Discover Key West through a variety of themes, from the history of the Custom House and lighthouse keepers to rescued sea turtles. As you plan your stay, you can organize your visits by focus—for example, cultural history, maritime heritage or marine life. Specific tour and opening times can help you fit individual visits into your schedule.
Custom House and Fort East Martello
The Key West Museum of Art & History is housed in the Custom House. The building opened in April 1891 and housed Key West’s customs offices, the county courthouse and the post office. After restoration work was completed, the Key West Art & Historical Society reopened it as a museum in 1999. A visit therefore brings together the museum’s themes and the history of a building that initially served several public functions.
The Fort East Martello Museum focuses on a different aspect of history. There, you can see a collection of Civil War relics; the museum also presents the history of wrecking and cigar making in Key West. These themes offer different perspectives on the city’s past: one focuses on Civil War remnants, while the others explore local economic history.
Both museums provide daily visiting hours to help you plan: the Key West Museum of Art & History is open Monday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m. The Fort East Martello Museum is also open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day of the week, with last admission at 4:30 p.m. Check the official websites for current hours before your visit.
Lighthouse History and Hemingway’s Cats
The Key West Lighthouse & Keeper’s Quarters explores maritime heritage and the lives of lighthouse keepers and their families. Visitors can climb 88 steps to the top of the lighthouse and explore artifacts, photographs and accounts from the keepers and their families. If you’re particularly interested in the building, this visit combines the climb with insights into the people connected with the lighthouse.
One special option is the Lighthouse Sunset Experience: weather permitting, it includes 90 minutes of exclusive access to the grounds, museum and tower during sunset. The tour at the Hemingway Home & Museum follows a different schedule: it lasts 20 to 30 minutes and starts every 15 minutes. Check the official website for current tour information before your trip so you can plan using the latest details.
The Hemingway Home & Museum grounds are also home to cats descended from Ernest Hemingway’s original six-toed cat, Snow White. This detail adds a story about the animals living on the grounds to your museum visit. You can weigh up a clearly timed tour against your interest in this distinctive cat tradition when planning your visit.
Aquarium, Presidential History and Gardens
At the Key West Aquarium, the 50,000-gallon Atlantic Shores tank houses nurse sharks, tarpon, groupers and jacks. A tour also explores the rescue stories and care of four rescued sea turtles: Rocky, Lola, Spike and Hector. The tour content may change. The aquarium thus focuses both on the marine animals mentioned and on the rescue and care of individual animals.
The Truman Little White House offers a tour of Florida’s only presidential museum. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum adds another option to the cultural lineup with a behind-the-scenes tour offered twice daily, Monday through Sunday. Check the official website for current tour information before your visit. The two offerings differ in focus: one takes you through a presidential museum, while the other goes behind the scenes at a maritime museum.
If you’d like to include somewhere with gardens as well as museums, the West Martello Towers offer another point of interest: a Civil War-era site with secluded tropical gardens. Their combination of history and garden landscape sets them apart from museum collections and guided visits.
Discover more destinations: Sugarloaf Key, Marathon Shores, Marathon, Cudjoe Key, Summerland Key, Big Pine Key, Little Torch Key, Duck Key.
For the broader travel overview: Monroe.
