Beat poet Jack Kerouac, who lived and died in St. Petersburg, Fla., in the 1960s, famously quipped that the city was for the “newlywed and nearly dead.

Clockwise from left: The Dalí Museum; The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club; Salvador Dalí; St. Pete Beach. | Getty images; The Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, Autograph Collection
Sun and Sand with a Side of Surrealism
The vibrant city of St. Petersburg surprises with several striking art museums and a thriving cultural scene