St. Armands Circle

St. Armands Circle is one of my favorite things about vacationing in this area. It isn’t until we pass thru it coming from the airport, when I truly feel that we’ve arrived.
I agree with others that the traffic and parking sucks. I get it, but it comes with the territory… if you look around and see the hundred or so businesses that St. Armands’ houses, it makes sense. It would be nice if they had the authority to knock down a couple of run down buildings right on the outskirts and put in parking lots. Oh well.
Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy the short stroll to and from the beach, as well as all the great places to eat and drink. I can’t even get started on the plethora of retail shops and boutiques, many of which you can’t get back home. If you go on the St. Armands website, you can find dates for different events in the circle.

It’s Lido Key’s shopping & dinning area.
There are some great longterm restaurants !
ChCha coconuts & the Columbia restaurant are among them.

Since this was my first day back in Florida in a few months, I came by here with one of my buddies. This place is right next to the beach, and it’s a lovely area. Nice mixture of stores and bars, with plenty of parking (even on a Sunday afternoon). It’s a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Fun place for shopping. You won’t find name brand shops here. Lots of little boutiques, art galleries, jewelry stores, and the occasional t-​shirt shop. Found a great tea/​spice shop and pepper store. A little bit of everything at a moderate price point. Fun day!

This area is full of eateries, shops and very interesting people to watch. The streets, parking and sidewalks are always crowded, but that’s part of deal: if you don’t care to enjoy the somewhat chaotic atmosphere of the area, do yourself a favor and keep your distance. A visit is always an event.
Just relax as the poodles are escorted back into their seats in the double-​parked Jaguar in front of you. Roll down your window and check out the fashions walking by, or the beautiful statues spaced throughout the median strips. Listen to the music drifting from some of the restaraunts nearby or the scents from the bakeries or upscale bistros.
If you decide to park, there are scores of targets in the area if you are hungry for food, drinks, gifts or people-​watching. It’s always fun to visit the area. Enjoy!

This is a super place to be when in this area. Great shopping and great dining. Something for everyone. I shop, grab a quick bite/​drink in one restaurant, do some more shopping, eat in another place. Always clean streets and warm Gulf breezes when there. A «must do» place if in Sarasota.

Great place to go when visiting AMI. Bunch of individual boutique stores that range from art, to jewelry, to clothing, and even a few restaurants.
We enjoy walking through the circle, exploring each seasons new styles and good. I’ve never eaten at any of the restaurants, but I might visit the Tommy Bahama restaurant out of pure novelty. If you’re visiting Lido beach, or just looking for something to do beside hit the beach, this is a great alternative.

I love St. Armand’s Circle! It is a must visit while in the Sarasota area. It makes you feel like you are on an island. There are all sorts of different stores, cute tea shops, clothing shops, sandals shops, olive oil shops, soap/​lotion stores, etc.
If you are in the area then check it out. It a busy little circle and it is a lot of fun to shop at these cute little stores.
Cheers & Enjoy!

A great place to make great memories. Blue dolphin for breakfast, a boutique shoe store next to blue dolphin where you can find those favorite handmade shoes you bought in Charleston, a great restaurant (Venezia) for an informal dinner, even stores that sell only hot peppers or another peanuts. All of this amongst palm trees close to beautiful Lido Beach. Halloween «thriller» night. The Christmas tree lighting. Mardi Gras. A safe wonderful place to spend time.

Parking is next to impossible here. I heard so much about it so I took half a day and checked it out. The beach is amazing but this place is just too much of a tourist trap for me. Everything seemed cramped crowded and way overpriced.
I felt somewhat claustrophobic in this ‘circle’ and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

This is an attractive area for touristy shopping in Sarasota. Lots of stores featuring beach wear or other «coastal living» accoutrements, some kitschy, others classy. There are also a great variety of restaurants (we adored our lunch at Crab and Fin).
If you get tired of spending money, stroll around and check out the dozens of classical sculptures that grace the palm-​lined streets. Lovely!
Parking was sucky, but this is snowbird season and apparently everyone was out today! Still, every free parking lot was jammed. We found street parking, which was mercifully cost-​free. (I’m used to a city with tons of parking meters.)
Not far from beaches and close to the beautiful architecture of Sarasota’s downtown. A nice way to spend the day!

Parking sucks durning the busy season! It’s a beautiful area and place to walk and eat.

MIDDLE TO HIGH-​END
Especially since it’s so close to Sarasota’s famous beaches, St. Armand’s Circle caters to the middle and high-​class tourists. Either way, it’s very pretty to walk all around the circle and just mindlessly window shop all the stores you’ll pass. At the circle’s center there is a small park with trees which is often decorated for the season. Scattered throughout the bordering greenery are life-​size statues reminiscent of the Ringling Estate (also in Sarasota).
VARIETY OF SHOPS
Naturally the restaurants attract the most people and range from the Columbia (Cuban food based in nearby Tampa) to Le Macaron (small shop selling Macarons) to Sports Bars and Ice Cream shops. Shopping includes a large beach-​themed shop to prep the sun-​worshippers, hot sauce store, jewelry, clothing, and even hammocks.
HOW REGULAR PEOPLE TRAVEL
Probably the only place that really interested me here were the restaurants. None of the touristy, single-​focused shops, or high-​end fashion shops were in my price-​range nor caught my eye however I typically saw at least a couple people inside 75% of the shops.

