Located at the north end of Florida, Jacksonville is the most populous city in the state with a metropolitan population estimated at close to 1.5 million. The city has a coastal location and also lies on the banks of the St Johns River, both aspects contributing to the city’s picturesque appearance and nature driven ambience.

History and heritage are respected and cherished in Jacksonville with obvious evidence around the city in the form of Spanish, French, and Colonial American architecture as well as museums that help to preserve some of the more detailed aspects of the city’s past.

From an attractions and entertainment perspective, Jacksonville has something to offer most visitors with things to appeal to families with children, young single types and more mature visitors also. The kids will love the Adventure Landing theme park while culture buffs will appreciate the city’s museums and historic monuments and everybody will enjoy attractions such as the Zoological Gardens.

With miles of sandy beach, Jacksonville Beach is so popular that it qualifies as a district in itself, dedicated to promoting everything that’s great about its coastal location. Visitors will find ample opportunities to enjoy beach and sea activities especially with the year-round good weather.

Jacksonville has a well developed tourist infrastructure which includes a wide range of accommodation options. Visitors seeking the guarantees of quality internationally recognised hotel chains will find establishments owned by Hilton among others. There’s also a good selection of independent options with something to suit almost all tastes and budgets.

A sub-tropical weather system gives the city a very agreeable climate for most of the year with only the summer months seeing temperatures that some might consider too high for holidaying. The rest of the year is ideal for visiting and cold weather is almost unheard of in Jacksonville even in the winter months.

A fantastic dining scene completes the picture for Jacksonville, making it an ideal tourist destination. The city’s coastal location means that seafood restaurants are exceedingly popular and reputedly offer some of the best food in the state.

The first inhabitants in the area that we now know as Jacksonville were the Timucua Indians who established a settlement over 6,000 years ago that they named Ossachite. The first sign of any Europeans was in the mid 16th century when Jean Ribault, the French explorer, charted the St. Johns River. Two years after Ribault’s arrival, the first European settlement was established at Fort Caroline by another Frenchman, René Goulaine de Laudonnière.

In the year 1821, Florida was incorporated as an official US territory and then a year later the town of Jacksonville acquired its name; a name taken from that of the Florida territory’s first military governor, Andrew Jackson. Ten years later, the town’s charter application for a local government, was approved by the Florida Legislative Council.

In the Civil War years, Jacksonville played a key role as a source for cattle and hogs that were of importance to the Confederates. While no battles took place in Jacksonville, control of it shifted between the opposing sides and this took its toll on the city, leaving it in a state of considerable disarray by the end of the conflict.

Jacksonville recovered quickly however and soon became a popular winter retreat for the affluent with steamboats and later trains providing the chief means of reaching the city. Growth from tourism was later however blighted with the arrival of yellow fever in the late 19th century and also by the extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad to the southern part of the state.

The Great Fire of 1901 started on 2 May and is known as one of the greatest disasters in the state’s history, bringing mass devastation to Jacksonville’s downtown area and leaving some 10,000 people homeless. The decade following the disaster saw a period of frantic construction with over 13,000 buildings erected and the business district all but restored to its former glory.

Shortly after, Jacksonville flourished as a centre of business and commerce with some of the country’s best known banking and insurance companies setting up shop there. The installation of three major naval bases also saw Jacksonville prosper, while an interest from New York’s film-makers in using the city as a setting for movies brought further prosperity.

During this time, Jacksonville also became a banking and insurance centre, with companies such as Barnett National, Atlantic National, Florida National, Prudential, Gulf Life, Afro-American Insurance, Independent Life and American Heritage Life thriving in the business district. The US Navy also became a major employer and economic force during the 1940s, with the installation of three major naval bases in the city. Jacksonville, like most large cities in the United States, suffered from negative effects of rapid urban sprawl after World War II. Voters elected to consolidate the city and county governments in 1968, making Jacksonville the largest city in land area in the United States.

Jacksonville is subject to a subtropical climate, which brings hot summers and mild winters and relative humidity in the extremes throughout the year. Rainfall is greatest during the summer months and least in the late autumn and early winter months.

Summers last from June to September and are scorching affairs with the middle months commonly seeing temperatures in the low 30’s (ºC). Rainfall in July and August can reach 7 to 8 inches and tends to fall in short but very heavy showers. From a visitor perspective, the summer season is perhaps not the best time to take a Jacksonville holiday as the excessive heat and threat of rain might be somewhat of a hindrance to sightseeing activities.

The spring and autumn months are the best time to visit as temperatures are hot but quite bearable and rainfall is significantly lower. Winter should certainly not be ruled out either, especially if you are seeking to escape a cold European winter, as Jacksonville is mild if not pleasantly warm during this period and the threat of rain is the least significant. Evenings during the winter season may get cool enough to necessitate a sweater or light jacket so be mindful when packing for a trip between November and March.