The Jewel of Florida is Naples

In 1880, John Stuart Williams founded Naples with the help of his business partner Walter N. Haldeman. Williams was a former confederate general and a state senator for Kentucky. Haldeman published the Louisville Courier-Journal. The city got its name from its similarity to the beauty of the bay of Naples, Italy. It took until the late 1920s for development of Naples to start.

One of the town’s unique features is that there are numerous canals wandering through the city. This means it is possible to have a boat as the family’s “second car.” Floridians love being on the water because the weather is so nice that a boat trip is always inviting. In modern times, there are now plenty of highly desirable beachfront condominiums in Naples.

The population of Naples is only about twenty thousand people. The average person is about 60 years old and about one-third of the residents are over 65. Naples is very popular with retirees because the lifestyle is comfortable.

 

Naples is popular with ecotourists because it is close to the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge that is a bird-watchers paradise. Nature-lovers find many things of interest in Naples and the surrounding area. Other places to explore include, Big Cypress National Preserve, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and Picayune Strand State Forest. A lovely two and one-half mile boardwalk winds its way through the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary offering a wonderful day of nice walking exercise for good health or a place to have a picnic.

In Naples, it never gets hotter than 100°F, with the average annual temperature ranging from the 70s to 80°F. There are usually nice ocean breezes with some occasional cool tropical rains. Because Naples is on the Gulf (western) side of Florida, it has ten miles of beaches with pristine white-colored sand. The local authorities keep the beaches in immaculate condition to attract tourists.

If shopping is on the agenda, then the open-air mall located at The Village on Venetian Bay is a must-see and a visit to another open-air mall called Waterside Shops is delightful. There are wonderful antique stores and art galleries downtown. With more than eighty golf courses in the area, Naples is the golf capital of the world.

Naples has something for everyone. It is popular with tourists. Many who visit subsequently take up residence in Naples and become part of this wonderful community.