The Ringling
The Ringling
4.5
Speciality MuseumsArt MuseumsHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Ringling is located in Sarasota, Florida and preserves the legacy of John and Mable Ringling. It is home to the State Art Museum of Florida, the historic Ca' d'Zan Mansion, Bayfront Gardens, the Art Library, two Circus Museums, and the Historic Asolo Theater. The grounds and gardens are free to visit, and the Museum of Art offers free admission on Mondays.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Dan L
    Bloomington, Indiana87 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Free Mondays are absolutely worth it
    We went on a Monday when the gardens and art museum was free and wow did it deliver. We started by walking the gardens and around the porch at Ca d’Zan taking in the beautiful views. Then we proceeded to the art museum and were blown away by not just the pieces but the architectural pieces they brought as well. The recordings on the website were really fun and helpful for those that prefer listening to reading, I just wish that there were a few more of them.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 28, 2023
  • Karen C
    Winter Haven, Florida222 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoyable Day at The Ringling
    My husband and I bought the tickets which included The Circus and Art Museums and a tour of Ca’D’Zan (the historic mansion of John and Mable Ringling). The tour started in the morning, a short time after our arrival. We leisurely strolled up to the mansion and stopped at Mable’s lovely rose garden on our way. The Mediterranean mansion was wonderfully designed and breathtaking from the outside as it sits overlooking Sarasota Bay. Susan, our tour guide was enthusiastic and made our inside tour memorable. We saw a glimpse of the Ringling’s glamorous lifestyle. We experienced the first floor entertainment rooms and their glorious furnishings. We also were able to go up the marble spiral staircase to see John and Mable’s lavish bedrooms and a guest room as well. After our wonderful tour, we went to the Circus Museums and were impressed at all the amazing artifacts from the Big Top. The miniature circus set up was extraordinary! I loved all the circus cars and advertisements. It reminded me of long ago, when the circus came to town and how exciting it was for the people to experience it! We spent so much time of our day in these places, that we never got to the Art Museum. So, it gives us an excuse to come back to visit!
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 8, 2023
  • sue0201
    Hampstead, New Hampshire6 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Day at the Circus
    Decided to visit based on my friend's recommendation. There is so much to see! The miniture display was so detailed and really fascinating! Leave yourself plenty of time. We also toured the first floor of the mansion. Beautiful!
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 19, 2023
  • vriggs13
    New York City, New York2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful Venitian mansion with art gallery
    Beautiful Venetian mansion on the water with amazing water views. Wonderful art gallery with famous painters such as Rubens. The courtyard is stunning with European statutes in it. I enjoyed sitting there and just looking at the statues. Restaurant is wonderful with the chef from Italy.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 23, 2023
  • Andy O
    Skippack, Pennsylvania174 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Renaissance Art and circus museum in one stop.
    Visited with family of grandmother, mom and dad, 3 college students and 1 HS student. Museum grounds a very pretty. There are three things to see: the mansion built by John Ringling, the Ringling art museum with renaissance, Asian, and some modern art, and the Circus museum. The circus museum is probably the most interesting actually. Allow a few hours.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 26, 2023
  • Eaton_Out
    Greenville, South Carolina650 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    One of the best museums we have toured!
    We exited I-75 with the intent to drive through Sarasota's historic district. We did get a good look at this quaint town and headed north on US 41 Tamiami Trail. As we began to research the location of The Ringling Museum online we stumbled upon it. Parking was free and plentiful. Senior pricing for the museums (excluding the house) was $23. We headed straight to "The Big Top" where we saw a great video about The Ringling tent circus. A hall with digital copies of circus posters followed. We then entered a 360 degree diorama containing a huge model of a tent circus that explained how the tent circus operated 100 years ago. After we exited the diorama we went to another hall in this same building where we saw another video about acts that traveled with the circus and lots of real Ringling Circus memorabilia. John Ringling's first rail car was in in an adjoining building along with other circus animal wagons and larger memorabilia. We only toured these buildings due to time constraints but several other venues, including an art museum and gardens, were available for touring on the basic ticket. This museum visit was the highlight of our Thanksgiving weekend trip to Florida.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 30, 2023
  • 2doglady
    Tennessee1,000 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Could Have Stayed Twice as Long
    We stopped in at The Ringling as we were passing through Sarasota, FL. We only had about an hour and a half before we had to get back on the road. We would have loved spending twice that amount of time here! We spent our time in the circus museum and were so intrigued. I felt a smile grow across my face as I walked in and saw these memories and I think I smiled all the way through. Mr. Tibbal’s circus display is absolutely incredible. You could walk around it 10 times and find new things each time. The circus posters, the family train, the wagons, and the other memorabilia were so neat to see. I guess I never realized that this much went into making the circus happen. I hope to return to Sarasota to visit again and see the rest of the grounds and the art museum here. I would highly recommend a stop here!
