The Ringling Museum Guide: Tickets, Free Mondays and How Long to Spend

When visitors ask us what to do in Sarasota besides the beach, The Ringling is almost always our first answer. It's also bigger than most people expect: an art museum, a circus museum, a mansion on the bay and 66 acres of gardens, all on one estate. This Ringling Museum guide covers what's on the grounds, how tickets and free Mondays work, how long to plan, and how to fit it into a trip built around St. Armands Circle and Lido Key.

The Ringling at a Glance

• What it is: the bayfront estate of circus owner John Ringling and his wife Mable, now the State Art Museum of Florida.
• Where: 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota, on the mainland close to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ). It's a short drive from St. Armands Circle.
• Hours: open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the Museum of Art and Bayfront Gardens open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
• Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
• Free Mondays: the Museum of Art, Bayfront Gardens and Glass Pavilion are free to the public on Mondays.
• Parking: free, along both sides of the drive approaching the Museum of Art.
• Time needed: at least half a day. A full day if you want to see everything.

What's on the Grounds

The Ringling is really five places in one. Here's what each one is, so you can decide where to spend your time.

Museum of Art. John Ringling built this pink Italian-style palazzo to hold his collection of European paintings, and it officially opened in 1932. The headline is Peter Paul Rubens: the museum holds five of the surviving large canvases from his Triumph of the Eucharist series, displayed in a gallery built for them. There's also a courtyard full of classical statue replicas that's worth a slow lap. Rotating exhibitions run through the year, so check what's on before your visit.

Ca' d'Zan. The Ringlings' Venetian-inspired mansion sits right on Sarasota Bay. It was completed in 1926 after about two years of construction and has 56 rooms in roughly 36,000 square feet. Mable worked closely with architect Dwight James Baum on the design. For many visitors, standing on the marble terrace looking out at the water is the highlight of the whole estate.

Circus Museum. Founded in 1948, it was the first museum in the country devoted to documenting circus history. Don't miss the Howard Bros. Circus Model in the Tibbals Learning Center, a huge miniature re-creation of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as it looked between 1919 and 1938. Even people who think they don't care about the circus end up studying it for a long time.

Bayfront Gardens. The grounds stretch along the bay with shady paths, big banyan trees, sculpture and Mable Ringling's Rose Garden, which dates to 1913. On a nice winter day, a walk here is reason enough to come.

Historic Asolo Theater. This is an 18th-century Italian theater, built in 1798 in Asolo, Italy. The museum bought its pieces in 1949 and reassembled them here, and it hosted its first Sarasota performance in 1952. Today it's used for performances and events, and you enter through the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion.

Ringling Museum Tickets and Free Mondays

Ticketing is where most first-timers get confused, so here's how it works right now.

• General admission covers the Museum of Art, the Circus Museum and the Bayfront Gardens.
• Ca' d'Zan is a separate ticket. The standard ticket is a self-guided visit to the first floor, with entry at set times through the day. The upper floors are only open on a guided tour, which means climbing a marble staircase and standing for the length of the tour.
• Free Mondays: the Museum of Art, Bayfront Gardens and Glass Pavilion are free on Mondays. You can't reserve this free entry in advance. You register at the Visitors Pavilion when you arrive. The Circus Museum and Ca' d'Zan still require a paid ticket on Mondays.
• Thursday evenings: the Museum of Art and Bayfront Gardens stay open until 8 p.m. with separate evening admission.

Tickets are limited by capacity, and buying online lets you skip the line. We don't list prices here because they change. Check ringling.org for current rates before you go.

Our tip: free Mondays are popular, especially in winter. If Monday is your day, arrive close to 10 a.m. If you want the Circus Museum and Ca' d'Zan too, a regular ticket on another day is usually the more relaxed visit.

How Long to Spend at The Ringling

The venues are spread out and you walk between them, so plan more time than you think.

• Two to three hours: the Museum of Art and a walk through the gardens. Good for a Monday visit or a short stop on the way to or from the airport.
• Half a day: add the first floor of Ca' d'Zan and the Circus Museum. This is the right amount for most couples.
• A full day: everything, including a Ca' d'Zan guided tour, with a break for lunch.

If you're buying a Ca' d'Zan ticket, pick your entry time first and plan the rest of the day around it. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The estate is large and most of it is outdoors.

Food, Picnics and Breaks

You don't have to leave for lunch. The Ringling Grillroom is in the Visitors Pavilion, with indoor and outdoor seating, and reservations are available online. Upstairs, Mable's Coffee House is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for coffee and a quick bite. Picnics are allowed in designated areas during business hours, but rolling coolers are not.

Getting to The Ringling from St. Armands and Lido Key

The Ringling is on the mainland, north of downtown Sarasota, so you'll want a car or rideshare. From St. Armands Circle, head east over the Ringling Bridge into downtown, then north toward the airport and Bay Shore Road. Parking is free once you arrive, and accessible spaces are on the north side near the Visitors Pavilion.

The museum has posted that construction on US 41 near the estate may require alternate routes to Bay Shore Road, so leave a few extra minutes and follow your map app.

Because it's so close to SRQ, The Ringling works well on your arrival or departure day. Many visitors do the museum in the morning and spend the afternoon on Lido Beach or walking St. Armands Circle, which John Ringling also developed.

Tips Before You Go

• Check the closures page. Individual galleries sometimes close for maintenance or installation. The Ringling posts these on its tickets page.
• Plan for sun. The galleries are indoors, but the walks between them and the gardens are not. A hat and water make a big difference, even in winter.
• Know the stairs. If anyone in your group has trouble with stairs, stick with the first-floor Ca' d'Zan visit rather than the upper-floor tour.
• Look up the season's events. The Ringling runs performances, talks and evening programs through the winter season. Their calendar is worth a look when you're planning.

What to Bring for a Day at The Ringling

After a day of walking the grounds, people often stop by our shop on the Circle. Here's what we'd pack for The Ringling, and what makes a good reminder of it later:

• Shade for the walk. The Sarasota Cool Fit Visor is light and keeps the sun off without a hot crown. Prefer a full cap? The Lido Key Cap in navy works for the museum in the morning and the beach in the afternoon. See all hats and visors.
• Water you can refill. A Sarasota Water Bottle is easy to carry between venues.
• Sun protection. Sun Bum Mineral Sunscreen Spray for the gardens, and Sun Bum Lip Balm SPF 30 for your pocket.
• A light layer. The Sarasota Performance Keys Long Sleeve is a lightweight sun shirt with a map of the keys on it, so it doubles as a souvenir.

Come Say Hello

We're at 410 St. Armands Circle, open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stop in after The Ringling for a hat, a souvenir from the island you're staying on, or directions to dinner. Planning the rest of your day? Our St. Armands Circle guide and Lido Beach guide are good next reads.

Top photo: Eekelley23, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0.