Sarasota is a pretty dog-friendly city when it comes right down to it. Most sidewalk cafes and restaurants will allow you to sit with your pet, and many shops and boutiques don’t mind if a well-behaved pet accompanies you while shopping. Below are some of our favorite pet-friendly destinations. Go out and enjoy the summer on two legs and four!

Neighborhood Strolls

In the Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores neighborhood in north Sarasota, walkers can admire historic homes, the occasional peacock, and amazing sunsets over Longboat Key across the Bay. Two on-leash, dog-friendly parks serve the neighborhoods: Sapphire Shores park and Indian Beach park. 

Nestled in another beautiful historic neighborhood, Laurel Park, are two parks worth visiting for

You’ve spent months checking and re-checking your to-do list. You’ve touched up the paint on your walls, shined your hardwood floors, steam-cleaned your carpets, replaced all the light bulbs in the house. You’ve fixed a leaky faucet. You’ve planted new shrubs. Your house is finally ready to sell, and you are exhausted. Getting your home ready to put on the market is stressful enough; a great Realtor will juggle the intricacies and phases of your home’s sale efficiently and reduce your stress. Here are six signs that you hired a great Realtor.

1. Your agent listens to you. Any competent agent knows the business of selling homes, but a great Realtor takes time to sit with you in your home to discuss your goals. It’s your house, after all. Chances

Not all island living is created equally. If you're looking to find somewhere to nest on one of the keys around Sarasota, it's important that you understand each island's unique personality. So, imagine for a moment that you're at one of those speed dating things. Every five minutes another island comes and sits across from you, wanting to take you home.

First up, Anna Maria is really cute. She's got an incredibly charming personality and a lot of creative flair. She says she's into sandy toes and keeping things nice and natural. She doesn't seem like the kind to put on airs, and she's not big into mainstream chains and such. She likes the small-town vibe and wants to keep it that way.

Next, Longboat Key gracefully glides into the chair, taking

Photo by Piers van der Merwe/OnStandby.

If you're a visitor or new arrival to Sarasota, one of the most satisfying things you can do is take a downtown stroll from Five Points Park down South Pineapple Avenue, past the taller buildings and through the roundabout, until you come to one of the most enchanting, tucked-away spots in Florida: historic Burns Square.

The Burns Square district is a treasure trove of Old Florida architecture mixed with an eclectic array of shops, restaurants, and culture that seems somehow hidden away in plain view of the soaring condos and gleaming bank towers of downtown Sarasota. The area gets its name from a narrow side street off of South Pineapple where a collection of tightly-packed Mediterranean Revival bungalows