11 of The Most Unique Museums in Florida To Visit in 2025

There’s always something for everybody

These 11 museums are just like Florida: eclectic and never quite what you expect. These places show off collections ranging from Navy SEAL gear to old airplanes, making Florida perfect for both serious museum fans and casual visitors.

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art serves as Florida’s official state art museum.

John and Mable Ringling started it in 1927, and now it holds over 10,000 pieces of art in 21 galleries, including works by famous artists like Rubens, Velázquez, and Bernini.

When John Ringling lost most of his money in 1929, he made sure the museum would live on by giving it to Florida. The museum includes Ca’ d’Zan, a huge 36,000-square-foot mansion built like the ones in Venice, along with the Circus Museum and Tibbals Learning Center.

You can also visit the Secret Garden where John, Mable, and Ida Ringling North are buried.

The Dalí – Salvador Dalí Museum (St. Petersburg)

On the waterfront in St. Petersburg, you’ll find The Dalí Museum, which has the biggest collection of Salvador Dalí’s art outside of Spain.

The museum holds more than 2,400 pieces including paintings, prints, photos, and sculptures. The building itself looks like something Dalí would have dreamed up, with its stunning Enigma – a 75-foot glass dome made of 1,062 triangle pieces.

Inside, you can see 96 oil paintings, including eight masterworks like ‘The Hallucinogenic Toreador.’ The walls are 18 inches thick to protect everything from hurricanes.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (St. Augustine)

In St. Augustine, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum sits in Castle Warden, an old building with Moorish style that became the first permanent Ripley’s museum in 1950.

This three-floor museum covers 20,000 square feet and has over 800 weird and wonderful exhibits, including real shrunken heads and items Robert Ripley collected himself.

Besides strange objects, you can go on ghost tours because many people think the building is haunted.

The Wizard of Oz Museum

Moving from odd items to magical lands, Cape Canaveral’s Wizard of Oz Museum offers another special experience.

This 4,500-square-foot museum has over 3,000 Oz items, including the very first copy of ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ with L. Frank Baum’s signature. You can step into the magic through 31 projectors showing special Oz scenes, walk down an interactive Yellow Brick Road, and see real treasures like the dress Dorothy wore in the movie.

The museum also has Judy Garland’s personal jacket and shows how Oz has shaped American culture.

World Erotic Art Museum

In Miami Beach, the World Erotic Art Museum stands as America’s only museum focused on artistic views of human sexuality.

Started in 2005, this 12,000-square-foot space holds over 4,000 pieces spanning more than 2,000 years, including work by masters like Rembrandt, Picasso, and Dalí.

The museum gives daily tours, has resources for scholars, and teaches people about human sexuality in a respectful way.

Adults 18 and older can visit every day from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM for $25 to see art from around the world and changing modern exhibits.

St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum

The St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum captures imaginations with over 800 real pirate items spread across 5,000 square feet.

This special place has amazing treasures including Blackbeard’s actual gun and one of only three real Jolly Roger flags left in the world. You can dive into pirate history through fun features like a 3D sound show made by Disney creators and demonstrations of electronic cannons.

The museum lets you touch items and open discovery drawers marked with skull and crossbones, making it fun for everyone. There’s even a copy of a street from Port Royal that takes you back to pirate times.

Titanic Artifact Exhibition

When you visit Orlando’s Titanic Artifact Exhibition, you get a boarding pass and become a “real” Titanic passenger. You can see over 300 actual items from the ship and walk through full-size rooms built to look just like the ones on board.

The museum’s most impressive piece is the ‘Little Big Piece,’ a huge 3-ton part of the actual ship. You can touch a real iceberg, feel how cold the Atlantic was on the Promenade Deck, and look at items found in the wreck like ceramic jugs and spittoons.

On Friday and Saturday nights, you can even enjoy a fancy First-Class Dinner like passengers did.

National Navy SEAL Museum

In Fort Pierce, the National Navy SEAL Museum sits where Navy combat divers once trained. It’s America’s only museum about these elite warriors.

Since 1985, this museum has told the story of Navy SEALs and the forces that came before them through real items and interesting exhibits.

You can see the actual lifeboat from the Captain Phillips rescue, visit the impressive UDT-SEAL Memorial, and even try out the outdoor obstacle course.

Potter’s Wax Museum

George L. Potter started America’s first wax museum in 1948. After seeing Madame Tussaud’s in London as a kid, he decided to open this special place in St. Augustine, Florida.

Now at 31 Orange Street, the museum shows more than 160 carefully made wax figures of politicians, celebrities, and historical figures. Each figure looks incredibly real, with eyes made in Germany and hands crafted in Belgium.

Charles Hosmer Morse Museum

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum in Winter Park, Florida holds the world’s biggest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work.

Started in 1942, this amazing place shows American art from 1850-1920 across 19,000 square feet. You can see the rebuilt Tiffany Chapel from the 1893 World’s Fair and treasures from Tiffany’s Long Island home, including the beautiful 1915 Daffodil Terrace.

The museum has more than just Tiffany pieces – it also shows over 800 pieces of American Art Pottery and work by famous artists like John Singer Sargent and Samuel F.B. Morse.

Fantasy of Flight Museum

From Tiffany’s beautiful art to amazing planes, Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida thrills anyone who loves aircraft.

Kermit Weeks started it in 1995, and it now has the world’s largest private collection of old aircraft, with over 120 historic planes.

Though it’s only open during certain times of the year now, you can see 20-25 perfectly restored aircraft, including rare planes from World War II like the P-51 Mustang and B-24 Liberator.