President Harry Truman was exhausted, stressed out and sick when his doctor ordered him to find a place where he could relax and get well. President Truman wisely chose Key West in 1946, and spent almost a dozen vacations here in his beloved no-stress tropical paradise. He came here so often they started calling it The Little White House, because inevitably a president's vacations almost always become working vacations. He spent a total of 175 working vacation days here, to be exact. Truman and his passion for Key West enticed other presidents to visit, including Eisenhower, who needed to recover from a cold, and Kennedy, who held a Bay of Pigs-related summit here, appropriately. Jimmy Carter visited in 1996 with his family, too.

The house, built in 1890, had been redone for Truman in 1948, and in the 1990s was restored this state for it debut as a museum open to the public. There is a guided tour, an d Exhibition Room full of photos of visiting presidents, a video, and presidential memorabilia, and a gift shop. It's open daily from 9am to 5pm, with tours given throughout the day. There is an admission fee.