Where to stay

It's no surprise that the home of Tom Petty has a thriving music scene with a penchant for festivals. Stay in hotels near the Innovation District in the downtown area of Gainesville for the annual three-day October festival known as The Fest. It's held at numerous venues around Bo Diddley Plaza, named after the Rock and Roll legend. To the west of the city center, accommodations in Alachua and High Springs offer a quieter experience in towns known for their eco-tourism. Book rooms early during the annual Pioneer Days Festival, held in the historic downtown district of High Springs.

The university's varsity team, the Florida Gators, has been a regular at the top of university sports rankings for decades. Book a hotel in downtown Gainesville to attend a game at the 90,000-seater Ben Hill Griffin Football Stadium - the largest in Florida - known as "The Swamp." Meanwhile, baseball and basketball teams from the University of Florida play games at various campus venues in the area. For something a little different, find accommodations further north in Waldo or Alachua to be closer to the Gainesville Raceway, a quarter-mile dragstrip that hosts regular races during the National Hot Rod Association season.

Given its status as a college town, Gainesville provides plenty of opportunities to party. To sample the local liquor, stay in accommodations in the downtown area to be close to two breweries. Wherever you stay in the city, many of the pubs and bars serve ales micro-brewed on their own premises. Alternatively, head further north and book a room in High Springs for tasty beers brewed by the High Springs Brewing Company. Known as "Midtown" to the locals, College Park is where you'll find the most concentrated streets of bars, whiskey houses, restaurants, and coffee shops.