Experts' Choice Award The Ringling
What the experts agree on
Circus magnate John Ringling's 66-acre Sarasota estate showcases Baroque masterpieces in a Florentine-style mansion, plus a intricate miniature circus and original home—a fascinating blend of art, history, and gilded-age ambition.
“John Ringling's primary work was his traveling circus, which still entertains Americans to this day. But he also dabbled in oil, real estate, finance, and ranching.”
– Frommer's
Fodor's "Far more than just the art museum; there's also the Tibbals Learning Center and Circus Museums... the original Ringling home, and its expansive gardens." Full review
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John Ringling's grand home, Ca' d'Zan, which was built along Sarasota Bay, was patterned after Doge's Palace in Venice
Travel + Leisure "A miniature circus re-creates the Ringling operation in staggering detail—2,300 pieces." Full review
Frommer's "The (big) top attraction here, this 66-acre site is where showman and circus legend John Ringling and his wife, Mable, collected art and built a house on a grand scale." Full review
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Don't miss the tour of the house to see the period furniture and stunning architecture and artwork; in fact, make it the first stop on your Ringling itinerary.
Where "This beautiful 1930s era building that looks as if it has been plucked from Florence, Italy, houses Old Masters including Rubens, van Dyck, El Greco and Gainsborough." Full review
New York Times
