Duval Street St – Key West

What’s On World-Famous Duval Street

| Filed under Duval Street

A downtown area in Florida’s popular Key West resort, Duval Street is one of America’s countless renowned gems. You might know it best from the Village People’s hit ‘Key West’: “take a walk down Duval Street, you never know who you’ll meet”

You’ll certainly discover so much about the American way of life as it’s lived down by the Gulf of Mexico. Florida is known for its laid-back sunny lifestyle, particularly given its status as an attractive destination for older retired people moving away from the big cities of the States.

But young or old, this particular corner of town has plenty of character for anyone to appreciate. With famous restaurants and bars such as Sloppy Joe’s, Fogarty’s, The Bull and Whistle, and Rick’s Cafe, it’s a quintessentially American place to be, to hang out, and to have a great time. On offer you’ll find anything and everything: big city style bars, cowboy bars, even cabaret shows for the more adventurous!

Just like the rest of America too, it’s a veritable melting pot when it comes to the kind of things you can do and enjoy. Even in shopping, there really is something for everyone, with a mixture of high priced stores and bargain shops.

In the evening the district truly comes alive, and is a huge amount of fun for any visitors. Some people of course pay a brief visit when they arrive and get off the cruise in Florida, but many more like to take their time and appreciate everything there is on offer.

With the opportunity to rent an electric car or take a short cruise around the coast, you can relax and unwind and enjoy the tranquillity that some head here for, just as much as the heady and upbeat atmosphere when the crowds are out having fun.

For a fun escape or a quiet cosy retreat, lots of different people come here for many different things, and they find it.

If you’re heading off and exploring Duval Street and the other charming, exciting spots on offer in the beautiful sunny state of Florida, make sure you find a good deal on holiday insurance by heading to a site such as direct-travel.co.uk, as well as your flights and your accommodation. That way, you can enjoy the amazing experiences on offer and find out why so many people come here and rave about this much talked-about part of the globe.

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The Bull and whistle, the Garden of Eden

| Filed under Duval Street Duval Street Bars

The Whistle Bar, the Bull and the Garden of Eden are all located in the same building. Not really sure why the Whistle Bar and Bull are different bars, they seem more like the same bar on two floors but whatever. There is a great balcony at the Whistle Bar where you can look out over the street and people watch. The Bull downstairs often has some sort of live entertainment. The whole building tends to be pretty happening and all three bars are pretty popular. The Garden of Eden is located on the roof and is a clothing optional bar. No cell phones or cameras are allowed. Due to it being on the roof, weather can be a factor on how many people are up there and how naked they are. The Garden of Eden is a hot spot during Fantasy Fest and Spring Break.

Bull and Whistle

Garden of Eden

Margaritaville

| Filed under Duval Street Duval Street Bars Duval Street Restaurants

Margaritaville, another must see in Key West. A monument to the free spirited and alternative life style of Jimmy Buffet or a corporate shell, you decide. They do serve pretty good cheeseburgers, personally I won’t eat there again after seeing Corporate Jimmy Buffet sue everyone in sight. Corporate Buffet has sued people for using the phrase “cheeseburger in paradise”, “conch coconut telegraph”, and even sued Six Flags for having a club called “Carrothead Club” for young fans of Bugs Bunny, because it sounds like parrothead. I’ll probably get an angry letter for this but I think Jimmy Buffet sucks anyway.

yay! margaritaville

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Sloppy Joe’s and Captain Tony’s

| Filed under Duval Street Duval Street Bars

Sloppy Joe’s and Captain Tony’s, well Hemmingway lived in Key West for a couple years and ever since then Key West has been milking this for all it’s worth. Hemmingway’s favorite bar in Key West was Sloppy Joe’s and it has been an iconic place to go have a drink ever since. Apparently Sloppy Joe’s is not located where it used to be.  In Hemmingway’s day it was located where Captain Tony’s saloon is now. So you can either go have a drink where Hemmingway physically drank or you can go have a drink in the bar with the same name as where Hemmingway used to drink. Both bars are very popular especially with middle aged tourists. Captain Tony’s has a tree growing through the center of it, which is pretty neat. Sloppy Joe’s is bigger and sometimes has a lot of people in it. They both have live music sometimes.

Capt Tony's

Sloppy Joe's Bar

They are both kind of must sees when visiting Key West.

Simonton Beach

| Filed under Beaches Near Duval Street Duval Street

Another beach in close proximity to Duval street is Simonton Beach. It is located at the north end of Simonton street which runs parallel to duval street. It is a small beach and has a boat launch for small boats. It looks out over the harbor and can be a good place to sit and watch boats.  There is a small dock I see people fishing off of now and again, it would probably be a good spot to fish at night.

Beach at the end of Simonton Street

There are also bathrooms and changing rooms at the beach and some parking but the parking is very limited.

Harbor View at Simonton Beach

Why We Love Duval Street

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Key West is a small island city with a very diverse population.  While  certainly a wealthy community, there are also plenty of regular folk just trying to make a living in Paradise.  While there are lots of snowbirds here in winter, making the average age tilt toward the retirement generation, there’ s a vibrant youthful energy on Duval Street, with kids, twenty-somethings, rockers, skaters, and even a small underworld that’s kept closely in check by our friendly Key West Police department.

In short, Duval Street is a microcosm of a larger city, with many of the elements found only in larger metropolitan areas without the pitfalls that come with urbanization… like major crime and stress.  This is the start of a long list of reasons why we love Duval Street!

Stay with us and we’ll take you on a photo-video journey up and down Duval, from Key West’s South Beach to Mallory Square.  In addition to streetlife on Duval, you can check out bars, hotels, restaurants, shopping, and festivals.  It’s all here on one crazy street called Duval.