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written December 9, 2023
  • erodrig26
    Parker, Colorado585 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Must-See Attraction in Sarasota FL
    What a great experience. Never knew a lot about history of the circus and everything that went into putting on the show in the early years. The Howard Brothers Circus Model did a great job of explaining and showing what it was like in the early days when there was a big top where circuses performed. The historical artifacts on display were sensational. It was also interesting to find out about all of the Ringling brothers. We also toured John and Mabel Ringling's home. What a magnificent place and the view from the house is breath taking.
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written December 21, 2023
  • DiverDudeTraveler
    Boston, Massachusetts33 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very Unique Place
    I have to admit that I didn't expect to like this place as much as I did. Yeah the grounds and buildings and artifacts were pretty and interesting, but it was the huge model circus that was so impressive. So many details and model vignettes about life in a traveling circus. Great mix of videos, real artifacts and stuff of the time with which to engage. Hard to describe - if you're there, just go!
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written December 29, 2023
  • bertaron
    215 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Bring good walking shoes
    The time said leave 2 to 3 hours I say you need more. Depending on the package you can see 2 circus museums, the Ringling house right on the water and a ton of art in the museum. We easily did over 10k steps. The house is beautiful, the art was fine but if you aren’t art lover than maybe not and the Circus museums were impressive. They had one giant room with a miniature town with Circus tents set up. It must have taken years to finish
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written December 29, 2023
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Emu1978
Orlando, FL48 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020 • Couples
I am sick to my stomach that I paid $50 for my husband and I to visit this museum. It is not worth $25 a person in the Covid world in which we live. First of all I’ve been to the Met and the MoMa in NYC. This art museum was trashy. There is no pandemic first of all. Second of all to be inside of an EMPTY art museum and be force to wear a mask when you just came in side from a 90° day is insane. I was followed around through the main art gallery by a woman glaring at me cause I pulled my mask down so I COULD BREATH! There are no signs directing you around the property or in the art museum for that matter. There sure is a lot of signs making sure you social distance. We wish we could of seen the other paintings but sadly your staff just wants to make sure I’m wearing a mask in an empty room. I was extremely disappointed that the Muse cafe was shut down. Being a grain free vegan, my husband and I had to cut our visit short today because your hot dog stand didn’t offer any food that met my dietary needs. Only half of the circus museum is open. When we bought our tickets the lady at the counter seemed shocked that we didn’t want to buy tickets for the house but why would we when only the first floor is open and there are no tours being offered?!! This museum should offer a Covid price of $15.00. I came for a circus museum. I saw half. I wish I could get a refund.
Written September 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BBB
Winter Garden, FL1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
The first time I came to the Ringling Museum I had an amazing time. My best friend sent me a post on Instagram and we instantly planned trip! The second time was for my birthday earlier this year where we were racially profiled and followed by Tammy, a museum security guard. My friend and I were taking pictures in one of the galleries when we were approached by her saying "photoshoots are not allowed on the premises without an extra cost." Confused by this because we were never told we could not take pictures, we continued on to the next room. We were followed by her. Feeling uncomfortable, we then went outside where she followed us again and said "ladies if you want to have a photoshoot you have to pay". I explained that we were never told we could not take pictures and asked what constituted as a photoshoot. She had no rebuttal. You would think we were professional photographers with equipment and expensive cameras. However that was not the case, we were just two Black woman taking pictures with their Iphones. We asked for her name and spoke to the on duty manager who explained that we were completely in our rights to take pictures.

The ironally of this all is that we found out about this place through a photo sharing app. As paying customers we should not have had to gone through that. The fact that she made it a point to follow us and harass us is clear that it was based on race because there were other people with their phones out and they were not told by Tammy to pay an extra fees.

Please be sure to educate your employees on racial biases and the basic policies of the museum. Policies about taking photos are clear in the museum guide and the fact that your employees don't know what a proper photo shoot is and what the policies are indicates that training is poor and not up to par. No one should have to go through what my friend and I did. Will never come back.
