Admittedly, spending only 24 hours in the ‘Nation’s Oldest City’ is definitely not enough. Also known as ‘The Ancient City,’ St. Augustine was founded in 1565 and is the USA’s longest continually inhabited European-founded city. You probably know about it because of the Fountain of Youth or the Castillo de San Marcos, but I realized there’s so much more to it!

My 24 hours in St. Augustine actually started on Vilano Beach. I was driving south towards St. Augustine and decided I wanted to drive along the coast rather than the interstate. Trying to change it up, you know? Well I am so glad I did – I wouldn’t have ended up on Vilano otherwise! I stopped for dinner at Aunt Kate’s, on the west side of the peninsula. Lately I’ve become mildly obsessed with sunsets, so dinner followed by a sunset was a win-win.

Since I was already there, I drove over to the actual beach to see what it was like. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Turns out, Vilano beach is calm, quiet and pretty much dead at night. I laid down, enjoying the crashing waves and relatively cool night. Oh yeah – the weather is so much less humid than South Florida! It was delicious.

The next morning meant getting up early to beat the crowds at the Castillo de San Marcos. I checked out of my Airbnb and headed out. I couldn’t actually find a recommendation for breakfast online, so I meandered about the historic district and ended up at Brunch at the Casablanca Inn.

After fueling up, I headed over to the Castillo de San Marcos. I wanted to beat the crowds and school groups that were beginning to arrive. It’s wonderful that they get to travel here – I made the same trip myself in fourth grade – but four groups of 30 kids makes picture-taking kind of difficult.

The Castillo experience was kind of odd for me. I remembered it being so much larger and imposing than it was, because the last time I visited I was maybe four feet tall! Still amazing that the structure remains to this day and is so well-preserved!

From there, I roamed the streets a bit. Starting at the Old Spanish Trail Zero Milestone, I walked through the Old City Gates and down St. George street. By 11 am the street was already bustling with locals and tourists alike. I window shopped a bit but continued walking until I reached the Cathedral.

 

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine is the oldest parish in the US, though it has been renovated a few times due to several fires and general lack of maintenance. I grew up Catholic, so one of my favorite things to do is go to Catholic cathedrals everywhere I go. Typically I stop to pray as well. My childhood church was nice and all, but there’s nothing like praying in a cathedral. There’s something about how small I feel when I’m sitting there.

After visiting the cathedral, I walked the Plaza de la Constitucion up to the riverwalk and back towards the Castillo, where I’d parked my car. It felt a little strange, going through all these historic buildings in a city flanked by a marina full of fancy 21st century boats. At that moment, I wished I had more time and my bike. The sidewalks and bridges are perfect for biking along the water!

Overall I enjoyed St. Augustine, but it was definitely a weird clash of cultures. The city was founded by Spain, so many of the names are in Spanish, but it has such an American feel. I expected to hear more Spanish and see more Spanish foods, but that wasn’t the case. The beach being so close and so clean was a huge plus. St. Augustine would be a great way to have a relaxed vacation while throwing some learning in too!

Have you ever been to St. Augustine? How’d you like it?