Sarasota County

Sarasota

The region's cultural centre and its most walkable downtown, with the barrier islands sitting directly offshore.

Mixed / condoMostly
~19 minTo Siesta Key
SRQ, ~11 minAirport
Sarasota skyline over the bay
The Sarasota skyline over the bay. Cullen Morgan · CC BY 4.0
Longboat Key shoreline
Longboat Key in the late light, one of the barrier islands off Sarasota. Hall & Hoolihan

The shape of it

A compact, walkable downtown on the bay, ringed by established neighbourhoods, with a chain of barrier islands just offshore: Lido, St. Armands, Longboat, Bird, Siesta and Casey Key. The arts institutions are concentrated here, and they are the reason a lot of people choose Sarasota over the alternatives.

Housing

The most varied and generally the most expensive of the five. Downtown is largely condo, from mid rise to high rise on the bayfront. Inland are older single family neighbourhoods on smaller lots. On the keys, prices climb steeply and insurance and flood considerations become a much bigger part of the equation.

Getting around

Sarasota Bradenton International is about ten minutes from downtown, which is unusually close for a city this size. The bottleneck is the islands. A handful of bridges carry everything, and in season the drive onto Siesta or Longboat takes far longer than the mileage suggests.

Worth knowing

The Ringling is a 66 acre bayfront estate with the art museum, the circus museum and Ca' d'Zan, the Ringling mansion. The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is the purple building on the bayfront that everyone uses as a landmark. St. Armands Circle, laid out by John Ringling in 1917, is the island shopping and dining hub.

Worth knowing

At a glance

County seat
Sarasota County
Spring training
Baltimore Orioles, Ed Smith Stadium
Airport
SRQ, Sarasota Bradenton International

Want the honest version of Sarasota, including what we would flag before you commit? Ask us. We answer with specifics.

Ask about Sarasota
See it on the map Start the questionnaire

Follow along