Explore South of the Plaza

The area immediately south of St. Augustine’s central plaza is the oldest historic district in North America. The Spanish chose this high ground for a settlement in 1572, and it has been continuously occupied ever since. Today, South of the Plaza is picturesque, vibrant, dotted with highly rated bed & breakfasts and eateries, and a welcome surprise for those who venture beyond the more congested parts of town.

• Aviles Street 
  
  The oldest platted street in North America, home to some of the city’s most unique shops and a number of quaint, European-style restaurants, most with outdoor seating.
• Ximenez-Fatio House Museum 
  
  Start your South of the Plaza adventure with a tour of this perennial TripAdvisor favorite. Authentically restored and interpreted, the 1798 coquina house was St. Augustine’s finest guest lodging during its first tourism boom in the mid 1800s.
• Lightner Museum 
  
  Built in the Spanish Renaissance style by Henry Flagler in 1887 as the Alcazar Hotel, it contains three floors of relics from America’s Gilded Age.
• The Spanish Military Hospital Museum 
  
  The institution that gave Aviles its original name of Hospital Street.
• González-Alvarez House 
  
  Now part of a museum complex run by the St. Augustine Historical Society and the University of Florida, Florida’s oldest house dates to the early 1700s.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Convent & O’Reilly House Museum 
  
  The historic motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Florida and a 1691 building that houses records and artifacts that date from 1866, the year nuns from this order traveled from France to teach children of freed slaves in St. Augustine.
• St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library 
  
  A repository of knowledge about the Oldest City.
• St. Francis Barracks 
  
  Built between 1724 and 1755; now the Florida State Arsenal and headquarters of the Florida National Guard.
• The southern sea wall extension 
  
  A great place to stroll by day or enjoy a sunset at day’s end.