Tallahassee Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Tallahassee

Tallahassee, the capital city of Florida, is the county seat of Leon County and the largest city in the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend regions. Selected as the territorial capital in 1824 to serve as a midway meeting point between Pensacola and St. Augustine, the city sits on hilly terrain at the southern edge of the Red Hills Region. It borders the northern end of the Apalachicola National Forest and includes two large lake basins, Lake Jackson and Lake Lafayette. The surrounding vegetation includes cold-hardy Sabal palmetto palms, magnolias, pines, and Southern live oaks, complemented by nine officially designated canopy roads.

As the administrative hub of Florida, the city houses the Florida State Capitol complex, the Supreme Court of Florida, the Governor's Mansion, and nearly 30 state agency headquarters. The central Capitol Center features the historic 1845 Greek Revival Old Capitol building, which now functions as a museum, positioned directly in front of the 22-story high-rise Capitol completed in the 1970s. Tallahassee is also a prominent college town with a student population exceeding 70,000, anchored by Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and Tallahassee State College. The community is recognized as a research hub housing the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

The region has a rich history spanning thousands of years. Around 1200, Indigenous peoples of the Mississippian culture constructed earthwork mounds near Lake Jackson, which remain preserved at Lake Jackson Archaeological State Park. In the winter of 1539 to 1540, Hernando de Soto's expedition camped at the Apalachee town of Anhaica, an event associated with the first celebration of Christmas in the continental United States. During the 17th century, Spanish colonists established Mission San Luis de Apalachee, a site that has been partially reconstructed. In the 19th century, the area became a major cotton production center, and former plantation lands later gave rise to facilities like the Tall Timbers Research Station, known for fire ecology studies.

Visitors to Tallahassee can explore varied neighborhoods, including Frenchtown, which is the state's oldest historically Black neighborhood, along with districts such as Midtown, All Saints, Betton Hills, and SouthWood. The city also possesses significant civil rights history, notably hosting a successful citywide bus boycott in 1956 that led to the repeal of transit segregation clauses.