BACKGROUND INFO

Food

Enjoy seafood so fresh that it still smells of the ocean. For traditional Florida recipes and farm-to-table food, check out The Floridian (thefloridianstaug.com), while Cap’s on the Water (capsonthewater.com) offers great views of the Intracoastal Waterway while you eat.

Try traditional Menorcan dishes at Aunt Kate’s (aunt-kates.com/menu); the Menorcans were one of the town’s original settlers, and much of their culinary influence can still be savoured here, including local twists on classic Spanish dishes like paella and clam chowder. But don’t forget to try the local delicacies too, especially St Augustine-style fried shrimp.

Hotels

For relaxed beach style digs, go for a ‘vacation rental’ along the Ponte Vedra coast. Splash out on a luxury waterfront home with private pool and dock or settle into a cosier cottage steps from the sand.

For something more unique, head to one of St Augustine’s Historic Downtown hotels.

Casa Monica is the city’s grande dame: it is filled with original art and antiques, as well as boasting a waterfront pool for that midafternoon cool down. kesslercollection.com/casa-monica/

Golf

Ponte Vedra is also home of one of Golf’s most famous, and difficult, courses, TPC at Sawgrass (tpc.com/sawgrass). Come to play (beware: a round in peak season costs upwards of $500) or watch the pros at The Players Championship, one of the sport’s premier events.

But if taking out a mortgage to play 18 holes isn’t your cup of tee (pun intended), don’t worry: St Johns Golf Club (sjgc.com), in St Augustine, is far more affordable and you won’t spend half your time fishing balls out of the lake. Check out the World Golf Hall of Fame nearby too for some pre-round inspiration.

Museums

Downtown St Augustine may be a living museum in itself, but you should certainly make time to visit The Lightner Museum (lightnermuseum.org; $15 [£12] adult). Home of one of the country’s premier collections of 19th and early 20th century fine and decorative arts, the museum is like Florida’s very own Smithsonian.

Don’t miss a tour inside the former Ponce de Leon Hotel too, now Flagler College: opulent enough to drop your jaw, it is the premier representation of St Augustine’s eye-catching, gilded age architecture. flagler.edu.