Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida and is the county seat, and largest city, of Hillsborough County. The city population is almost 350,000. Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida metropolitan area with about 2.4 million residents, making it the second largest in Florida. The "Greater Tampa Bay", which includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas, has over 4 million residents.
Tampa is divided into five regions: North Tampa, West Tampa, East Tampa, South Tampa, and New Tampa. There are 6 historic districts and about 84 officially named neighborhoods. The historic districts are Hampton Terrace, Hyde Park, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, West Tampa, and Ybor City. Some better known neighborhoods include Forest Hills, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Palma Ceia, Tampa Palms, College Hill and the Soho district. The business districts are Downtown Tampa, Uptown Tampa and the Westshore Business District.
The city has over 200 parks and beaches, including the Hillsborough River State Park. Other city amenities and attractions include the Museum of Art, Busch Gardens Africa, Adventure Island waterpark, Lowry Park Zoo, Florida Aquarium, the SS American Victory, a preserved World War II ship. Ybor City is a National Historic Landmark with cobblestone streets and old cigar factory buildings. It attracts many visitors to the wide variety of shops, restaurants, clubs, and galleries. Shopping areas include International Plaza and Bay Street, WestShore Plaza, University Mall, Westfield Brandon, and Westfield Citrus Park. The Hyde Park Village is an upscale open-air shopping destination.
Tampa's economy has a diverse base that includes tourism, agriculture, real estate construction, finance, health care, retail and service business, finance, government, technology, and the port of Tampa. Tampa's many city festivals attract numerous visitors to the area. The Gasparilla Pirate Festival (Gasparilla), the Mardi Gras of Tampa, is attended by over 400,000 people. The Florida State Fair also brings about 400,000 people to the city. Many Fortune 1000 companies are based in Tampa. Tampa's port is the seventh largest in the country and Florida's largest tonnage port. It is second behind Miami in cruise ship travel. MacDill Air Force Base is a large contributor to Tampa's economy, with about 14,000 working there. Many families live on base in military housing, or nearby.
After Miami, Tampa has many high rise residential buildings and skyscrapers, mostly downtown. Because of its location on the Gulf Coast, there are many homes with gorgeous waterfronts, and docks accommodating boat owners.
Tampa is served by the School District of Hillsborough County. Colleges and universities include the University of South Florida, and the University of Tampa, as well as Argosy University, Everest University, Hillsborough Community College, Southwest Florida College, Stetson University College of Law, Strayer University, South University, International Academy of Design, and Remington College campus.
