What you didn’t know about Key West, Florida.
Key West sits at the end of one of the most remarkable chains of islands in the world, a coral archipelago shaped by ocean currents, migratory paths, and centuries of maritime history.
The island isn’t actually built on rock, it’s built on fossilized coral, giving its ground an incredibly unique composition that influences everything from plant life to architecture. Its position at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico creates rare water patterns: warm, calm, and astonishingly clear, drawing in dolphins, sea turtles, and vibrant reef ecosystems. Key West’s pastel “Conch houses” weren’t built for aesthetic charm, their high ceilings, wooden shutters, and raised foundations were engineered for ventilation and hurricane survival long before modern air conditioning. Even the culture carries layers: Cuban cigar rollers, Bahamian shipbuilders, writers like Hemingway seeking refuge, and naval influences that shaped much of Old Town’s rhythm. The sunsets are famous not for color alone, but for the island’s unobstructed western horizon, a perfect stage where ocean and sky melt into one another without interruption. Key West is a tiny island with a massive soul, shaped by currents, trade winds, and a fiercely independent spirit.
Five fascinations about Key West.
5. It once declared independence, sort of.
In 1982, frustrated by a roadblock, locals formed the Conch Republic, tongue-in-cheek seceded from the U.S., and immediately applied for foreign aid. The stunt worked.
4. Hemingway’s six-toed cats still live there.
Dozens of polydactyl cats roam the Hemingway House grounds, descendants of the author’s original feline friend, Snow White.
3. The island is closer to Cuba than to Miami.
At just 90 miles from Havana, Key West is geographically, and culturally, closer to Cuba than its own state capital.
2. It’s home to one of the oldest lighthouses in Florida.
Built in 1848, the Key West Lighthouse offered panoramic ocean views long before rooftop bars made them trendy.
1. Jimmy Buffett launched his empire here.
Before Parrotheads and cheeseburgers in paradise, Buffett played local bars and found inspiration for the laid-back empire we now know as Margaritaville.
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