The City of Naples, Florida is a huge place, meaning, it’s 16.45 square miles of unparalleled beauty. There is so much to see in the city and with so little time. The shops, restaurants, museums, the open plaza and, of course, the beaches offer a spectacular time to everyone who visits them. And because of the sheer size of the place, walking around it in one trip can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have a vehicle with you. That’s why one great solution to taking in the sights and sounds of Naples, Florida is just by standing there – literally. However, using the device called a Segway, ‘standing there’ doesn’t mean staying in one place.
Naples, Florida has quite a bit of a history. It was settled by white people permanently and developed in the late 1800’s but there has been activity by going on here and there. The history of this splendid city began when Senator John Stuart Williams and his friend Walter H. Halderman began investing in properties in modern-day Naples. They loved the warm climate and the gorgeous beaches it offered them, especially in winter season. While most of the country was covered in snow, Naples, Florida remained a cozy tropical paradise. It so happened that Halderman ran his own magazine publishing company and this was when he started advertising and writing about the place and that’s how the people from the northern states caught up into this new hot thing in the south.
Word got out there and eventually more and more magazine writers and publishers wrote about the place. Others were comparing it to Naples City in Italy. This comparison somehow stuck and that’s what the city has been named since. Since the marketing was a bit successful, this sunny part of the country got attracted more investors. One notable person was Barron Gift Collier who lend a helping hand in constructing the Tamiami Trail (US 41) which was then a very ambitious project that linked Tampa to Miami, thus securing more economic benefits, not just for Naples but for the entire region of Southwest Florida.
Today, this prosperity has flourished and Naples, Florida is now one of the wealthiest cities in the United States and has the most expensive real estate prices in the country; and for good reason. The houses that are lined up here are gorgeous pieces of Mediterranean-inspired architecture that are sort of making them as one of the tourist attraction themselves. And the hotel industry is also bustling here and the city has more golf holes than anywhere in the country, with more than 80 championship golf courses. And you can see all of these while catching some nice warm sun if you run around in your Segway (well, not literally because your legs won’t be moving, but you get the idea).
For more awesome stories and places, check out our Articles page and find out what else the Paradise Coast has to offer. For events and other happenings around the downtown area, check the Tourist Guide section. And while in your Segway, you can always drive(?) by our Visitor Center located in 4th Ave. South in the downtown area.
