The thriving west coast city of Tampa is out to prove that not all the action in the warmly welcoming southern state of Florida happens at Miami Beach or Cape Canaveral. At the heart of its revitalisation is Ybor City, the historic heart of the old cigar industry.

Tampa is also living testimony to the fact that not every Floridian has an incurable predilection for Gloria Estefan and a sartorial insensibility that teams B-Grade actors, five-o'clock-shadows and pastel jackets with rolled-up sleeves. Miami Vice, you have a lot to answer for.

While it's true that Tampa, in combination with nearby St Petersburg, is energetically promoting the sundry pleasures of holidaying off the annoyingly pleasant Gulf of Mexico, it's also attempting to throw off the big-haired, buffed-bod, rollerblading stereotype that sticks like fake tan to any city south of the 30° parallel.


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