Amelia Island is a barrier island at the northeastern tip of Florida, just across the state line from Georgia and about 30 miles from Jacksonville. It has the distinction of having flown eight different flags over its history — French, Spanish, British, patriot rebels, the Green Cross of Florida, Mexican, Confederate, and American — more than any other place in the country. That history is still visible in the streets of Fernandina Beach, the island's main town, where the Fernandina Beach Historic District lines Centre Street with locally owned shops, seafood restaurants, and buildings that date back to the 1870s.
The island runs about 13 miles north to south, with wide sandy beaches on the Atlantic side and salt marshes along the Intracoastal Waterway to the west. At the northern end, Fort Clinch State Park is worth a visit for the well-preserved Civil War-era fort and the trails through coastal hammock forest. The shrimping fleet still works out of Fernandina Beach harbor, and the annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival each spring is a genuine community event rather than a tourist production.
Near the southern end of the island, American Beach is one of Florida's most significant African American historic sites — a beach community established during segregation that gave Black Floridians access to the Atlantic coast when most other beaches were effectively closed to them. The Amelia Island Museum of History in a converted jail building tells the full eight-flags story, and the Amelia Island Light — Florida's oldest surviving lighthouse — stands at the northern tip.
If you are looking for a Florida beach town that has not been overrun by high-rises and chain restaurants, Amelia Island is a good bet. It is quieter and more low-key than the big-name beach destinations further south, with enough good restaurants and natural beauty to fill a long weekend without ever feeling like you are at a theme park. For a drink in a place with real history, The Palace Saloon on Centre Street has been serving since 1903.