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We are back in Florida, on what is often referred to as the ‘Culture Coast’, the Bradenton/Sarasota area spanning the Gulf Coast. The area has acquired this name for all of the visual and performing arts offerings and distinctive cultural experiences it offers. Here you may enjoy world class museums, art galleries and performing arts venues as well as art fairs around town, not to mention the usual beaches, waterfront resorts and restaurants that coastal Florida offers.
Having narrowly escaped the snowstorms pounding down on the Northeast, we are always happy to be able to spend a few months here in the winter. And while the temps here haven’t been what we would have hoped our Florida vacation would offer us, that has allotted time to re-visit some of our favorite sites in the area, the top of which is always The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
If you have never been, let me paint you a picture. Imagine 66 acres of lush bayfront grounds — a certified arboretum — anchored by a pink Venetian-Gothic palazzo that a circus baron built for he and his wife in the 1920s. Now add a world-class art museum housing one of the largest collections of Peter Paul Rubens outside of Europe. Throw in a Circus Museum unlike anything else on earth. And if that’s not enough, tuck a genuine 18th-century Italian theater into the mix. That, in essence, is The Ringling: one of the most improbably glorious cultural institutions in the United States, quietly dazzling visitors in a city famous for its sunsets.
Ca’ d’Zan: A Palazzo on the Bay
Start with Ca’ d’Zan. The name means “House of John” in Venetian dialect, and John Ringling — he of the famous circus dynasty — built it in 1926 as a winter retreat for himself and his beloved wife Mable. One look at this terracotta-and-cream confection sitting right on the edge of Sarasota Bay, and you understand immediately that John Ringling had a flair for the theatrical that extended well beyond the big top.
The mansion is part Venetian Gothic, part Baroque, part pure American extravagance — and it works, somehow, with a kind of giddy confidence. The views from the waterfront terrace are the sort that stop you mid-sentence. I’ve stood there more than once, watching the light shift over the bay, thinking about the grand parties the Ringling’s must have hosted on this site during the roaring 20’s!
Admission to a self-guided tour of the first floor is included with general museum admission, and I’d encourage you not to skip it. The rooms are a wonderland of antique furnishings, hand-painted ceilings, and the kind of decor that makes you feel you’ve wandered into a very elegant fever dream. The upper floors have been closed for renovation from two different hurricanes since 2024. Renovations are expected to continue through 2026. A call ahead of time to see when they will be complete is advised. But, a visit to the first floor is still worth the trip.
The Museum of Art: Baroque Grandeur and So Much More
John Ringling was, among many things, a serious collector. His Museum of Art — which he built to house his personal collection and opened to the public in 1931 — reflects both his grand ambitions and his genuinely discerning eye. The permanent collection leans heavily into the Old Masters, and the Rubens galleries alone are worth crossing the state for: sweeping, dramatic canvases that fill entire walls and remind you why Baroque painting was never meant for small rooms.
But the museum doesn’t rest on its 17th-century laurels. Rotating special exhibitions bring in contemporary work, often with a welcome diversity of voices and perspectives. Right now, through April 2026, you can catch Nuestro Vaivén, a fascinating exhibition pairing Latin artists from across South Florida with local Latin community leaders. There’s also an exhibition of abstract sculpture in wood, steel, copper, and bronze by acclaimed artists including Mark di Suvero. And from the permanent collection, we enjoyed an exhibition of photography. The programming has real range — a quality I deeply admire in any cultural institution.
One practical tip: the Museum of Art offers free admission on Mondays (the Circus Museum and Ca’ d’Zan have their own pricing that day, but still). And every Thursday, “Art After Five” opens the galleries from 5 to 8 PM at a discounted rate — a lovely way to experience the collection in the cooler evening hours.
The Circus Museum: Pure American Magic
I know what you’re thinking. The Circus Museum — cute, sure, but maybe skip it if you’re short on time? Friends, do not skip it. The Circus Museum is extraordinary.
It’s actually spread across two buildings, and they offer two quite different experiences. The Howard Bros. Circus Model at the Tibbals Learning Center is the showstopper: an astonishing, meticulously hand-crafted scale miniature of the circus at its 1930s peak, complete with 55,000 tiny figures and hundreds of intricately painted wagons. You can spend far longer staring at it than you ever planned. The adjacent galleries hold actual parade wagons — elaborately carved and painted behemoths — alongside costumes, calliopes, vintage posters, and John Ringling’s own private Pullman railroad car.
There’s also a new gallery celebrating the era of modern circus that began in 1967, when Irvin Feld purchased Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey — a chapter of American spectacle that deserves its own moment in the spotlight. For anyone who grew up going to the circus, this entire museum is an emotional experience as much as an educational one.
The Grounds: 66 Acres Worth Wandering
Grounds and garden access — including the Glass Pavilion — is available for just $5 per adult, which may be the best five dollars you’ll spend in Sarasota. Bring your camera. The light in the late afternoon is something else entirely.
Planning Your Visit: A Few Things to Know
The Ringling is located at 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, and parking is free — a minor miracle by any standard. General museum admission (covering the art museum, circus museum, gardens, and first-floor Ca’ d’Zan access) runs $45 for adults; seniors pay $27, and children 6–17 are $20. We bought museum memberships when we were here last year, and renewed them for another year with this visit. The museum membership pays for itself after a few visits, and offers discounts to the on-site restaurant, coffee shop and museum gift shop.
My honest advice: budget more time than you think you need. Many visitors — myself included — find that one day isn’t quite enough if you want to linger properly in each space. The campus rewards slowness. Come with comfortable shoes, a willingness to be surprised, and perhaps a picnic to eat in the gardens. Or, if you prefer, you can enjoy a light lunch in their on-site restaurant, The Grillroom.
The Ringling is officially the State Art Museum of Florida, and it carries that designation with a sense of responsibility and genuine ambition. But what makes it special — what keeps drawing us back — is something harder to quantify: a feeling that John and Mable Ringling’s love for art, for beauty, for the sheer improbable joy of a spectacular show, has somehow soaked into the very soil of those 66 acres. You feel it the moment you walk in.
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The Ringling | 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, FL 34243 | ringling.org
