Tampa Convention Center – Experiences

Tampa Convention Center is one of the busiest venues in the city. This mid-sized convention center hosts over 300 events a year! Its versatile spaces and lengthy list of amenities make it a phenomenal facility. Just like the convention center, the Tampa Bay Area has so much to offer. From the Channel District and Ybor City to the white, sandy beaches, you’ll always have something to look forward to when you have some free time.

 

Morning

Noon

Night

 

Morning

No morning is complete without a delicious breakfast. The folks at Cry Baby Cafe agree. The menu is on the smaller side, but rest assured, everything on the menu is made to perfection. The breakfast menu is comprised of sandwiches and fresh pastries. Looking for something simple? Try The Original One – a breakfast sandwich of cheese, ham or bacon, and a fried egg, nestled on your choice of a toasted english muffin, plain bagel, or everything bagel. For anyone looking to spice up their breakfast, they’ll want to order The Spicy One. This tasty sandwich has chorizo, aged monterey jack, and a fried egg on a toasted english muffin, plain bagel, or everything bagel. Cry Baby Cafe also serves lunch sandwiches, house-made soups, and salads, along with specialty coffee drinks and alcohol.

Another great breakfast joint to visit right near Tampa Convention Center is a national chain known as First Watch. Specializing in tasty, healthy breakfast classics, First Watch serves quite a variety of dishes. Healthy eaters will be happy with newfound favorites like avocado toast and superfood bowls. Egg lovers heads will be spinning with all of the possibilities: egg sandwiches, tacos, benedicts, omelets, and frittatas. Some other highlights include lemon ricotta pancakes, Belgian waffles, and Floridian French toast.

Nothing wakes you up in the morning like a blissful walk along the water. That’s exactly what you get at the Tampa Riverwalk. This popular scenic trail runs parallel to the Hillsborough River, passing by the Tampa Convention Center. Its accessible location near the facility makes it an ideal activity every day you’re in Tampa. Events are frequently held near the Riverwalk and it runs past numerous shops and restaurants. You can discover something new every day.

There aren’t many states that have weather that’s as consistently pleasant as Florida’s. As nice as the Tampa Convention Center is, the last thing you want to do is stay inside all trip. Keep the outdoor fun rolling and explore every corner of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. This eight acre park is loaded with fun attractions. Admire the beauty of the garden, do some cloud gazing on the lawn, or cool off at the splash pads. The park is also a popular spot for concerts, festivals, arts and craft shows, and other fun events. There’s a good chance you’ll stumble on something going on. Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park is close by some other high profile Tampa attractions like The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts and Tampa Museum of Art.

 

Noon

Luchadors and lunch go hand in hand, that’s the case at Urban Cantina, anyway. This Lucha libre themed Mexican restaurant pumps out all kinds of Mexican classics. Tacos and burritos filled with meat and seafood, quesadillas, enchiladas, chimichangas. You name it, Urban Cantina serves it. The kitchen also cooks up lighter options; these are found under the “Skinny Mexican” section. Vegetarians are well-represented too with several tasty meals to pick from. Urban Cantina is just a short walk from Tampa Convention Center, making it a go-to option when you feel like eating out.

After lunch, go “connect with the sea” like never before at The Florida Aquarium. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the best aquariums in Florida has been awarded “a top USA TODAY ranked aquarium in North America”, a “TripAdvisor top 10 Aquarium in the country”, and a “Parents Magazine top 5 Kid-Friendly aquarium”.

The aquarium houses a diversity of animals and habitats. Venture through the Wetlands Trail as you watch alligators, river otters, Burmese pythons, brown pelicans, and more. Explore the Bays & beaches exhibit. Here, you’ll encounter marine life like stingrays, green sea turtles, goliath groper, and spiny lobsters. Don’t forget to stop by the other habitats: Journey to Madagascar, No Bones Zone, Coral Reef, Dragons Down Under, and Waves of Wonder. This is one of the most popular attractions near the Tampa Convention Center. Don’t miss out on a mesmerizing day out at the aquarium.

