The Atlas Obscura Guide To Key West

25 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Key West, Florida

Updated April 22, 2026

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Unusual Attractions in Key West

Fort Jefferson, moat and wall

Key West, Florida

Dry Tortugas

These remote Florida islands have a history of sea turtles and sunken treasures, and one of the world’s largest coastal brick fortresses.

Key West, Florida

Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum

The former home of the Nobel Prize-winning American writer is now home to dozens of six-toed cats.

Robert the Doll

Key West, Florida

Robert the Doll

Here’s how Robert the Doll earned his reputation as the most haunted doll in the world.

The old hanging tree, once outside, now built into the bar.

Key West, Florida

Captain Tony's Saloon

Florida's oldest bar was once a morgue, complete with a hanging tree and gravestones.

Tourists flock to the buoy (Flickr/Turtle43)

Key West, Florida

Southernmost Point of the Continental U.S.

A monument celebrating the idea of reaching inaccessible places.

Nancy and Mr. Peaches.

Key West, Florida

Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden

Visitors are welcome to enter this lush Key West sanctuary to entertain its plethora of rescued parrots.

B. P. Roberts’ tombstone.

Key West, Florida

Key West Cemetery

The island residents are known for taking their quirky sense of humor with them to the grave.

See All 25 Things To Do in Key West

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Key West

The old hanging tree, once outside, now built into the bar.

Key West, Florida

Captain Tony's Saloon

Florida's oldest bar was once a morgue, complete with a hanging tree and gravestones.

Rooster Cemetery.

Key West, Florida

Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery

A small poultry graveyard in the courtyard of a popular Key West watering hole.

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Architectural Oddities 2

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Architecture 2

Sculptures 2

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Stories About Key West

The author’s mother found the letters of a missing man.

Letters Hidden in My Family’s Attic Reveal a 1910s Bank Con in Key West

The con artist was either a very unlucky man or a trickster who got away with it all.

by Asia London Palomba, Atlas Obscura

January 3, 2025

A “colossal” size claw at Key Largo Fisheries’ Backyard Cafe.

Consider the Stone Crab

In the Florida Keys, the local catch is "renewable."

by Darcy Rhyno, Atlas Obscura

Robert’s sailor suit is not original to the doll. It may have first belonged to one of his former owners, Robert Eugene Otto.

The Story Behind the World's Most Terrifying Haunted Doll

Robert the Doll is Key West's most cursed object.

by Andy Wright, Atlas Obscura

October 25, 2021

The Alligator Reef lighthouse, off the coast of Islamorada in the Florida Keys, is one of the four being given away gratis.

For Sale: A 19th-Century Screw-Pile Lighthouse With a View of Key West

For free: Four more of these derelict, decommissioned structures, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.

by Karuna Eberl, Atlas Obscura

November 22, 2019

A chicken family joins some Key West tourists for dinner.

All Your Favorite Island Vacation Spots Have Been Overrun by Feral Chickens

Key West, Kauai, and Bermuda each have too many chickens—but very different ways of dealing with them.

by Cara Giaimo, Atlas Obscura