Naples & Marco Island
South Gulf Coast of Florida

Nestled between the golden sands of the Gulf Coast and the sub-tropical Everglades, Naples offers a refined escape from everyday life. With its manicured lawns, designer clothing stores, art galleries and restaurants, Naples has an air of sophistication about it. Originally settled in the late 1860s, word of Naples clement climate, along with the abundance of fish and game, soon spread until a group of wealthy businessmen from Kentucky purchased virtually the entire town.

A WINTER PLAYGROUND AND THE REALIZATION OF A DREAM...
One of the first things these businessmen did was to build a 600 foot pier, unusually shaped like a 'T', which allowed large ships to dock alongside and although it has been destroyed on more than one occasion, it has continued to be rebuilt in the same way. The town gained a reputation as a winter playground, attracting such noted visitors as Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, Greta Garbo and Garry Cooper. As Naples expanded it caught the attention of streetcar advertising mogul, Barron G. Collier who, in 1911, purchased over one million acres of swampland and the majority of Naples itself. Collier had the vision that Florida’s West Coast could experience the same boom that the East Coast was enjoying - the only thing lacking was the road and rail infrastructure. Convinced his vision was the way forward, Collier spent more than $1 million of his own money building the Tamiami Trail - a paved highway linking Naples with both Tampa and Miami. The project was completed in 1926, but sadly Collier never lived to see the realization of his dream.

A MUST FOR THE LOVER OF THE PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS...
Located in Naples, the Philharmonic Centre for the Arts is a non-profit organization seeking to enrich the culture of Southwest Florida with its program of performance and visual arts. It is home to the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra - an 85-piece orchestra which is recognized as one of the top emerging orchestras in the country. Striving to grow in artistic excellence, the Orchestra has accompanied such legends as Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, Kiri Te Kanawa and Frederica von Stade. A 30,000 square foot art museum was added in November 2000, with 15 galleries, a glass domed conservatory and entrance gates designed by the renowned artist, Albert Paley. Dedicated to displaying world-class paintings, sculptures, drawings and other art forms, the Philharmonic Centre for the Arts is a truly unique venue.

A SUB TROPICAL OASIS...
The Naples Botanical Gardens, with its stunning subtropical gardens, is the ideal place to spend an afternoon getting lost among the exotic and fragrant displays. The gardens were founded in 1993 when a group of local residents had a dream of creating a world-class garden - the project grew steadily until in March 2000, the Harvey Kapnick Family and the Kapnick Family Foundation gifted the gardens $5 million. The gardens expanded - a 160 acre site was purchased - and the founders' dreams started to become a reality. Today the gardens include a 1.5 acre subtropical oasis backed by the Sunset Mosaic Wall, a butterfly house and new in 2006, the Florida Uplands Preserve - a 30 acre site comprising hundreds of varieties of unique native plants and species.

ACCESS POINT TO THE EVERGLADES ...
Marco Island, a pristine sub-tropical island, is the gateway to the land of Ten Thousand Islands - a collection of mangrove islands stretching for 60 miles along the coast. Located at the western entrance to the Everglades, Marco Island is ideally situated - only 30 minutes from the world-class shopping and fine dining of Naples - while being the ideal access point to the backwaters of the Everglades.

GO PADDLING AND GET UP CLOSE TO THE FISH AND BIRDS - TRULY A NATURALIST'S PARADISE...
The Ten Thousand Islands form part of Everglades National Park, which covers 1.5 million acres but only accounts for one fifth of the entire Everglades. The Mangrove forests are important to the marine environment - the leaves and branches fall into the water and are transformed into detritus, which forms the start of the food chain. The Mangroves provide a protected habitat, breeding grounds and nursery areas to many marine animals, while at the same time protecting the shoreline from wind, waves and floods. Home to more than 200 species of fish and over 189 species of birds who call this area home at some time of the year, it is no wonder that the area has become a naturalist’s paradise. One of the best places in the 10,000 Islands to rent canoes or kayaks and a good place to join a guided paddling excursion is Everglade City. Don’t let the name confuse you as it is more of a small town than a city with only 500 people, but it is filled with southern Florida charm.

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