Written December 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ArdleyA
Colorado5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
The Ringling has several museum pay options: the winter home of the John Ringling family, the fine-arts museum, and the circus museum. On Mondays the fine-arts museum is free but get there early because the parking lot fills up. The circus museum has two buildings, one of which is currently under renovation. Great place for adults. The circus museum might be fun for kids. There is a great playground for kids on the property, which juts up to the water, with a beautiful view and walking paths.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jerry B
Branson, MO1,233 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Don't let Thumbs Down discourage you. She's done 2 reviews. I've done over a thousand. This place is great. You can pay for a docent tour of the upstairs Ca'd'Zan or do what we did and just see the downstairs. It's a look at the history of Circus with a scale model of the entire operation visible at eye level and above eye level. The model takes over 3,000 sq ft. It's just amazing to see how over 1,000 people put up the circus every day, performed, took it down and moved on to the next town. It's a neat experience which follows with a tour of the mansion financed by the circus. The grounds have a garden and the check in building (tickets etc) has a Banyon Cafe to snack. Sandwiches, coffees, etc. Prices are reasonable as well.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JBDAVIS
Lakeland, FL712 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
I'm not sure why Ringling museum has never been on my radar before since I've lived less than 2 hours away for the last 25 years. Perhaps it's because my father always mentioned the art museum and much to his dismay I have always been uncultured and illiterate when it comes to art. That being said I did make a small foray into the art museum upon our recent visit. I don't think we saw all of the art museum but we did see the Peter Paul Rubens exhibit which the museum is noted for. My main motivation to visit was to see then mansion and gardens. When you purchase your ticket make sure you also pay the additional $10 to access the first floor of the Ringling mansion. We had to circle back to the entrance to purchase the additional ticket/armband. This actually worked out well since the weather went from overcast and raining to sunny. Given the prime location of the mansion on the bay, sunny weather provides much better photo ops. The exterior of the mansion and the banyan trees in the garden are quite spectacular. The circus museum with its detailed miniatures was amazing. The miniatures with the accompanying history provide such insight into the circus at the turn of the 20th century. Wow! I could feel why - the circus is coming to town -was such an event. There is a little bit of something for everyone at the Ringling museum. We got there just after the museum opened at 10 AM. I am glad we got there early since when we left 3 1/2 hours later it was much more crowded.
Written February 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

342suellenb
Lakeland, FL5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
After dropping a friend off at the airport in Sarasota, It was still early morning, so I decided to visit the John and Mabel Ringling home and museum which is next to the airport. I took two guided tours of the house and the art museum and walked the grounds and circus museum by myself. What a fun day I had wandering around taking in all the magnificent art and seeing the awesome scale model circus (A must see)! It was a beautiful day in February when the weather is just right for walking outside. I recommend it for anyone looking to spend the day walking through the gardens and taking in a little bit of Florida history and the beautiful works of art. Also, I enjoyed the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had sitting on the lovely patio outside of the restaurant there on the grounds! It really was delicious with bits of maple in all that melted cheese! So, go there and have a really nice day!
Written March 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Faye B
Naples, FL4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
It is worth the visit, one of the better places to go to in the state of FL. The only complaint was the restaurant that we ate in, the one more formal needs to address the issue of trying to sit more people than they have room for. Good thing there was no fire.
We would have not gotten out, also the service very slow. Food was good but would not go to that restaurant again, they do have two others but just sandwiches. Otherwise it is well worth the cost, also pay for the tour up to the 3 and 4 floor of the mansion
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jean E R
Easley, SC102 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
While visiting friends in Sarasota the 4 of us visited the Ringling Museum, which is a collection of art museum, circus museum, Ringling winter home, and a library. So MUCH to see. Best to plan ahead with online orders for house tour tickets. If only time for 1 of the 2 tours would recommend the "Martha". We were fortunate to have time for both "Martha" and "John". Had lunch (reservation made) in the museum restaurant and enjoyed a menu of typical lunch offerings with a twist. Look forward to going back again when our travels take us to Sarasota
Written March 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kellach3
Fonthill, Canada68 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Couples
Head to the Ringling Art Gallery. My husband and I really enjoyed checking out the art gallery and grounds! We went on a Monday (complimentary admission to most exhibits) right when they were opening at 10:00. We spend nearly 2 hours there and when we were leaving there was a long line to gain entry so I recommend going when they open as we did. The grounds at the gallery felt like we stepped into Europe. Afterwards we headed to L & L Hawaiian Barbecue for lunch. đź‘Ťđź‘Ť
Written May 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mom777
Tampa, FL124 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020 • Family
Took my 2 teens to this museum because one of them is in an Art History class and has studied many types of art that they have here at the Ringling. Beautiful art collection and grounds! We paid for just the art museum which also included the Circus history part too (which was surprisingly interesting to see). We did not pay to tour the home (the Ca’D’Zan) but we were allowed to walk up to the home and walk along the water and look out onto Sarasota Bay. Do not pass up seeing the Historic Galleries in the Circus Museum! The gardens are beautiful, give yourself time to have a nice walk and see it all.
Written March 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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The Ringling - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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