Century Tower is an icon of the UF campus. It can be heard on the hour or when the carillon studio…read morehas students performing music on the bells. Great place for photo ops for those visiting or graduating on campus.

As a proud double Gator, Century Tower has served as a beacon of hope. It represents the heights…read moreyou can reach with whatever you decide to purse at the University of Florida. Located in the center of campus, it demonstrates the fact that everything you decide to do is within reach after leaving the Gator Nation. It is a symbol for our university and is a beautiful one at that. You can sometimes hear your favorite tunes chiming from its bells, offering a reminder of how Florida Gators like to be whimsical and silly sometimes too. It stands tall and can be seen anywhere from campus like the Gator Nation which can be found anywhere. It is a part of our tradition keeper book, so at the end of every semester you are allowed to climb it and explore the inside. It serves as a meeting place, a memory and an icon for our fine university and I'm glad that it greets me every morning as I make my way to campus. Go Gators!!

I love this place. The change in temperature within the sinkhole is so fascinating, as is the…read morewildlife you find in the basin. A very beautiful place, I recommend it.

Such beautiful grounds hiding within Gainesville! We had a wonderful time taking advantage of the…read moretrails and stairs to the bottom of the sinkhole! It's a great spot for those who - Want a nice, but non strenuous walk (about a mile around in circle. The stairs are a bit more but there are stops between levels) Wonderful shading with a sweet bird filled environment. Non busy area out of the hustle of life

New York City has 6th Avenue, Avenue Of The Americas - big deal. Gainesville has 8th Avenue, Avenue…read moreOf The Galaxy. You don't have to be an explorer to know which of these is more monumental. And indeed it IS monumental - the planetary representation of our solar system is a series of monuments starting at the cross section of 34th St (the Sun) and ending with Pluto at 22nd (strict astronomical interpreters may end at Neptune, but understand you're missing out in your understanding of the cosmos). The beauty of it is that the planets are installed as a 4-billion (read that in a Carl Sagan voice) to 1 scale model, giving you a glimpse of just how far these planets are from each other. And 8th Ave is straight and flat here, so you can aim to see the whole run should you choose (though standing at the sun my eyes gave out around Saturn). The respective monuments stand about 15 feet high with a planet-esque sphere atop it - all of equal size, which was a slight disappointment until I realized a truly scaled Jupiter would take out a streetlight. Planetary stats and info is engraved on each monument, with impressive sketches of the mythological namesake gods and some choice quotes - can't get better than "Gangrene Uranus, ghoul of the heavens." This was exactly the quirky kind of thing I was hoping to find on my brief stay in Gainesville. The whole length of the run is 0.9 miles one-way, and even better there's a park trail (Loblolly Woods? Something like that) around Jupiter that looked promising had we more time. You can drive it for a quick science lesson, or you can walk it if you feel the calling to be a true galactic navigator (and this is the city of 'gators after all). I did a round trip, so I walked the scale model twice - only 3,999,999,998 more times and I can truly say I've walked the length of the solar system! That'd be cool if they can give me a badge when that happens.

These monument's were one of the first things I noticed when I moved to Gainesville. If you are a…read morepassenger riding towards Downtown or UF on 8th Avenue from the Oakview Mall it is pretty hard to miss this display of the planets on large cement columns on the right hand side of the road. Depending on traffic, you may miss 1 or 2, but I like the roadside display of the planets in our solar system. If you feel like you might want a better view of the columns you can easily plan to walk, run, or bike Solar Walk when you have the time.

I jut wish that someone would come and put some money back into this place. The spring has been…read morecompletely neglected, and the building is in disrepair. It's pretty disgraceful that UF or the state doesn't put more pride and love into this spring. It has such an incredible history, and is a state landmark.

Excellent little park and historic site in Gainesville. Perfect for hiking, biking or a just an…read moreeasy stroll. There is also a horse trail. The waterworks building is very cool and a few tables and grills allow for picnics and snacks in a shaded setting.

Located along the Waldo Rd Greenway-Depot Avenue Rail-Trail this pedestrian bridge also carries…read morebicycles over SW 13th Street / US-441. That's a major roadway and instead of leaving it as something boring and functional, they've built something pretty and attractive. The DNA Bridge (sometimes called the Helix bridge) was originally built for rail traffic to the Gainesville Depot. The rail line was no longer and then converted to a rail trail in the 1980s. And then it was rebuilt in 2012 to somewhat resemble a DNA helix. At night, it's lit up. There is also a staircase on the east side if you're walking along SW 13th Street and want to get up to the bridge. This is near the Sorority Row and University of Florida Health campus so it's popular with students, medical professionals and nature lovers. When I was here, several folks in scrubs walked or biked past. There is no legal parking nearby, but I found a spot in the hospital lot for a brief visit to check out the bridge. [Review 19890 overall - 1692 in Florida - 863 of 2023.]

