As the oldest city in the Americas, St. Augustine is brimming with attractions, both historical and contemporary. It is easy to over spend on a St. Augustine vacation, but when the budget runs low, there are still many attractions to see for no charge. Strolling historic St. George Street is a good way to spend an afternoon, and there are many markers around the city explaining events that occurred throughout St. Augustine’s nearly 500-year old history. But besides strolling the city, Fort Matanzas, Mission de Nombre de Dios and the San Sebastian winery all offer unique and exciting tours for free.
Fort Matanzas
At the mouth of the Matanzas River, on a piece of land locals call “Rattlesnake Island,” sits a small Spanish fort. The fort is just big enough to house five canons and six soldiers, whose only job was to guard the Matanzas River against enemy attacks before they could reach St. Augustine.
Fort Matanzas is only accessible by tour boats, which depart every hour on the half-hour from 9:30 AM until 4:30 PM. Rangers and reenactors dressed in 18th-Century Spanish military regalia lead visitors on a tour of the fort and its island, complete with a history lesson of the 1565 massacre that gave the river its name. Fort Matanzas is located 15 miles south of the city of St. Augustine on Highway A1A. If traveling north from Flagler County towards St. Augustine on A1A, the fort is visible on the left while crossing the Matanzas Inlet Bridge.
Mission de Nombre de Dios
St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menendez de Aviles at the site of the Mission de Nombre de Dios in 1565. The founding of the city included a large Catholic mass, establishing the first Catholic mission in the Americas. The man who led that mass, Father Lopez, is honored with a statue at this historic site.
The mission has a shrine to the Lady of Guadeloupe, an outdoor altar to commemorate the first mass held in St. Augustine, a 208-feet tall stainless-steel cross, a shrine and chapel dedicated to Our Lady of La Leche, and excavation sites maintained by the University of Florida. Artifacts from recent excavations are some of the oldest, if not the oldest, remnants of Spanish settlements in the Americas.
Mission de Nombre de Dios is impossible to miss, since the Great Cross can be seen from almost anywhere in St. Augustine. The mission sits on Highway A1A, a mile north of Castillo de San Marcos.
San Sebastian Winery Tour
Most historians believe St. Augustine is the birthplace of American wines. San Sebastian continues the American wine making tradition from a historic East Coast Railway building in the heart of the city. Known for table and dessert wines made from Floridian muscadine grapes, San Sebastian has won over 300 awards.
Touring the winery is absolutely free and family friendly. The tour demonstrates the details of the wine making process, including showing visitors the barrels where the wine ferments. A wine tasting finishes the tour for adults, while children are treated to red and white varieties of muscadine grape juice.
San Sebastian winery is located on King Street, just north of Flagler College and the other historical downtown attractions. Tours are given Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 11:00 AM until 6:00 PM.
New Free Attractions Coming Soon
The Whetstone Chocolate Factory once had one of the most popular free tours in St. Augustine. Tours at the present factory on State Road 312 were discontinued in late 2009, but will resume at a new factory site in late 2010. As always, the tour will include a complimentary milk-chocolate seashell for each visitor to sample. As the only working chocolate factory in the entire state of Florida, Whetstone Chocolates offers a unique experience to learn about the chocolate making process. When this tour resumes, it is a definite must-see attraction.
Katie Evans - Katie Evans is a former community college English professor. She spent several years as Senior Editor of a search directory before making ...
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