Situated beneath a canopy of live oak, palm, and pine trees in north central Florida is Gainesville, home to the state’s flagship institution, the University of Florida. Named a “New Ivy” and one of the top 5 public schools in the country by Forbes Magazine, the University of Florida has a rich academic history to go along with athletic prowess as a charter member of the Southeastern Conference, which began play in 1933. Florida has captured 48 national championships across all sports and is the lone member of the SEC to win a national championship in all 3 major revenue sports (baseball, basketball, and football) and one of just two schools in America (UCLA) to accomplish that feat in the full integration era.

While the University of Florida’s academic and athletic excellence has helped make Gainesville the largest city from a population standpoint standing between Jacksonville and Orlando, the city of Gainesville has helped shape the experience of any student, family, or professional that calls the place home. With Florida’s preeminent research university, vibrant food options, miles and miles of nature trails, and a famous and diverse music scene Gainesville has a little to offer everyone that visits.

Here are 10 things you must do when visiting Gainesville, whether you are in town for a football game, academics, or passing through on your way to one of Florida’s many tourist destinations.

10. Swim, scuba dive, or float at Ginnie Springs

Clear, cold (72 degrees year-round) and clean water flows through the limestone channels in north Florida’s soil to the surface, creating cold water springs that have lined the northern part of Florida for hundreds of years. Among the best of these natural springs is Ginnie Springs, which sits on the Santa Fe River in the neighboring town of High Springs. Ginnie Springs is one of the clearest springs in Florida, making it ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving. Under the surface, you’ll find a majestic world with huge grottoes, colorful and diverse fish life, and millions of gallons of fresh water gushing from the Floridan Aquifer. Scuba and snorkeling classes and equipment are available at Ginnie Springs, but if you don’t want to scuba dive or snorkel, you can rent a tube and float down the Santa Fe River or just settle for a cool swim on a hot Florida day.

9. Spend an afternoon at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Florida’s official state natural history museum sits on the campus of the University of Florida, open to visitors 7 days a week. Inside the Florida Museum of Natural History you’ll find seasonal exhibits addressing local Florida topics like beach and wildlife conservation as well as permanent fixtures like the can’t miss butterfly rainforest, a living and breathing exhibit and lab that is home to hundreds of different species of butterflies and birds. The museum also has a fossil exhibit sure to wow kids, with full body fossils from dinosaurs that roamed Florida and the Gainesville area in the Miocene and Oligocene Epochs.

8. Grab a seat at Swamp Restaurant

Built at the home of an old University of Florida professor, The Swamp Restaurant opened its doors in 1994 across the street from the main University of Florida campus. Lovingly called “Swamp” by generations of students in the 30 years since, real estate investors forced Swamp to move in 2020 but after a two year absence from Gainesville life, the restaurant rebuilt and relocated to an even larger space on SW 2nd Avenue by the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity mansion in 2022. Swamp was at the heart of UF social and gameday life through the halcyon years of Steve Spurrier, Billy Donovan, and Urban Meyer, and the restaurant holds plenty of artwork, jerseys, and relics of prior Gator glory. Bartenders are always friendly and Swamp’s friendly table service has long been part of the restaurant’s appeal. Grab a table on the Swamp front loan and soak in the college scene on a Friday afternoon and you’ll see what we mean. The food is good, too — try the pulled pork sandwich or buffalo chicken dip on Gameday.

7. World class art awaits at the Harn Museum

The largest art museum on a SEC campus, the Samuel P. Harn Museum opened its doors in 1990 and is home to over 11,000 unique pieces of art as well as an auditorium for special events, a student study center, a café, and classroom spaces. The museum also features several idyllic  outdoor gardens, including an Asian Water Garden and Asian Rock Garden. While the art collection ranges from African Art to modern art, the museum’s photography collection is especially acclaimed, featuring work from the likes of Ansel Adams,  Jerry Uelsmann, Irving Penn, and Robert Frank, among others. A series of rotating exhibitions keeps any visit to the Harn fresh and best of all, admission is free!

6. Hike a nature trail at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

For a $4.o0 admission fee, you can visit one of the true wonders of Florida– a 21,000 acre savanna that lies between Gainesville and the tiny hamlet of Micanopy to the city’s south. A U.S. National Natural Landmark, the prairie’s abundant water supply, plant and animal life have made it home to Spanish conquistadors, the Seminole Tribe of indigenous Americans, and Florida settlers alike. You can now hike the rich history yourself  at the state park. The best hike is along the La Chua Trail. Named for a cattle ranch established on the prairie by Spanish settlers in the 1600s, the La Chua trail offers a one mile boardwalk hike with panoramic views of the prairie and its wildlife, including alligators, ospreys, egrets, and a band of bison that call Paynes Prairie home and add to the uniqueness of the experience.

