on the flight deck of the USS Cabot; enjoy guided tours; or fly an F/A-18 mission in Desert Storm in a flight simulator.

The museum has its own IMAX Theatre, where you´ll see The Magic of Flight on a seven-story high screen and feel like you're riding with the Blues!

For the enthusiast, there is plenty of sports action in Pensacola!

You´ll find several top quality golf courses in the region, from attractive municipal facilities to challenging, professionally-designed courses. Throughout the year, the area features a variety of fishing tournaments that are open to both participants and spectators. Recreational boating facilities abound up and down the coastal area. In addition, Pensacola is home to minor league professional baseball and hockey teams and stock-car racing at Five Flags Speedway.

Pensacola offers something for everyone-history, nature, military, shopping, sports, attractions, and of course our fabulous white sand beaches. Come on down, you´ll be right at home on the coast!