Tampa Sights: Downtown Tampa

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• Channelside. Entertainment complex in the revitalized Channelside district near the Port of Tampa. Numerous upscale restaurants, several mid-range chain restaurants and bars, an IMAX movie theater and a trendy (if you can believe it) bowling alley.

• Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Phone: (813) 273-4000, www.flaquarium.org. Daily 9:30AM-5PM. Channelside district, just east of downtown. Fabulous aquarium following a drop of rain from a swamp through Florida's aquifer, to its rivers and out into the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Restaurant, gift shop, children's play area, touch tank, interactive dive experiences, and eco-tours of Tampa Bay. Adults $17.95, ages 3-12 $12.95.

• Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N. Ashley Drive, Phone: (813) 274-8130, www.tampamuseum.com. Daily 10AM-5PM, Closed Mondays. An extensive collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, as well as contemporary and traveling exhibitions. Check the website for monthly "Art After Dark" exhibitions. Adults $8, Children under 6 Free. Free admission on Saturdays 10AM-Noon. As of August 2008 a new larger museum is under construction and most of the permanent collection is not on display.

• Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin Street, Phone: (813) 274-8982, www.tampatheatre.org. Opened in 1926 and located right downtown, the Tampa Theatre is a historic movie palace featuring a wide range of independent, foreign, and documentary films on a daily basis. Architecturally stunning both inside and out, it is no wonder that the Tampa Theatre has become both a city and national landmark being listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. It is Tampa's only non-profit theatre and operating costs are largely covered by its membership program, various corporate sponsors as well as ticket sales.

• University of Tampa. Formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel built at the turn of the 20th century by railroad magnate H.B.Plant, the beautiful old building is now used as the administration building and classrooms for the University of Tampa. It has been lovingly restored to most of its prior glory; the ballroom is a showpiece with its domed ceiling under brilliant silver minarets. There is a small, but very interesting museum in the building that recreates a large portion of Tampa's early history, as well as giving visitors a peek into how the hotel appeared when it first opened.

• www.flaquarium.org
• www.tampamuseum.com
• www.tampatheatre.org