5. Eat at Satchel’s

A Gainesville institution, Satchel’s is a pizza place you could only conjure up in a college town. A whimsical and zany combination of pizza spot, art gallery, greenhouse, and live music venue, Satchel’s opened its doors in 2003 and has been selling the city’s best pizza (and that salad, tho!) since 2003. When you arrive at Satchel’s, the one man’s trash is another man’s treasure art hanging from the trees may feel more Jeff Foxworthy meets the MOMA than must-visit restaurant. But from the moment you pass a funky Mystery Machine-esque Ford van out front with hubcaps hanging from the trees, you smell the food and realize why so many people treasure owner Satchel Raye’s pizza parlor. And yes, the food is that good: Satchel’s Pizza was named “Best in Florida” by Taste of Home and one of the best pizza places in the United States by Zagat in the last 5 years alone. With live music ranging from blue grass to funk, the food and the vibes are second to none.

4. Florida Basketball: Fantastic!

If you are in Gainesville in the winter or spring, you can catch the Gators at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, where the University of Florida’s celebrated volleyball, gymnastics, and basketball programs play their home games. The best gameday environment comes at Florida basketball games, where the Rowdy Reptiles offer one of the SEC’s best student sections and the arena, which seats 10,000 fans all intimately close to the action, is one of the loudest in the country. Florida basketball is one of the nation’s 10 winningest basketball schools this century and with 5 Final Four appearances and 2 national championships, only Kentucky has more hardware in the trophy case among SEC programs. While much of that success came under legendary coach Billy Donovan, young head coach Todd Golden has brought the good feelings back to Gainesville and home games in particular: the Gators lost just 1 game at home in 2023-24.

3. Dinner at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille

Gainesville is one of the south’s best food cities, especially considering its small college town size and feel. From the funk and food of Satchel’s to great Cuban food at Mi Apá Latin Café to fine sushi dining at Dragonfly to two great steakhouses in Embers and Mark’s U.S. Prime, there are outstanding options for quick and fine dining throughout Gainesville. But Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, owned in part by Florida Heisman Trophy winner and coaching legend Steve Spurrier, is the only spot that captures the spirit of Gainesville’s love affair with both food and the Gators. Doubling as a football museum with homages to Spurrier’s playing and coaching career lined up throughout the restaurant and Visors, the rooftop bar, Spurrier’s sells great food at reasonable prices while also offering a unique sporting experience. A dynamic coach who changed the SEC with high flying offense and quick-witted quips, Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille proves the HBC is still a visionary.

2. Live Music at Heartwood Soundstage

Gainesville’s music scene is legendary. Grammy award winning and genre-bending acts like Bo Diddley and Tom Petty hail from Gainesville, as do a number of country, blues, ska, and rock artists who have gone on to billboard hit fame. While the bustling Gainesville music culture has shows at various venues on any given night, the best place to catch up and coming acts is Heartwood Soundstage, which converted the historic Mirror Image Studios into a state of the art live soundstage venue equipped for both outstanding acoustics and audio production and community gatherings. Since its opening in 2017, Heartwood has hosted over 800 live shows and 25 music festivals, with acts like Jason Isbell, John Moreland, Sister Hazel and others gracing the main stage. A yearly tribute festival to native son Tom Petty is among the most popular Heartwood events– this year’s will be held October 10-October 13. On Thursday nights, Heartwood hosts a farmers market with over 40 local vendors and live music, offering a perfect night to visit if you can’t catch a show or festival.

1. Get to The Swamp in time for Gator Walk on Game Day

You can’t visit Gainesville without catching the Gators in The Swamp.

While Florida football has struggled under head coach Billy Napier, the gameday experience in Gainesville still belongs on any college football bucket list. From the Two Bits Cheer pregame to singing “We are the Boys” and Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” with 90,000 of your closest friends after the third quarter, there’s nothing like a Saturday in The Swamp.

Be sure to get there early and catch the “Gator Walk”, a tradition started in the Urban Meyer era that allowed Florida fans to offer high fives and encouragement to Florida players on their way into the stadium. Florida’s iconic mascots, Albert and Alberta, along with the Gator band and cheerleaders, are also present for “Gator Walk,” giving the moment a family feel and one that speaks to the community’s shared love of football and the Gators, in all kinds of weather.