6 Best Sights in Fort Myers, The Lower Gulf Coast

Fort Myers's premier attraction pays homage to two of America's most ingenious inventors: Thomas A. Edison, who gave the world the stock ticker, the incandescent lamp, and the phonograph, among other inventions; and his friend and neighbor, automaker Henry Ford. Donated to the city by Edison's widow, his once 12-acre estate has been expanded into a remarkable 25 acres, with three homes, two caretaker cottages, a laboratory, botanical gardens, and a museum. The laboratory contains the same gadgets and gizmos as when Edison last stepped foot into it, and you can see many of his inventions, along with historic photographs and memorabilia, in the museum.

Edison traveled south from New Jersey and devoted much of his time here to inventing things (there are 1,093 patents to his name), experimenting with rubber for friend and frequent visitor Harvey Firestone, and planting hundreds of plant species collected around the world. Next door to Edison's two identical homes is Ford's "Mangoes," the more modest seasonal home of Edison's fellow inventor. The property's oldest building, the Edison Caretaker's House, dates from 1860. Guided tours and self-guided audio tours are available. One admission covers the homes of both men; separate museum-and-laboratory-only tickets and botanical-garden tour tickets are also available.

Kids love the wonderful interactive exhibits at this lively museum–aquarium combo that explores technology, physics, weather, and other science topics. Check out the stingrays and other marine life in the aquariums, touch tanks, and the USS Mohawk artificial reef tank featured on Animal Planet’s show Tanked. Feed the fish, turtles, and swans in the outdoor lagoon; see a tarantula, python, hissing cockroach, juvenile alligator, and other live critters in the Animal Lab; dig for dinosaur bones; watch a 3-D movie in the theater; take part in a hands-on Animal Encounter demonstration, and touch a cloud. Other highlights include the Mini Museum early childhood area, Backyard Nature, aquaponics area, Nano Lab, Idea Lab engineering design center, Build-Your-Own-Coaster, and Science of Motion. History exhibits include underwater plane wrecks, a Columbian mammoth, and giant ground sloth, as well as a replica Cracker House.

Get a look at Florida's native animals and habitats. Boardwalks and trails lead through subtropical wetlands, a birds-of-prey aviary, and a screened-in butterfly house. There are snake, alligator, butterfly, and other live-animal demonstrations several times daily. Museum exhibits include an Exotic Species room and the Insectarium. The domed, state-of-the-art, 90-seat planetarium hosts astronomy shows daily and special laser shows.

Here you might glimpse Florida's most famous, yet often hard to spot, marine mammal. When Gulf waters drop to 68°F or below—usually from November to March—the sea cows congregate in these waters, which are warmed by the outflow of a towering nearby power plant. Pause at any of the three observation decks (the first nearest the outflow and last at the lagoon usually yield the most sightings, as does the fishing pier) and watch for bubbles. Hydrophones on the last deck allow you to eavesdrop on their songs. Periodically, one of these gentle giants—mature adults weigh an average of 1,000 pounds—will surface. Calusa Blueway Outfitters runs the visitor center/gift shop and offers kayak and canoe rentals, as well as clinics and tours to paddle the canals and get a closer look.

Majestic royal palms, some planted by Thomas Edison, line one of the city's most scenic streets and are the root of its "City of Palms" moniker. The boulevard runs from downtown to Summerlin Road, which takes you to the barrier islands.

The River District has become a haven for independent galleries, including this space for edgy, up-and-coming visual artists, musical acts, films, and theater. Once an abandoned post office circa 1933, it was transformed by Florida Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization, in the early 2000s. Even if your taste runs more to classical works than contemporary, a visit is worthwhile for the neoclassical revival facade: eight towering coral-rock Ionic columns give way to swaths of intricately detailed window screens. The friendly staff is happy to answer questions about the building's history.