Sarasota

Sarasota is the Gulf Coast city that never had to choose between culture and beach. The Ringling, the opera, and a real downtown sit five minutes from Siesta Key sand, and the bayfront is lined with everything from 1920s Mediterranean revival homes to new glass towers.

West of the Trail is the address people ask for: Harbor Acres, Bird Key, and the Indian Beach bungalows. East of town, Palmer Ranch and the Lakewood Ranch corridor add newer construction and golf. Condo buyers split between downtown high-rises with rooftop pools and the low-rise Gulf-front buildings on Siesta and Longboat, and pricing tracks the water almost exactly.