Going to Sarasota

What to do in Sarasota

by Haley Shapley

You may have missed your chance to run away and join the circus, but it’s never too late to visit Sarasota, which became the winter headquarters of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1920s. Owner John Ringling’s presence is still felt in this Florida Gulf Coast town, with a trio of attractions to his name. The Circus Museum invites you to step right up and explore big top culture, with displays of circus posters, sequined costumes, baggage wagons, and more. At The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, see the incredible personal art collection from this showman, who acquired paintings and sculptures from greats such as Titian, Rubens, and El Greco. And the Cà d’Zan mansion, the Ringlings winter home, is open for tours. It’s a 56-room Gilded Age masterpiece built in the Venetian Gothic style.

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