Cultural Resources and Activities in SW Florida

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Over the past decade, the arts have transformed southwest Florida into one of the state’s most cosmopolitan areas. Audiences delight in our performing arts scene, where talented local actors bring life to Broadway favorites and new plays at intimate community playhouses. Fine arts lovers will enjoy a host of exceptional galleries and studios. The galleries are bursting with brilliant renderings of the picturesque local environment, unique wildlife and breathtaking sunsets. In addition to the natural selections, you’ll find a wide variety of modernism, cubism, impressionism and abstract arts. 

The centerpiece of southwest Florida performing arts is Fort Myers’ Barbara B Mann Performing Arts Hall. For 20 years the venue has played host to the most popular shows and performing artists in the country. Cats, Mama Mia!, The Producers, Movin’ Out. You name it, they’ve had it. And if the show you’re looking for hasn’t played yet, chances are, it will. 

In Naples, the Philharmonic Center for the Arts is the premier performing arts hall in Southwest Florida, hosting more than 400 events a year including world-class dance, opera, classical and popular music and Broadway musicals. The Phil features four art galleries and two sculpture gardens. The Collector's Corner offers an outstanding variety of art and rare gifts for sale. 

Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall

Call (239)481-4849 - View Map
Home of Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. A variety of quality touring productions including Broadway shows, musicals, plays, dance and ballet programs, as well as concerts and other performances by national touring groups
 

Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium

Call (239) 275-3435 - View Map
A trip to the Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium offers visitors keen insight on southwest Florida's natural history. Daily educational programs allow visitors an up-close-and-personal view of some of the area’s wildlife, including alligators, crocodiles and snakes. The stars are always in line for an adventure to the only planetarium south of Bradenton and west of Miami.
 

Caribbean Gardens: The Zoo in Naples

Call (239) 262-5409 - View Map
Gulfshore Life recently named Caribbean Gardens "Best Place to Take Kids" in the annual Best of the Gulfshore Awards. A natural path almost one mile in length winds past rare and beautiful animals residing within a 52-acre jungle of exotic plants first planted in 1919 with a fascinating history.
 

Collier County Museum

Call (239) 774-8476 - View Map
Learn about mastodons and fierce saber cats, Calusa and Seminole Indians, and the rugged pioneers who settled one of America’s last frontiers at the Collier County Museum. Visitors will enjoy five acres of native gardens, two early Naples cottages, swamp buggies and a logging locomotive.
 

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Call (239) 348-9151 - View Map
The Corkscrew Swamp is a magnificent natural attraction with cathedral-like cypress forest and abundant resident wildlife. The swamp offers some of the best wildlife and nature viewing and photographic experiences in the world.