Jacksonville is located on Florida’s First Coast, a stretch of Florida’s northeastern coast which was the first land settled by European explorers back in the 16th century. Today Jacksonville’s metro area encompasses over one million residents, with all of the modern conveniences expected from a major city as well as the natural beauty visitors to Florida have come to expect. The neighboring communities of Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach), Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach are all included in Jacksonville’s metro area.

Jacksonville’s most recent claim to fame is their stint as a host city for Super Bowl XXXIX. As the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacksonville has recently become a city obsessed with professional football. Critics were initially skeptical of Jacksonville’s ability to handle the Super Bowl, but creativity prevailed, and cruise ships were docked up and down the St. Johns River in order to provide adequate hotel space for the extra fans and NFL officials.

The sports fixation doesn’t end there. Jacksonville is also a hub for professional tennis, which brings the annual WTA Bausch and Lomb Championships to Amelia Island Plantation, located just north of Jacksonville. Professional golf also makes a stop in the area, with the annual PGA TPC (The Player’s Championship) making its home at the nearby Tournament Players Club in Sawgrass. Other minor league professional sports teams include the Jacksonville Suns, a minor league AA team in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, and the Jacksonville Barracudas, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Most major metro areas also serve as cultural centers, and Jacksonville is no different. Museums, parks, zoos, and live entertainment all combine to provide residents and visitors alike with an enriching, enjoyable experience. For example, the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is known for its collections of European and American art. There is also the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art, which is focused on the exploration of contemporary art and culture, and the Museum of Science and History, which features exhibits of Florida’s marine life, Jacksonville’s regional history, and many other subjects unique to North Florida. Northeastern Florida’s only zoo is also located in Jacksonville, at the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens. The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art is also home to the Alexander Brest Planetarium, which features daily screenings of their various astronomical tours. For live music, the Jacksonville Symphony, one of the few American orchestras with its own concert hall, plays a wide variety of music, ranging from classical to pop standards. More contemporary music can be heard at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, an annual event which features some of the biggest names in jazz music, and at the recently built Veterans Memorial Arena, which has hosted some of the biggest names in popular music.

The natural environment of Jacksonville is another big draw to the area. The St. Johns River flows across three hundred miles of rural northern Florida before it empties out into the Atlantic Ocean, just above Jacksonville. Riverwalk, a mile-long stretch of restaurants, bars and cafes along the St. Johns, is just one way the natural surroundings of Jacksonville have been incorporated into urban life. There are also several parks in the area, including Little Talbot Island State Park, which features a two mile multi-use trail along the coastal habitat of Little Talbot Island, and Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park, which focuses around an abandoned Civil War fort at the mouth of the St Johns River.