The downtown area of New Smyrna Beach begins only 1 block away from the municipal marina where a variety of restaurants and shops line the streets for local shoppers and visitors. 

The fort-like coquina ruins in Old Fort Park lead some historians to believe New Smyrna was originally the site of St. Augustine and that it could be even 500 years older. Across the Musson Bridge and 2 miles to the east is an extraordinarily wide, sandy ocean beach that extends 13 miles.