Tampa is at the heart of the expanding Tampa-Saint Petersburg metropolitan area that rings Tampa Bay and spreads northward along the Gulf of Mexico. Although the city of Tampa is relatively modest in land area at 108.6 sq mi, the metropolitan region encompasses Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties and has a land area of 2,554.5 sq mi. In addition to Tampa and Saint Petersburg, other prominent municipalities contained in the metropolitan region include Clearwater, Largo, and Dunedin.

The city of Tampa itself is elongated in a north-south direction, with the downtown central business district in the middle and the southern segment of the city occupying a peninsula that juts into Tampa Bay. The peninsula divides Tampa Bay into two arms: Old Tampa Bay to the west and Hillsborough Bay to the east. Long-established city neighborhoods include Hyde Park, the city’s original residential section; Davis Islands, a commercial and residential district created on islands in the bay; and Ybor City, once home to Tampa’s booming cigar industry and now a national historic landmark district.

Tampa is the cultural center of its region. Among Tampa’s museums are the Tampa Museum of Art, with collections of Greek and Roman antiquities; the Ybor City State Museum, which focuses on the city’s historic cigar industry, concentrated in the colorful community of Ybor City on the northeast edge of downtown; the Museum of Science and Industry, including an exhibit which simulates the force of a hurricane; the Museum of African-American Art, hosting a collection of works from the Harlem Renaissance; and a children’s museum. A noted landmark is the former Tampa Bay Hotel, a Moorish-style building that now houses the administration of the University of Tampa. A museum in the south wing of the building re-creates the opulence of the original hotel. The glass-domed Florida Aquarium explains the aquatic habitats of the state. The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center is home to a symphony orchestra as well as opera and ballet companies.

The leading attraction in Tampa is Busch Gardens, a wildlife-based theme park that ranks as Florida’s second most popular tourist destination after Walt Disney World. The theme park located in the north end of the city provides rides, live entertainment, and animal exhibits. Popular annual events are the Florida State Fair, a showcase for agriculture and crafts, and the Gasparilla Festival, Tampa’s version of Mardi Gras; both are in February.

Raymond James Stadium, which opened in 1998, is the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League; the stadium also is the venue of the Outback Bowl (formerly the Hall of Fame Bowl) each New Year’s Day. The Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League play at the Ice Palace. The Tampa area, which has long been home to spring training camps for major league baseball teams, gained its own major league team in 1998 when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays began play at Tropicana Field in Saint Petersburg. Tampa’s setting and climate also encourage participant sports, and the metropolis abounds with facilities for fishing, boating, golf, and tennis.

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