Is it Halloween or the Pensacola Historic Museum? It's both! October 20-21, and 27-28, Halloween Haunted House Walking and Trolley Tours will be conducted. Pensacola's frequent festivals and fiestas provide special glimpses into the fascinating past of "America's First Settlement," but it's also easy to catch the sense of heritage just by exploring at your leisure any day of the year.

Three to See

Three "must sees" are the Pensacola Historical Museum on Zaragosa Street, the Civil War Soldiers Museum on South Palafox Place and the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

The historical museum provides insights about the five nations whose flags flew over Pensacola (Spain, France, England, the Confederacy and, of course, the United States), while the Soldiers Museum focuses on life in Pensacola during the troubled years when Union troops held Fort Pickens while, right across the Bay, the South held Fort McRee.

Pensacola also is home to the Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team and is known as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation." It all began after the Navy shipyard (which was established in 1825) evolved into an air station and propelled the city into the forefront of aviation. To learn more about the forts, the Navy and the planes, be sure to visit the Naval Air Station and the National Museum of Naval Aviation.

All Photos this page courtesy Pensacola Visitors Information Center Vietnam Wall South on Main Street to remember those who have served and who are currently serving in the armed forces. Take a Walking Tour The Seville Historic District is one of the oldest and most intact in all of Florida, and its architecture reflects the modest structures perfectly suited to the climate. Within this small neighborhood is Florida's oldest church, which dates back to 1832, and St. Michael's Cemetery, which was deeded to Pensacola by the King of Spain in 1822.

Perhaps the best way to experience the heritage of this fascinating city is to start downtown with a walking tour among the oaks in the Seville Historic District.

Historic Pensacola Village contains many of the city's finest historic buildings and artifacts. Revealed along its streets is a panorama of Florida Coast history that spans the period from De Luna's settlement to the 20th Century wane of the Lumber Boom Era.

While strolling, stop by Old Christ Chruch on Zaragoza and Adams streets and view the exquisite stained glass work within, right Visitors will learn about the city's most colorful residents and visitors, including Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana; William Augustus Bowles, the white renegade leader of the Creek Indian uprising; and General Andrew Jackson, who later became President of the United States.

Through beautifully renovated buildings housing artifacts, historic costumes, photographs and antiques and through exhibits and displays, Historic Pensacola Village recreates the ambiance and charm of Spanish and British Colonial times, the vitality of the American Territorial Era, the intrigue of the War Between the States and the bustle of a port city during the Lumber Boom.

The Tivoli House at 205 East Zaragoza Street in Historic Pensacola Village is a perfect place to begin a guided tour, to pick up printed guides and other materials or to visit the Village's Museum Gift Shop. Reconstructed in 1976 from photographs and an archaeological dig, the Tivoli House was originally built in 1805 and used as a boarding and gaming house.

Courtesy of the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Waterfront dining is available at several sites downtown. Your walking tour should include:

Old Christ Church, Zaragoza and Adams Streets, the oldest church in Florida

Museum of Commerce, Tarragona and Zaragoza Streets, built in 1898-1903, and displaying shops, carriages and a trolley car out of Pensacola's past

Charles Lavalle House, 205 East Church Street, typifying the French artisans who built most of the local homes toward the end of the late Spanish period (1781- 1821)

Lear-Rocheblave House, 214 East Zaragoza Street, where the Captain Benito Rocheblave family lived from 1897-1910, provides visitors with a glimpse of middle-class family life during the end of the Victorian Period.

St. Michael Cemetery, Alcaniz and Garden Streets, an 8-acre cemetery that chronicles Pensacola's history over more than 200 years; slaves and nobility alike are buried here

Julee Cottage Museum, 210 East Zaragoza Street, built in 1805, showcasing the unique contributions of African Americans in Florida, including those of Julee Patton, the legendary freedwoman of color who owned the cottage

Dorr House, 311 South Adams Street, where its possible to take a step back into Victorian times while enjoying the exquisite furnishings of a Greek Revival style home

The Colonial Archeological Trail, a series of outdoor exhibits featuring Pensacola's colonial past, is another "must see" stop on your walking tour. Included are ruins of the colonial commanding officer's house and associated refuse pits, the foundations of the officer of the day's building just inside the western gate and the remains of what appears to have been a trader's home and warehouse just outside the western gate of the British fort built during the American Revolution, and the foundations of the colonial ordinance building. The remains of the British Fort George near downtown Pensacola have also been partially reconstructed and it, too, is worth a visit.