Acclaimed as one of the best mid-sized zoos in the country, Lowry Park Zoo features many rare and endangered species among its 1500 plus inhabitants.

Each species is housed in surroundings similar to its natural habitat and include primates, komodo dragons, red pandas, manatees, alligators and other native Florida wildlife as well as 50 brightly plumed lorikeets in a spacious free-flight aviary.

Lowry Park Zoo is located one mile (half a kilometer) west of Interstate 275 north, exit 31.

From the zoo, return to Interstate 275 and continue north, taking exit 3. Head east along East Fowler Avenue to MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), the largest science center in the southeastern United States and home of the first IMAX theater in Florida.

Leaving the museum, take 56th Street (Route 583) south to join Interstate 4 west. Take exit 1 to Ybor City, home to around 20,000 Cuban and Latin American immigrants during the late eighteenth and early twentieth century when Tampa was the 'Cigar Capital of the World'.

The Ybor City State Museum on Ninth Avenue is a good starting point and also offers free 30-minute long walking tours between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, starting from Ybor Square at the corner of 13th Street and Eighth Avenue.