Key West Lighthouse & Museum, Key West (must see)

The Key West Lighthouse & Museum is a well-known historic site in Old Town, located just off Duval Street near the Ernest Hemingway Home. Built in 1848, the lighthouse helped guide ships through the reefs and narrow waters around the Florida Keys at a time when Key West was a busy port and maritime traffic was constant. Today, it remains one of the island’s most recognizable landmarks and a place where visitors can get a closer look at how navigation worked before modern systems took over.

The main highlight is the climb to the top of the lighthouse. Visitors walk up 88 steps to reach the upper level, where the view opens across Old Town’s rooftops, palm trees, and porches, with glimpses of water in the distance. The staircase is narrow and steep in places, but the climb is short, and the lookout at the top makes it worth the effort. Many people also enjoy seeing how the structure is built from the inside, since the lighthouse feels very different up close than it does from the street.

Next door, the museum is housed in the former Keeper’s Quarters and focuses on the daily work that kept the light operating year after year. Exhibits include photographs, maps, documents, and objects connected to lighthouse life, along with details about the equipment and routines used by the keepers.

One of the most well-known figures connected to this site is Barbara Mabrity, who continued maintaining the lighthouse in the mid-1800s after her husband, the keeper, died. Her story is often mentioned as an early example of a woman taking on the demanding role of lighthouse keeper.