The Southernmost City - Key West

Explore a city where real estate titles date back to the Kings of Spain.

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. The island is about 90 miles (140 km) from Cuba.

Key West is politically within the limits of the city of Key West, Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city also occupies portions of nearby islands.

The island is about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. In the late 1950s many of the large salt ponds on the eastern side were filled in, nearly doubling the original land mass of the island. The island is 3,370 acres (13.6 km2) in area.

Walk along the palm-lined historical streets and discover gingerbread mansions, tin-roofed conch houses, the John Audubon House and Ernest Hemingway's home.

Walk in the footsteps of Thomas Edison, Lou Gehrig, Harry Truman, and Tennessee Williams.

Marvel at the accomplishment of Henry Flagler, an oil tycoon whose Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad train made its first journey to Key West on Jan. 12, 1912, literally connecting the previously isolated Florida Keys with the mainland for the first time, forever changing the face of the island chain.

Gaze at the fabled treasure of the galleon Atocha. Discover tomorrow's fine art treasures by Key West's well-known and unknown artists.

Adventurer Ponce de Leon discovered the Florida Keys including the Dry Tortugas in 1513. Today, as the Keys celebrate the 500th anniversary of that momentous event, Keys musician Howard Livingston performs his exuberant song showing why there's still so much "Magic in Key West."

Indulge in cinematic premieres, private film screenings and VIP parties at oceanside hotspots -- while listening to top emerging filmmakers' insights into their creations -- Nov. 13-17 at the second annual Key West Film Festival. Here, Kevin "Dot Com" Brown of "30 Rock" explains why there's no better place for film than America's elite southernmost island.