Places to Go: Bradenton; Sarasota; Naples

Things to See: In Southwest Florida, mid-century modern, Mediterranean revival, Spanish, arts & crafts and neoclassical styles are all expressed in the architecture. These influences are the perfect setting for the divergent art and design shops in Sarasota and Naples. You can now find just about anything here designer-wise that you can find in New York, and if it’s not in stock, it can usually be ordered.

In Bradenton, the Village of the Arts has a funky appeal; galleries clustered around 12 Street West and 12th Avenue West focus on crafts – for instance, Mark’s Plants Place sells antiques and plants from a 1925 Florida shotgun shack.

Main Street Sarasota has an eclectic mix of boutiques, bookstores used and rare gift shops and galleries. Wander a few blocks north or south of Main Street to find antiques stores and high-end modern furniture shops such as dkVogue, which sells pricey Danish furniture designed by Poul Kjaerholm and Arne Jacobsen, among other European designers. dkVogue even is known to bring customers to Sarasota to shop.

After a day of high-end shopping, a stay at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Naples or Sarasota seems only natural.

Antiques stores cluster around Fruitville Road downtown. For true art galleries, look to Palm Avenue downtown (home to for-profit galleries and a First Friday gallery walk) or the gallery of the Ringling College of Art & Design, north of downtown.

St. Armands Circle on St. Armands Key satisfies appetites for sunshine, cafe dining and possibly an Eames lounge chair, which you can find at Exit Art. Get a feel for luxury bed linens from French designer Yves Delorme or try to decide on a new designer purse among the 1,200 (no, it’s not a misprint) on display at Carman’s Purses.

In downtown Naples, find everything from luxury linens to chic interior design firms in the Third Street Shopping District and along Fifth Avenue South.

Designer fashion labels (as in: take out the plastic) are the standard at the Waterside Shops, anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue. Gussy up for the beach with a pair of $240 watermelon-print swim trunks from Vilebrequin.

Places to Stay: After a day of high-end shopping, a stay at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton in Naples or Sarasota seems only natural.