Beneath the flat surface of the Sunshine State lies a massive honeycomb of limestone. While most of these Swiss-cheese holes are filled with water (our aquifer), a few rare spots have risen above the water table to create spectacular, air-filled cathedrals of stone. You don't need to go to Tennessee or Virginia to see stalactites. You just need to know where to look.

St. Augustine isn't just "old" (founded in 1565); it is a city built on layers of bizarre history, from pirate raids to Gilded Age excess. To truly see the "Fascinating" side of the Ancient City, you need to look past the tourist traps and find the stories hidden in the coquina walls. Here are the best things to see and do in St. Augustine, ranked by how fascinating they actually are.

In 1768, the ships arrived at the mosquito-choked inlet of Ponce de Leon. The reality hit them immediately. There was no housing. The land wasn't cleared. The provisions were short. The settlers were tasked with clearing dense palmetto scrub and pine forests to plant indigo, a cash crop the British desperate wanted. Conditions were brutal. The settlers died by the hundreds from scurvy, gangrene, and malaria. By some accounts, nearly half the population died within the first