St. Armands Circle One-of-a-Kind Shops & Dining

MustDo.com | St. Armands Circle is a Sarasota, Florida Shopping & Dining Destination

Photo credit Nita Ettinger

Looking for a little continental flair while shopping in the Sarasota, Florida area? Then don’t miss St. Armands Circle on Lido Key with more than 140 boutiques, galleries, cafes, and restaurants. Set amidst lush tropical plantings, palm-lined medians, courtyards, and antique statuary, St. Armands Circle offers a truly unique shopping trip. The area was first developed in the 1920s by legendary circus magnate John Ringling, who also built the first causeway onto Lido Key. Today, St. Armands Circle is a cosmopolitan shopping area and sure to provide an unforgettable experience.

Parking is on and around St. Armands Circle convenient. New paid parking meters were installed in late 2018. Meters accept credit cards. There is a parking lot and garage a short walk from The Circle and accessible from Adams Drive as you come onto The Circle from the Ringling Bridge. The garage has 504 spaces (cost $.50 per hour) and there are 197 surface lot spaces in the lot on South Adams Drive (cost $.75 per hour). There is also new public restrooms in the garage! Additional parallel and diagonal parking can be found on Blvd. of the Presidents, Madison Drive, John Ringling Blvd., Monroe Drive, and North and South Adams Drive, and in front of shops and restaurants for up to 3 hours*. Rates for parking are $1.00 or $1.50 per hour based on location. There are 186 FREE unrestricted parking spaces located north of Madison Drive on No. Boulevard of the Presidents and south of Monroe Drive on So. Boulevard of the Presidents.

St. Armands also offers valet parking from 4:30 to 11 p.m. between Cafe L’Europe and Cha Cha Coconuts.

*The 3-hour parking limit on St. Armands Circle runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is not in effect from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. during the week and weekends.

Metered on-street parking:  Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Free Saturday, Sunday and City Holidays

Garage parking:  Monday – Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Free Sunday and City Holidays

Public Restrooms are located in the Parking Garage and are ADA complaint/handicapped accessible.

Metered parking can be paid by credit card, coins, or through the ParkMobile App.

Written by:

Nita Ettinger is Co-publisher for Siesta Publications Inc. and the Editor in Chief for Must Do Visitor Guides. Must Do Visitor Guides provides Southwest Florida visitor information through printed magazines and the website MustDo.com. Must Do magazines are published bi-annually and are available at no cost in Sarasota, Lee, and Collier County Chamber of Commerce, visitor information centers, select Southwest Florida hotels, and wherever free publications can be found.