Third Street South is a vacation without having to travel.
Travel is less enticing at the moment, but exploring closer to home has advantages that are often overlooked. In Old Naples, many have lingered, reveling in slower days, and embracing a forced respite from an ordinarily frenetic pace of life. It’s a grand opportunity.
On Third Street South, you’ll find no shortage of alluring dining and shopping distractions, and the plazas and courtyards are still filled with beauty. Stores, restaurants, and galleries have been thoughtfully reopening with safety precautions in place. You’ll see all the latest in face mask fashions, many of which can be purchased from Third Street proprietors. Enjoy browsing at your own pace, unhurried by worries of where to be next.
Taking in an early morning beach walk by the historic Naples Pier, keep an eye out for tracks in the sand left by nesting sea turtles. Sea turtle season lasts from May through October, and officials are vigilant about monitoring the shoreline to protect these endangered creatures. You can do your part by keeping the beaches litter-free, minimizing artificial light sources at night, and not leaving any holes in the sand. The first light of the day is the best time to walk to see if you can spot any freshly laid nests.
Third Street South and the Naples Zoo are tied together by history. During the mid-1900s, Junkie and Dorette Fleischmann, who were responsible for developing and preserving a large number of the Third Street properties you still frequent today, acquired and restored the property, christened it Caribbean Gardens, and brought flowers and fauna to it from around the world. With its lush landscaping and Orchid Cathedral, lakes and winding pathways, it was a true showplace (including a Duck Vaudeville that performed on The Ed Sullivan Show and in France). The Gardens thrived and was a well-known eco-tourist destination before anyone thought of the term. On a visit to the Zoo, you’ll see a lot of what the Fleischmanns implemented. Periodically, the Zoo opens its doors at no charge to local residents, and it’s worth a visit.
At the moment, the streets are pleasantly uncrowded, making it a perfect time to walk or bike the streets and avenues of Old Naples that surround Third Street South. Then find a shaded courtyard on Third in which to sit and talk with friends. The change of scenery you’re looking for can be as close by as you interpret it to be. Third Street South is proof you don’t need to travel far to be in a world apart.