As one of only four fully-operational WWII ships in the country, the SS American Victory is a historic symbol of time’s past. The awesome news about this attraction is it’s not just a ship to admire from afar. The SS American Victory Mariners Museum is a full-fledged learning experience. Leave your landlubber life behind and board the SS American Victory. Check out above and below deck and witness a museum full of artifacts and informative displays. You can even travel through most of the ship. See the gyro rooms, hospital, weaponry, steering stations, mess halls, crew cabins, captain’s quarters, and so much more.

Tampa Convention CenterAt one point, Tampa was the cigar capital of the world, which is where the nickname Cigar City comes from. While it may not produce as many cigars as it used to, the nickname stuck. Pay homage to Tampa’s past and visit the Tabanero Cigar Factory. You don’t need to be a cigar smoker to like this place, but it doesn’t hurt. Besides browsing and buying from their large inventory of cigars, customers can take a tour of the factory and learn about Tabanero production process. The walking tour lasts roughly 45 minutes. It covers how the cigar industry helped transform Tampa into the modern city it is today, the manufacturing process, quality control, a walk-through of the giant humidor where the aging process is explained, and finally a brief presentation on how to cut, punch, light, and set off a cigar properly.

 

Night

At least one night of upscale dining is always appreciated when you travel. One of the most extravagant restaurants in Tampa happens to be very close to the Tampa Convention Center. Mise En Place is the city’s premier modern American cuisine restaurant. Open for lunch and dinner, Mise En Place offers its customers an extensive list of dishes. There’s a raw and cured section full things like tuna carpaccio, market oysters, and ceviche. Fancy starters include sous vide lobster, burrata serrano ham, and Kobe oxtail poutine. Then for the main course, sous vide venison, seared duck breast, molasses pecan crusted rack of lamb, gochujang crusted tuna, along with numerous other mouthwatering meals. You can even order a cheese course. If you’re willing to spend some cash on dinner, Mise En Place is the best place to do it.

Tampa Convention CenterLet’s face it, as awesome as an upscale, fancy meal is you aren’t always going to want to shell out the money for it. When a casual dinner is all you need, head over to Fusion Bowl. It’s a Vietnamese fusion restaurant that’s known for delicious Vietnamese food and fast, attentive service. Expect all of the authentic Vietnamese favorites. From Pho (noodle soup) and Banh Mi (baguette) to Bun (vermicelli noodle) and Udon (stir fried Japanese noodle) Fusion Bowl does it all. You can even stop in for breakfast: ham and egg croissant, morning toast with eggs and avocado, bacon eggs, with toast, fusion power bowl, and Banh Mi Opla – sunny side up eggs with pickled carrot, cilantro on a baguette.

If you visited Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, you may have spotted The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMOPA). This museum is a really cool one-of-a-kind attraction that appeals to almost anyone, whether you’re a big fan of photography or not. FMOPA is dedicated to displaying influential photographic art, primarily on the topics of contemporary life and culture. It also works to preserve historic and contemporary works by nationally and internationally famous photographers. The exhibits are rotated throughout the year, so you can always expect to see something new if you come back.

What beats going to the movies? Going to a historic, beautiful theater to see a movie, that’s what. Tampa Theatre opened way back in 1926. When it opened, it was the first commercial building in the city that had air conditioning. Between the cheap movie prices and comfortable climate, Tampa Theatre rose to prominence from the time it opened until the 1960s and 70s. By then, people were moving out of the city and into the suburbs in big numbers, causing the theater’s attendance numbers to drop significantly.

After several renovations and updates, the Tampa Theatre was ushered into the 21st century; all movies are shown in digital picture. Tampa Theatre doesn’t show tons of recent movies however. It only shows one movie a day, and these movie are typically of the independent, foreign, and documentary varieties. Even if you just want to stop by to admire the building, it’s worth checking out. You won’t find a closer to Tampa Convention Center than this one.