There aren't many tunnels in Florida, seeing as how most of the state is at sea level. A tunnel…read morewould put you into the water table and you would be digging into coral bed, both of which present significant challenges. The other tunnels are the New River Tunnel (aka the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel) in Fort Lauderdale https://www.yelp.com/biz/henry-e-kinney-tunnel-fort-lauderdale?hrid=fXumVP8axkh_tcxVRR4Fww and the Port Miami Tunnel (aka State Road 887) that joines the MacArthur Causeway with PortMiami https://www.yelp.com/biz/port-of-miami-tunnel-downtown-miami. I've been to the former, I have not been to the latter, but I'm passing through Gainesville and now I need to visit the third publicly accessible tunnel in the state. The Norman Hall Tunnel is also known as the 13th Street Tunnel. It connects the two halves of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and was opened to the public in 1957. It is not open to vehicles, but rather pedestrians and bicycles. It's pretty well covered in graffiti from end to end. I found parking nearby. Probably not legal but I was only here long enough to check out the tunnel and then time to move along. [Review 19657 overall - 1679 in Florida - 629 of 2023.]

Located along SR24, this marker is the pointer in front of the Haile Homestead and is easily…read moreaccessible from the road. You might not be touring the homestead but reading the marker at least gives you an idea of what you can expect. It reads, "One of the oldest houses in Alachua County, the Historic Haile Homestead was the home of Thomas Evans Haile, his wife Esther Serena Chesnut Haile and 14 of their children. The Hailes came here from Camden, South Carolina in 1854 to establish a 1,500-acre Sea Island Cotton plantation which they named Kanapaha. Enslaved black craftsmen completed the 6,200-square-foot manse in 1856. The 1860 census showed 66 slaves living here. The Hailes survived bankruptcy in 1868 and turned the property into a productive farm, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables including oranges. Serena Haile died in 1895; Thomas in 1896. The Homestead, which passed to son Evans, a prominent defense attorney, became the site of house parties attended by some of Gainesville's most distinguished citizens. The Hailes had the unusual habit of writing on the walls; all together over 12,500 words with the oldest writing dating to the 1850's. The Homestead was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. A restoration was completed in 1996. Still partly owned by descendants of Evans Haile, the Homestead is one of the few remaining homesteads built by Sea Island cotton planters in this part of Florida." It is marker number F-548 and it was erected in 2005 by the Historic Haile Homestead and the Florida Department of State. It was too early in the morning to tour the home. Maybe the next time I'm in Gainesville. [Review 364 of 2025 - 2016 in Florida - 23926 overall]

This plantation house, built in 1854, is a national historic landmark, maintained by the Haile…read morefamily and a public historical foundation. It is open 10-2 Saturday and 12-4 Sunday. It's $5 to get in, which includes a guided tour. Can you even comprehend the value?! Oh, the value! The most interesting thing about the house isn't that it's pre-civil war, but that there are names, dates, records, and more scrawled across the walls. The Haile family who lived there were evidently encouraged to practice their handwriting on the walls. My favorite scrawling reads "THE HOUSE WAS BRIEFLY ALIVE." There's so much material written, though, that you're likely to find something even better.

What a beautiful park! So many trails to take advantage and never enough time!…read more Great and helpful staff (who will allow you to loan binoculars if you forgot yours and give you ideas on which trails are best for you based on what you are looking to experience) If you are in the area and are a nature nut (like me), come and take a look around. We saw deer, alligators and plenty of birds in our short excursion!

We took advantage of our Florida State Park Pass (saved us the $6 entrance fee) and took a drive to…read morethe park. This is a beautiful park to drive or hike. The drive in and to the visitor center is so pretty! The trees make a nice, shady canopy. You can see various animals from the observation tower, open range or hiking. It was late afternoon and hot when we were there so we didn't see much (one deer!) and I'm sure the animals were in the shade somewhere.

My family and I stopped by Ben Hill Griffin Stadium while visiting Gainesville, and even without…read moreseeing a game, it was well worth the visit. The stadium is impressive in person, and walking around the outside gave us a real sense of the history and tradition behind Florida Gators football. We spent time exploring the grounds, taking photos, and checking out the different views around the stadium. There were plenty of great photo opportunities, and the atmosphere was exciting even on a non-game day. You can tell this is a special place for fans and the university community.

I would have stayed for the whole game but my kidneys couldn't take being kicked for another two…read morehours! Last time, I tried to be nice about it. This week, I tried to subtly indicate what was happening. (There is no point in trying to correct a clump of cat loud dumb coeds!) So congratulations, Gators! I am dropping my season tickets and Booster donation. (BTW, I am no longer going to endow a scholarship at the UF College of Education, either!) Fortunately, I have choices and FSU treats me better. I already endowed a Seminole baseball scholarship; now maybe they get two! I would rather fly up to Boston to catch a Harvard game (I am alum there, too) than drive from Daytona to Gainesville anymore to take a beating. If I wanted more of that, I would still be a pro wrestler!

Great local history museum! Free entry and downtown in a very convenient location. Definitely worth…read morestopping by.

We frequently attend the free lectures sponsored by Florida Humanities at the MATHESON. Always…read moreinteresting and sometimes outstanding. Great way to learn about little known aspects of Florida. Parking is limited (my guess is because people park here for other purposes than attending the museum) so I recommend getting there early.