Florida’s Tampa Bay surprises: sun, palm trees, street art and a mix of beach and city culture that puts you in a good mood instantly. Here, Cuban heritage meets modern foodie spots. And all of it just 7900 flight kilometres from Zurich.
The arrival alone feels like a promise: Tampa International is considered one of the most pleasant airports around. Just minutes after landing, you begin to immerse yourself in a city full of contrasts.
A metropolis in transition
Along the Riverwalk, the bridges sparkle at night in changing colours. Rooftop bars such as the Beacon tempt you with cocktails above the lights of the skyline, and by day museums open their doors to international photography and pop art. The once underrated city is just discovering its own appeal.
And right in the middle: Ybor City. The cigar industry once thrived here; today it is Tampa’s queer heart. On 7th Avenue, flanked by brick buildings and neon lights, drag shows, bars and lounges line up one after another. When Pride moves through the neighbourhood, tens of thousands celebrate – but on every other weekend, too, Ybor becomes the stage for a self-confident queer way of life.
Tampa also makes its mark in culinary terms: from creative fine dining at Counter Culture to food halls such as Sparkman Wharf and Mediterranean rooftop experiences at Azure. It’s cosmopolitan, yet never aloof.
Cigar City: tobacco, pirates and a touch of rebellion
The first breath as we step through the doors of the J.C. Newman Cigar Company is pure seduction. The air is heavy and warm, saturated with the aroma of roasted tobacco, old wood and a sweetness that recalls honey and dark earth. Guide Holdon welcomes us with a sonorous voice and shining eyes – a walking archive of an almost vanished era.
As we wander through the aisles, Holdon tells of a time when Tampa was the cigar capital of the world. Tens of thousands worked in Ybor City, mostly Cuban, Spanish and Italian immigrants. Up to 500,000 cigars left the factories every day. A tradition was lived here: craftsmanship as heritage, every cigar a piece of family.
Holdon leads us down into a cool, sealed-off room where time seems to stand still. The cigars here come from the legendary S.S. Central America, a passenger ship that sank in the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina in 1857. Sealed airtight in glass, they lay on the seabed for more than 150 years.
Tampa stays real
Less put-on than Miami, less artificial than Orlando. In Tampa, queerness isn’t decoration but lived reality. If you want to experience Florida away from the clichés, you’ll find in Tampa a city that combines history and present with tropical ease – and that lets you feel the moment you arrive that it is about to become something special.
DISPLAY tips for Tampa
Flight time 11 hours, 7850 km, 3–5 times a week. Sports baggage flies free.
A report by Raphael Hadad & Karlo Krameri
