Tampa, Florida has an enormous variety of attractions and perks for the people who live in and around the city. Waterside cafes, Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, Channelside shopping and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, Devil Rays and Lightning are just few of the biggest attractions. Then there's Ybor City, where visitors can find hand-rolled cigars and Cuban sandwiches. And don't forget the ocean and the white sand beaches, which offer people the chance to participate in jet skiing, parasailing, sport fishing and boating.

Tampa is a very multi-cultural city and has a Hispanic population that exerts major influence in the area. 10% of the population are Latino. There are a number of museums to visit in and around Tampa, including the Pioneer Florida Museum, the St. Petersburg Museum of History, the gulf Coast World of Science, the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins, the Boatyard Village, the Salvador Dali Museum and the Children's Museum of Tampa. Live theater can be seen at the Friday Morning Musicale in Hyde Park, Gorilla Theater in Drew Park, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Tampa Theater. The city also has a number of art galleries of interest, such as the African Art Gallery, Artists Unlimited, the Centre Gallery, the Covivant Gallery and Graphicstudio. Every year, the Gasparilla Pirate Festival draws a huge crowd of rowdy swashbucklers.

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater inflow into the bay is the Hillsborough River, which flows into Hillsborough Bay in downtown Tampa. Many other smaller rivers and streams also flow into Tampa Bay, resulting in a large watershed area.