Love this place and have been here so many times. Lots of shopping for everyone, lots of pic opportunities, and also tons of restaurants and dessert and ice cream shops. U can go to the beach, nearby and come here. Restaurants are also mostly dog friendly but there’s not much of dog friendly beach options in sarasota.

Awesome little gem in the middle of Sarasota. A must see place to spend a day (or 2) while in the area. The circle consists of a wide variety of boutiques, ice cream shops, restaurants, bars, unique stores (Tommy Bahama, Tea & Spice, etc) and plenty of sidewalks to simply walk around and take it all in. Very enjoyable, with something for everyone. I live about 1.5 hours away from here, but I always make it a point to stop by and spend the afternoon here while visiting. There is free parking, although I imagine it may get pretty packed during the high tourist time. Our particular time of visit was on a hot ‘n’ sweaty September Sunday afternoon and while people could be seen out and about enjoying the area (especially at the Colombia restaurant), it wasn’t packed by any means. We had no problem finding a spot right in the main area. Definitely a must visit for all!

I’d been hearing about this place for years and so glad we made time to see it in person. Justin had been here before but I hadn’t.
It’s just a wonderful, posh, and scenic outdoor shopping experience. I felt so cool walking around there, buying a new purse and some new sunglasses. It helped that I dressed up for the day as well– which certainly fit in with the scene.
Bring your shopping money– there are many high end stores here to choose from. I stuck with Starbucks and Designer Copies– I have great self control.
When I strike the lottery, I will go shopping here. In the meantime, as a mere peon, I will continue just strolling along, enjoying the scene!

This is a must see if you are anywhere in the area!
Since I live in Clearwater, it is about an hour to get to St. Armand’s Circle, which means this is not an everyday location for me. However, this is definitely a place I will bring every person who loves to shop when they visit. This is a do not miss if you are from out of town.
Parking can be a bit of a headache. There are free parking lots, which is kind of surprising, because it seems like a place that you would have to pay for parking. However, on a Saturday night, it seemed hard to find a parking spot.
There are tons of stores! A lot of really cute clothing stores and home décor places. This area is more on the upscale end. You’ll see a lot of fake blondes and botox. But don’t let that fool you, there are still a lot of affordable places too.
There is a good selection of food places also. Just spend a day shopping and eating good food.

I LOVE St. Armand’s Circle. I love walking around early in the morning before the hustle and bustle starts for the day. There is a myriad of shops and restaurants for everyone. The sculptures, greenery, and flowers are beautiful.
Be mindful that many of the people driving around the circle aren’t aware that they need to stop for pedestrians.
I want to plan a St. Armand’s Bar/​Pub Crawl… who’s in?

I have been visiting St. Armands Circle for a few years now. Shopping (including some high end) plus palm trees? You can’t beat that combo!
While there are lots of annoying tourists that flock to the area (perhaps myself included?) it certainly makes for good people watching.
There are lots of great jewelry stores, some of the best tried-​and-​true brand stores, and some fun options like the stadium store. Restaurants are good and candy & ice cream shops are plentiful. Definitely a good place to check out when you need to get a break from the sun & surf for a bit.

What? No reviews for St Armand’s?
Seriously…
Disclaimer #1: I am not native here, but I do visit Sarasota often.
Honest truth: it’s a tourist trap
Disclaimer #2: I like this tourist trap.
Here is the deal: it is close to several parks and Lido beach. It’s compact enough with many shops and restaurants cramped around circle, so you can park your car on one of free parking lots behind the shops and just walk around at your leisure.
In addition to your normal run-​of-​the-​mill shops, there are few boutiques worth exploring, with many treasures — from bags to jewelry to artsy clothing — all can be found here.
There are several decent restaurants, ice cream shops, candy shops — all in one small circle.
St. Armand’s is an upscale destination. It is clean, not awfully crowded, well-​lit at night — a pleasure to shop, eat and drink after long day at work or beach bumming.
With all shopping madness, do not forget about the park in very middle of it all — grab a coffee and french macarons, sit down and enjoy people watching in glorious Florida weather.

St. Armands Circle ist die Promenade (im Kreis, klar) auf dem Weg über den Ringling Boulevard zur sehr schönen (und etwas ruhigeren) Lido Beach. An einem Wochenendtag kann man dort flanieren und die Reichen der Gegend geben sich dort ein Stell-​Dich-​Ein. Luxuslimousinen sind dort an der Tagesordnung. Wir vergeben 4 Punkte weil es natürlich dort gemessen an der Klientel natürlich auch recht teuer ist. Nicht unbendingt klug mit einer Scharr hungriger Kinder dort aufzulaufen, das kann schnell etliche Dollar kosten.
Zu empfehlen (evtl. zu zweit) sind die Bar Tommy Bahama, oder das Hemmingways, aber auch hier gilt, alles etwas sehr teurer. Einfach vorher woanders essen und dort einen Drink genießen und die Große Welt schnuppern.