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Black Caesar was a pirate of some renown who roamed the Florida Keys, or so goes a legend worthy of mention during Black History Month.

The Old Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon is a must-stop on the Overseas Highway. Its history and scenic beauty make it a great place to walk or bike. The bridge ends at Pigeon Key, which you can tour to learn its fascinating story.

As you cross the Seven Mile Bridge, you pass the little green island with yellow cottages and palm trees surrounded by dazzling blue water. You can visit this tiny paradise, which offers fascinating history, tropical beauty, even great snorkeling.

Like a lot of visitors, for years I had overlooked Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park on my visits to Key West because it is tucked away out of sight. But the historic fort and great beach are worth discovering.

No doubt about it: Key West is expensive. But despite its small size, Key West is packed with things to do and see — and some are even free. Here are 10 places to go where you’ll soak up Key West culture without opening your wallet.

For more than 60 years, a non-profit devoted to historic preservation has convinced the owners of some of the most interesting homes in Key West to open them to visitors for a good cause. For four winter weekends, you can tour historic homes and support historic preservation in Key West.

There are excellent reasons to stop in Islamorada on your Florida Keys trip. Kayak to Indian Key, feed the tarpon at Robbie’s Marina, visit two craft breweries, plus there’s a cluster of cultural attractions and a top-notch museum.

The cemetery in Key West is a lot like the city itself: quirky, crowded, colorful and full of history. The site has a forlorn almost spooky air. Take a walking tour and discover fascinating stories of Key West and its people.

If you’ve ever dreamed about exploring a deserted tropical island, here’s your chance: Take your kayak down to the Florida Keys and paddle out to Indian Key State Park to explore jungly ruins and snorkel a rocky shoreline.

With the best beach in the Florida Keys, Bahia Honda is everyone’s favorite. We also love the park for its historic bridge, great beachfront camping and cabins.

They don’t make movies like “African Queen” any more — and they don’t make boats like the African Queen either. If your dream was to sit where Humphrey Bogart or Katherine Hepburn sat in the classic 1951 movie, then head to Key Largo. Here are the details you need to plan a visit.

One of the prettiest places is Key West is the Audubon House, also known as the Geiger House, and its gardens. Like the best spots in Key West, the Audubon House is full of fascinating stories with larger than life characters. It also features a great collection of Audubon’s work in Florida.

No Name Pub has been around since the 1930s, and it looks like it. It offers tasty food in a historic building, but what makes this the king of Funky Florida is the decor: $90,000 (some say) stapled to the walls and ceiling.

Fort Pierce engages you in its history, home of the famed “Highwaymen” artists and the scene of a gunfight that rocked its downtown.

From the vibrant, walkable waterfront to its historic streets, South Florida’s oldest city is a hot destination.

The best historic places in Florida will entertain, inform, and probably surprise you. As a bonus, they are also some of the most beautiful places in the state.

Did we miss your favorite?

Apalachicola is a charming, walkable small town full of history, good food & shops. It’s 20 minutes from the nation’s No. 4 beach on St. George Island.

One of the classic experiences of an Old Florida vacation was a scenic boat tour. Here are nine iconic boat tours. How many of these have you taken?

Here are five cool things I was surprised to discover about America’s oldest city — from the story of a fiery pepper to a tasty locally made gin.

You don’t have to drive hours off the interstate to find Florida’s natural beauty and funky history. You can find treasures within 10 minutes of these I-75 exits.

St. Petersburg is full of Old Florida treasures, from a beautiful brick 1927 comfort station next to the new bayfront pier to the Sunken Gardens, a cherished roadside attraction complete with a flock of flamingoes. St. Pete has grown younger and livelier, but it retains much of its original charm.

Folks have been fascinated with Stiltsville since the first shack went up in Biscayne Bay a mile from land in the 1930s. Biscayne National Park and a non-profit partner offer regular boat tours that tell the Stiltsville story and take you close to the houses.

Jonathan Dickinson State park can keep a lover of the outdoors busy for days with hiking, biking, kayaking, camping, wildlife watching and soaking up the natural beauty.

Just five minutes off I-95, we discovered the perfect stop on a roadtrip or weekend getaway destination: a lovely and intriguing historic district in Jacksonville.

A fascinating kayak destination: Mound Key Archaeological State Park, an uninhabited island accessible only by boat near Fort Myers Beach. The ceremonial center of the Calusa people, Mound Key is one of a kind and is surrounding by waters full of wildlife.

Old Wooden Bridge got whacked by Hurricane Irma in 2017, but has bounced back. With most cabins destroyed, the owner added 13 houseboats. This waterfront outpost feels like a place from a bygone era.

Pine Island never was a big tourist destination. And that’s why it is such a refreshing place to explore today. It’s full of groves and plant nurseries with a few stops that make it worth exploring.