The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens

With artwork dating from 2100 B.C.E. to current day, the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is a wonderful walk through the world's art timeline. The museum features ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian art, American and European paintings (including works by Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell), pieces from the Harlem Renaissance, a Meissen porcelain collection, and special exhibits. Lush, historic gardens overlooking the St. Johns River are also part of the museum tour. The gardens are original to the Cummer family property and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Parking at the Cummer Museum
Park for free at the main lot across the street from the museum or at the corner lot on Riverside Ave. and Post St. There is also free parking on streets near the museum.

Admission to the Cummer Museum
Students and senior citizens get a discount, children 5 and younger are free, and adults pay $10. Admission is free for everyone on Tuesdays, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on the first Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Military families receive free admission Memorial Day through Labor Day, then $6 admission the rest of the year. College students with ID are admitted free Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Best/Worst Time to visit the Cummer Museum
Wednesdays are a great day to visit the museum because there are usually fewer people. March and April are excellent months to tour the gardens. They are in full bloom and look their best. Late summer can be a difficult time to tour them because of the Florida heat, but the museum itself is air conditioned inside. Weekends tend to be busy. During the school year, there are often school tours going on at the museum, but they generally end before 12. The museum is still open to the public during that time. Don't come on a Monday when the museum is closed.

Must see/do at the Cummer Museum
Make the gardens a priority. They are over a hundred years old and are adorned with fountains, sculptures, arbors, and rare plants. Designed by some of the famous names in landscape architecture history, among them Ellen Biddle Shipman, each one has its own style and gives the sense of visiting different garden rooms. If coming with the kids, don't leave without visiting the interactive exhibit. Take time to see "Return from the Harvest," a 19th century photorealism oil painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau and "The Diving Boy," a bronze sculpture by Jacksonville native Augusta Savage, who played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance.

Other places to visit near the Cummer Museum
Keep up your art tour by visiting the nearby Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), which has works by Alexander Calder, Helen Frankenthaler, among others. From there, head to the Ritz Theatre and Museum to see the Ellie Lee Weems photography collection and take in the latest special art exhibit.

Insider tip for visitors to the Cummer Museum
Notice the bright red, steel kinetic sculpture on the museum's front lawn. Called "The Sea of the Ear Rings" and created by artist Takashi Soga, it is an open vertical ring adjoined near the top of an open horizontal ring. Watch carefully. The top ring will move up and down in response to the wind.

Author's bio: Freelance writer Barbara Merchant roams Jacksonville and St. Augustine with the experienced eye of a native and the open eagerness of a tourist.