St Augustine FL (Florida)

St Augustine FL is a St Johns River cruise port and town in Florida USA (St Johns County) with population around 13,000. The town is at the river's mouth and part of Florida's First Coast region (along Northeast Florida's Atlantic coast) as well as of Greater Jacksonville (Jacksonville metro area with combined population over 1,5 million).

St Augustine is continental USA's oldest continuously occupied settlement established by Europeans. It was established (as "San Agustin") in 1565 by the Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles (1519-1574) - Florida's first governor. The town was named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (Christian theologian and philosopher from Numidia). The Spanish ships were loaded with supplies, settlers and soldiers from Spain. They sighted the land 11 days earlier (on August 28, feast day of St Augustine).

San Agustin served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 300 years (1513-1821). In 1763, the territory was traded to Great Britain (renamed British East Florida) in exchange for Havana (Cuba). In 1819. it was ceded to USA. In 1821 (after Adams-Onís Treaty was ratified), St Augustine was designated Florida's capital city (until 1824, when Tallahassee became capital).

In 1997, when Florida State abolished Historic St Augustine Preservation Board, the city assumed control of over 36 buildings that were restored or reconstructed to their historical appearance. In 2015, the town celebrated its 450th anniversary with a visit from Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (Queen of Spain) and Felipe VI (King of Spain). Hurricane Matthew (Category 5 Atlantic storm) caused widespread flooding in downtown St Augustine on October 7, 2016.

As cruise port, St Augustine FL is included in the schedule of USA's largest river cruise company - ACL-American Cruise Lines). Next table shows company's 7-day "Great Rivers of Florida" itinerary from homeport Jacksonville FL (ship American Star), with prices from ~USD 2900 per person (double occupancy).