Saint Augustine after Dark

Story and photos
byKathleen Walls

St. Augustine no longer shuts down when the sun goes down. There are seasonal events and all year long ones you can enjoy in the Ancient City. St. Augustine at night is a magical sight. Here are a few of the nightly events I have enjoyed.

Night of Lights I recently experienced over 3 million lights adorning almost every building in the city's historic district. My friend and I boarded the Old Town Night of Lights trolley. Our driver, Skittles, offered us magical viewing glasses for an enhanced, fully immersive holiday experience. I found I enjoyed it better without the glasses, but everyone is different.  

We traveled the main streets and some of the narrow ones in the historic district  caroling holiday favorites like "Jingle Bell Rock," "Felice Navidad," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," and many others. At the end of the 30-minute tour, we enjoyed complimentary sugar cookies and warm apple cider. This event runs from mid-November to mid-January.

Saint George Street: In many ways, Saint George Street is the heart of St. Augustine. Beginning at the City Gates, it's filled with historic museums, shops, restaurants, and taverns, many of which remain open after dark. St. George Tavern is the oldest pub in the oldest city, built  in 1941, it's still one of St. Augustine's most iconic taverns.

One of my favorites is The Mill Top Tavern and Listening Room, near the city Gates. It's housed in a over 130 years old former mill and stillhas the old mill wheel on the building. It became a bar in the 1950s. I loved to go there in early 2000s when folk musician Bobby Hicks played. He filled the bar and brough tdown the house with his famous "I'm Florida, Need I Say More." They still bring in musicians every night and serve great bar food along with the drinks.
                                                     

Colonial Oak Music Park on St George St. offers, live music weekends and many weekdays at the music park. Directly behind Colonial Quarters on St. George Street, it has seating for more than 250 visitors Most events are free.

Ghost Tours: Both Old Town Trolley and others host various ghost tours visinting the spots with a dark and eerie history. The city's first ghost tour, Ghost Tours of St. Augustine, has researched St. Augustine's history and hauntings to offer authentic ghost tours dedicated to historic integrity and accuracy.

Ghosts & Gravestones Tour: This night tour takes you into some of the city's most haunted sits and tells their stories. One of the areas they focus on is around the ancient Castillo de San Marcos.

Old Jail After Dark: This offers a different view of th e Old Jail with visitors participating in a paranormal investigation of the historic and very haunted Old Jail, the city's most haunted building. this jail was built when Flagler was building his railroad and several hotels here and wanted the jail placed where his well-to-do hotel guests would not see it.  

St. Augustine Amphitheater seats 4,700 people and hosts over 40 concerts and multiple community events throughout the year. There'she annual free concert series, the Sing Out Loud Festival, every September. Locally known as "The Amp" it hoists many famous musicians. I attended when Willie Nelson performed. It was fantastic. You could see and hear from any place in The Amp.

Numerous other bars, pubs, and restaurants are going strong after dark besides the ones I mentioned.

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