Visiting Naples, United States: Top Sights on Foot

Looking for things to do in Naples, Florida? This Gulf Coast city combines historic Old Naples, white-sand beaches, waterfront shopping, museums, galleries, and quiet green spaces. Its compact downtown makes it especially enjoyable to explore on foot, from Fifth Avenue South to the beach and Naples Pier. Neywo also offers a free Naples audio guide covering 14 narrated places, with stories available in 11 languages.

Naples is in Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is distinct from Naples in Italy, but its name reflects the comparison early developers made with the Italian city.

What to See in Naples

The best places to visit in Naples range from historic buildings and museums to beaches, parks, and waterfront districts. These are some of the city’s highlights.

Fifth Avenue South

Fifth Avenue South is the heart of Downtown Naples. The avenue developed from a modest business hub in the 1920s into one of the city’s best-known destinations for dining, shopping, art, and entertainment.

Boutiques, designer stores, specialty shops, and galleries line the avenue. Art lovers can browse places such as Native Visions Gallery and Englishman Fine Art, while restaurants provide plenty of options for an afternoon meal or dinner before a walk toward the Gulf.

Third Street South

Third Street South is one of the most elegant parts of Old Naples and is often called the Birthplace of Naples. It sits close to Naples Pier and the Gulf of Mexico, with historic architecture, courtyards, antique fountains, and tropical landscaping.

The district is known for luxury shopping, fine jewelry, galleries, cafés, and restaurants with outdoor seating. It also has the highest concentration of art galleries in Southwest Florida, making it a rewarding area to explore even if you are not shopping.

Palm Cottage and the Naples Historical Society

Palm Cottage is the oldest house in Naples, dating from 1895. The Naples Historical Society operates the building as a historic house museum, offering a look at the city’s earliest years.

The cottage was built for Walter N. Haldeman, one of Naples’ founders and a key figure behind the construction of Naples Pier. Its handmade concrete and tabby mortar walls use crushed shells, sand, and water. The house was designed as a winter retreat and rental connected with the Naples Hotel, with 12-foot ceilings and several bedrooms.

A visit also includes the Norris Gardens, whose five themed areas complement the historic house.

Gardner Colby Gallery and the Olde Naples Building

The Gardner Colby Gallery occupies part of a building with an unusually varied history. Constructed in 1921, the Olde Naples Building originally housed Naples’ first town hall, City Council chambers, and courthouse.

Over the years, it also served as the city’s first pharmacy, playhouse, library, movie theater, post office, real estate office, doctor’s office, and church. The building is therefore more than a gallery setting: it is a surviving record of the many civic and commercial roles that helped shape Old Naples.

Naples Depot Museum

The Naples Depot Museum is housed in a restored Seaboard Air Line Railway passenger station. Its exhibits explain how transportation influenced the development of Southwest Florida during the railroading boom of the 1920s.

The collection includes Seminole dugout canoes, a mule wagon, an antique swamp buggy, restored railroad cars, and preserved railway artifacts. Among them are an original 1928 railroad depot, a 1947 club car, a 1920s baggage car, and an early-1900s caboose. Interactive displays make the museum accessible for visitors interested in local history, engineering, and travel.

Naples Pier

Naples Pier has extended into the Gulf of Mexico since 1888. Located at the end of 12th Avenue South, it forms the focal point of Naples Beach, where white sand meets the Gulf.

The pier is a popular place for fishing, and the city’s bulk fishing license means visitors can fish there without needing an individual permit. Ospreys and wading birds are often visible, while dolphins may appear offshore. The pier is also a natural place to experience the coast at sunset.

Lowdermilk Park

Lowdermilk Park offers a broad beachfront setting along the Gulf, with 1,000 feet of white sand and calm waters. Its facilities include two playgrounds, picnic tables, a duck pond, sand volleyball courts, restrooms, outdoor showers, and a food concession stand.

Beach equipment such as paddleboards and kayaks can be rented at the park. The historic Naples Pier is visible in the distance and can be reached by walking along the waterfront. At sunset, visitors gather here to watch the sun disappear over the Gulf, with the possibility of seeing the rare green flash.

Bayfront Place

At the foot of Fifth Avenue South, Bayfront Place brings together waterfront dining, shopping, and European-inspired architecture overlooking Naples Bay. Colorful façades and brick-paved walkways give the area a distinctive setting.

The shops include boutiques, galleries, and specialty stores, while the restaurants range from casual waterfront cafés to more formal dining. Bayfront Place also works as a gateway to Old Naples, making it a convenient starting point for exploring Downtown Naples.

Tin City

Tin City preserves the vintage character of Old Florida on the edge of Naples Bay. The tin-roofed buildings began as a working center for fishing, clam shelling, and boat construction in the 1920s.

Seven original buildings were transformed into a marketplace in the 1970s. Today, the district includes nearly 70 specialty shops selling handmade jewelry, local crafts, nautical gifts, clothing, and regional products. Visitors can also find ice cream, cookies, wine made from Florida-grown grapes, and waterfront dining.

The Village Shops on Venetian Bay

The Village Shops on Venetian Bay, known as the Jewel of Naples, is a waterfront shopping and dining destination with Mediterranean-inspired architecture. Meandering courtyards, Venetian-style façades, and views across the bay create a relaxed coastal atmosphere.

The complex has over 45 boutique retailers, including fashion stores, jewelry shops, fine-art galleries, and specialty businesses. Dining ranges from casual options to fine restaurants serving seafood, steaks, Italian dishes, and modern American cuisine, with outdoor seating available at many venues.

Revs Institute

Revs Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to automotive history, research, and education. Its Miles Collier Collection includes over 100 historically significant automobiles built between 1896 and 1995, including rare cars and race cars.

The institute explores how the automobile influenced modern society, while also presenting the history of engineering, racing, preservation, and design. The collection spans three levels and is arranged in four themed sections. Many of the vehicles remain operational and participate in historic races, museum loans, and preservation projects.

Fred W. Coyle Freedom Park

Fred W. Coyle Freedom Park is a 50-acre green space centered on a 5-acre lake. Boardwalks and trails extend for about 3,500 feet through freshwater marshes, wetlands, and forested hammocks.

Educational plaques identify native plants such as pickerel weed, swamp lily, and canna lily. The restored wetlands are also home to cypress trees, pond apple trees, and mangroves. Great blue herons, ibis, green herons, red-shouldered hawks, owls, raccoons, river otters, turtles, and alligators may be seen in the park.

Cambier Park

Cambier Park is a 12.84-acre green space just south of Fifth Avenue South. It includes the Arthur L. Allen Tennis Center, five shuffleboard courts, two bocce courts, and a softball field.

The park is also home to the von Liebig Art Center, where the Naples Art Association presents free exhibits and workshops. The Norris Community Center hosts dance classes, theatrical performances, and other community activities. Art in the Park gives artists a regular opportunity to display and sell their work.

Coastland Center

Coastland Center is Naples’ only enclosed regional shopping center and has served as a major commercial destination since 1976. The mall includes Macy’s, JCPenney, and Dillard’s as anchor stores, along with specialty retailers and a food court.

Its history reflects the changing retail landscape of Naples, with several expansions, store rebrandings, and modernizations since its opening.

Explore Naples with Neywo

Neywo’s free Naples audio guide includes 14 narrated places, with narration available in 11 languages. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace. There is no group and no schedule: you can explore independently and stop whenever you want.

Download Neywo and turn your visit into a self-guided walking tour of Naples, from Old Naples and its historic buildings to the Gulf beaches, museums, parks, and waterfront districts. If you are continuing through Florida, you can also discover Ocala, Miami, or Key West.