The St. Johns River flows north through downtown, broad and slow, one of the few American rivers that does. Seven bridges stitch its two banks together, and downriver the water slides past salt marsh and the shrimp boats of Mayport before it meets the Atlantic.
Away from the river, Riverside and Avondale fill old bungalows with cafés around Five Points, and San Marco gathers around a square with a lion fountain. Summers are hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms, while winters stay mild and mostly sunny. A Local Friend can sit you down at a corner deli you would never have found, where the camel rider comes stuffed into warm pita.
