Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United   States. Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, the   Spanish established at St. Augustine this nation's first enduring settlement.

 Architecture
 The architectural legacy of the city's past is much younger, testimony to the impermanent quality of the earliest structures and to St.   Augustine's troubled history. Only the venerable Castillo de San Marcos, completed in the late seventeenth century, survived   destruction of the city by invading British forces in 1702.  Luckily, this city loves its architecture and continues to model it in new construction like Casa Monica hotel downtown on King Street.



 St. Augustine Attractions Visitors
 Some 2 million visitors annually make their way to St. Augustine, lured by the sense of discovering a unique historic part of America.   While the venerable Castillo de San Marcos remains the traditional magnet for visitors, there are many other appealing historical   sites and sights.  In addition to music and performances, St Augustine has challenging sky bridges and limitless beaches for every   age.


 Vacation Town
 Twenty years after the end of the Civil War, St. Augustine entered its most glittering era. Following a visit to the crumbling old   Spanish town, Henry Flagler, a former partner of John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company, decided to create in St. Augustine   a winter resort for wealthy Americans. He owned a railroad company that in 1886 linked St. Augustine by rail with the populous   cities of the east coast. In 1887, his company began construction of two large and ornate hotels and a year later added a third that   had been planned and begun by another developer. Flagler's architects changed the appearance of St. Augustine, fashioning building   styles that in time came to characterize the look of cities throughout Florida. For a time, St. Augustine was the winter tourist mecca   of the United States.

 Best Restaurants in Florida
 As the crossroads of several cultures in its 460 year-old history, St Augustine has an incredible culinary history.  The first-class   restaurants provide incredible meals with historic and beachside views.