Though tiny enough, it is rumored, to fit into New York's Central Park, Key West has managed, through its rich history, its remote location and its ravishing natural beauty to earn a notation in every national and international map. Its air quality is second to no other city. The average annual temperature of 77 degrees rarely varies more than 10 degrees in either direction, with a record low of 41 degrees and a record high of 97 degrees. It has never seen frost or snow. Perennially sunny, the island average only 39 inches of rain per year.
Tolerance is the rule and differences are to be celebrated.
Even daily life in Key West includes a certain off-beat sense of celebration. Each day's setting sun is celebrated and sometimes even applauded at Mallory Square, while artisans, musicians, and street performers pack the city pier with visitors as the famed and often glorious Key West sunsets shimmer over the Gulf of Mexico. Key West is a city which celebrates itself, its history, its diversity and its various reputations in many ways. Festivals and parties punctuate the tourist season. The social calendar, fishing tournaments and art festivals, literary seminars and world premiere plays, house and garden tours, international power boat and yacht races, and a lighted boat parade goes on 365 days a year.