Book Saint Petersburg theatre & attraction tickets

Pinellas County's waterfront centrepiece sits on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, a position that gives Saint Petersburg, Florida, its famously temperate winters and its particular quality of light. That light, flat and luminous off the water, is not incidental to the city's identity. It drew artists and collectors here long before the downtown core filled with galleries, and it remains the most persuasive argument for spending time outdoors along the waterfront promenade that stretches past Beach Drive and the green expanse of Vinoy Park.

The city's cultural reputation rests substantially on a single extraordinary institution. The Dalí Museum, housed in a purpose-built building near the bayfront whose geodesic glass structure is itself a talking point, holds the largest collection of Salvador Dalí's work outside Europe. The permanent collection spans his early academic paintings through the monumental surrealist canvases of his mature period, and the building's helical staircase has become one of the most photographed interiors in Florida. Gallery admission tickets are among the most sought-after bookable experiences in the city, and for good reason: the collection rewards a long, unhurried visit rather than a quick pass through.