WHERE else can one spend the morning reveling in the beauty of works by Peter Paul Rubens, Frans Hals and Botticelli and the afternoon lolling on a powdery white sand beach? That is the lure of Sarasota, the city perched on the Gulf of Mexico where John and Mable Ringling, the circus impresario and his wife, set the stage for a vibrant cultural life after buying land there in 1911. Not only did John Ringling create the old-master-filled John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, but he brought the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to winter in Sarasota. His elephants even hauled timber for the John Ringling Causeway, which links the mainland to Lido Key. Nature, which initially attracted the Ringlings and other wealthy Midwesterners, provides its own set of pleasures beyond the beaches: whether it’s fishing, watching manatees and sea turtles or strolling past orchids and mangroves in an expansive botanical garden. For more civilized diversions, there is a plethora of restaurants and shops, and even an opera and orchestra.

Friday

4 p.m.

1. FIRST LOOK

Locals take happy hour seriously in Sarasota, when drink prices often drop to as low as $4 from Monday to Friday. Enjoy the vista and the good value at Marina Jack (2 Marina Plaza; 941-365-4232; marinajacks.com) on the marina between downtown Sarasota and St. Armands Circle, which is chockablock with restaurants and shops. Take in the expansive view of Bird Key as you sip a Southern Peach Tea made with vodka, lemonade and iced tea ($8.25). Music lovers will enjoy the live band that plays every afternoon, or try the quieter outdoor deck where you can admire the yachts in the harbor.

7 p.m.

2. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Whether you eat in the series of rooms with dark parquet wood floors, a profusion of plants and smoky emerald green walls covered with art or upstairs in the more casual dining room and bar, don’t pass up the fried green tomato fusion (panko- and cornmeal-crusted green tomatoes pan-fried with sweet chili sauce, $13.50) at Euphemia Haye (5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive; 941-383-3633; euphemiahaye.com). Splurge on the roast duckling ($38.50), if you dare, which is filled with bread crumb stuffing and topped with a tangy fruit sauce. The lush dessert menu includes Key lime pie. If the staff seems unusually friendly, you can blame the owners — Raymond, also the chef, and D’Arcy Arpke — who give 32-year veteran staff members either a bonus or a trip.

9:30 p.m.

3. NEWSROOM BAR

Five years ago a group of investors bought the former Sarasota Times building, a Spanish-style stucco edifice built in 1926, and converted it into Ceviche, a tapas bar and restaurant (1216 First Street; 941-952-1036; ceviche.com), which is as lively as the newsroom once was. For drinks the rooftop open-air bar, illuminated at night by red lanterns, torches and TV screens, is ideal for a Ceviche Island Mojito ($9) and a view of the water. The third floor has a full tapas menu, live music and occasional flamenco. There is a main dining room below with the same tapas menu. (Come soon; it is moving downtown next year.)