Tampa's visitor draw rests on three distinct eras: a gilded railroad-era hotel from 1891, a Cuban restaurant that has run continuously since 1905, and a downtown Catholic church with 50 stained glass windows. All three are within 3 miles of each other, and a free streetcar connects downtown to Ybor City.
Jump to: History & Museums · Dining · Spiritual Sites · Planning Notes · Also worth visiting
History & Museums
Henry B. Plant Museum (Tampa Bay Hotel) Must-see
Hillsborough County · Tampa
The Tampa Bay Hotel opened in 1891 — a 511-room Moorish Revival resort built by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant at a reported cost of $3 million (roughly $100 million today). The building's 13 silver minarets are still visible across downtown Tampa and the property is a National Historic Landmark. Theodore Roosevelt used the hotel as headquarters for the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War in 1898, departing from Tampa for Cuba.
The museum occupies the hotel's original south wing, with period-furnished Victorian rooms and exhibits on Plant's railroad empire and the Spanish-American War. Admission is $15 for adults, $7 for children 4–12. The building is on the University of Tampa campus; paid parking is available in the adjacent lot. The museum is closed Mondays.
Dining
Columbia Restaurant (Ybor City — Florida's Oldest Restaurant) Must-see
Hillsborough County · Tampa
The Columbia Restaurant has operated at 2117 E 7th Avenue in Ybor City since 1905, making it Florida's oldest restaurant. The building grew from a small cafe into a 1,700-seat complex covering an entire city block, with 15 dining rooms decorated in hand-painted murals and Spanish tiles. The menu centers on Cuban and Spanish cuisine — the 1905 Salad (prepared tableside with a dramatic flourish) and the Cuban sandwich are the two most-ordered items.
Reservations are strongly recommended for weekend dinners — book at least a week in advance. The nightly flamenco show in the main dining room runs at 7:30pm Tuesday through Sunday ($15 per ticket, separate from dining) and fills before dinner reservations do. Ybor City's 7th Avenue is walkable after dinner — the surrounding blocks are the center of Tampa's nightlife.
Spiritual Sites
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Tampa) Must-see
Hillsborough County · Tampa
Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Tampa was completed in 1905 — the same year the Columbia Restaurant opened — and is one of the oldest continuously operating Catholic parishes in Florida. The Spanish Renaissance Revival exterior is built from red brick with a copper-clad dome, and the interior features 50 stained glass windows, including a rose window above the main entrance crafted from German cathedral glass.
Admission is free and the church is open daily. Mass is held Monday through Saturday at 7am and 12:10pm, and Sunday at 8am, 10am, and noon. The church is in the Channelside District, about 2 miles from Ybor City and 0.8 miles from the Henry B. Plant Museum.
Planning Notes
Where to stay: Downtown Tampa hotels along Ashley Drive and Channelside are within a 10-minute walk of Sacred Heart Church and a short drive from both the Henry B. Plant Museum and Ybor City. Ybor City has boutique hotels directly on 7th Avenue within walking distance of the Columbia Restaurant.
Book ahead: Reserve the Columbia Restaurant for weekend dinners at least a week in advance — the flamenco show fills first. The Henry Plant Museum does not require advance tickets but is closed Mondays. Sacred Heart Church has no admission.
Getting around: The TECO Line Streetcar connects downtown Tampa to Ybor City and is free to ride — the Ybor City stop is a 2-minute walk from the Columbia Restaurant. The Henry B. Plant Museum is a 10-minute drive from both downtown and Ybor City. A car makes moving between all three sites easier, but the streetcar handles the downtown–Ybor leg.
