Although you’ll see plenty of gorgeous beaches and charming shopping districts on a St. Augustine tour, the city is most famous for its long history. Originally founded by the Spanish in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest surviving European settlement in the United States, having been continuously inhabited for close to 500 years. Nicknamed “the Ancient City,” this seaside community has embraced its historic origins and taken great pains to preserve colonial-era buildings and other attractions, making it a must-see for any American history buff.
St. Augustine was founded by Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the first governor of Spanish Florida. He named the settlement “San Agustín” because his ships had first sighted land on August 28th, the holy feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo. As the Spanish consolidated control over the Florida peninsula, St. Augustine was named the capital of the region and remained so for over 200 years.
During the golden age of piracy, St. Augustine became a popular target for buccaneers and English privateers, including Sir Francis Drake and Robert Searles, who both sacked and burned the city. In response, the Spanish completed the Castillo de San Marcos in 1695, a defensive fortress that still watches over the coast to this day.
Between 1763 and 1783, when Spanish Florida was briefly ceded to the British, St. Augustine became a haven for British loyalists fleeing the growing revolutionary fervor in the 13 American colonies. After the American Revolution, the Spanish regained control over Florida, but they ceded the peninsula to the United States in 1821. In 1824, Tallahassee was named the new capital of the Florida Territory, ending St. Augustine’s 259-year reign as the region’s capital.
To make the most of your trip to St. Augustine, check out our St. Augustine Self-Guided Walking Tour, or you can sign up for Action+ and gain access to over 100 tours for a single yearly price.
