10 Best: Places in our hearts

1. The perfect place to park your yacht, Port Royal, in the heart of downtown Naples, is home to some of the region's largest mansions and most powerful people. Sprawling estates back up against the Gulf of Mexico and scenic Gulf-access canals along Naples Bay and Gordon Pass. No tour of Naples is complete without an envy-inspiring drive along its beautiful streets, lined with shady banyans and graceful palms, and you're not even seeing the magnificent grounds and koi ponds hidden behind the landscaping.

2. More than 20 years ago, The Bonita Bay Group understood that the Florida environment is the biggest attraction of all (and that wealthy Northerners would indeed settle in then-undeveloped Bonita Springs). Behind the gates of Bonita Bay lie 2,400 beautiful acres, including three golf courses, parks, pathways, canoe trails and a marina with Gulf access. You'll also find villas and carriage homes, mansions and new high-rises lining Estero Bay, along with sociable neighbors who host lots of parties and support charitable causes big-time.

3. If you want to see the Naples that was, just drive along the 30-block sweep of Old Naples, where charming cottages and bungalows nestle into a magical setting just steps from the Gulf of Mexico. Grand new homes also fit comfortably into the quiet streetscape, and it's all within strolling distance of the über-cosmopolitan shopping, art and restaurant districts of Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South and the landmark Naples Pier.

4. Outrageous and ambitious, Tuscany Reserve, WCI's newest gated community, offers 460 acres of manufactured Tuscan countryside, with rolling hills complete with olive trees, picturesque three-story attached villa homes perched on a manmade island, mansions, stone aqueducts and bridges, and homes (only 300) priced above (often way above) $1.5 million. Fruit orchards and fragrant herb plantings add to the sensory enjoyment. Tuscany Reserve's 18-hole golf course was created by Greg Norman and Pete Dye. Centuries from now, historians may call this a true Naples original.

5. With its front porches, tire swings and setting along the picturesque Orange River in North Fort Myers, The Bonita Bay Group's Verandah is a creative combination of Old Florida nostalgia and new Florida gated comfort. We love River Village, under a canopy of moss-draped live oaks-the River House has a restaurant and waterfront terrace and the Boat House includes a general store. Miles of trails and boardwalks meander along the river and through cypress preserves, and Verandah is also a green community.

6. You don't stumble upon Captiva Village. You have to drive 45 minutes from the mainland, across Sanibel and out to the northern tip of Captiva Island to arrive at this secluded, ultra-exclusive neighborhood. This is the ultimate island paradise, where Old Florida, Mediterranean and stilt homes are within walking distance of the Gulf, Pine Island Sound and a few quaint businesses and restaurants. None of the homes is taller than the surrounding palm trees, and you can hear the surf and smell the salt breezes wherever you are.

7. Some Marco Island residents believe they were spared the worst of Hurricane Wilma because of the protective spell ancient Calusa Indians are said to have cast on the island thousands of years ago. Nowhere is that ancient presence felt more than on Indian Hill, a southeast Marco neighborhood with estates perched on that rarest of Southwest Florida features, an actual hill, with views of Barfield and Caxambas bays. At 51 feet above sea level, the hill, comprised of shells discarded by the Calusas, is Southwest Florida's loftiest elevation.

8. Cross the "World's Fishingest Bridge" and you've wandered back in time to Matlacha, gateway to Pine Island. Here boat masts and palm trees rise above the rooftops of stilt homes and tiny cottages overlooking Matlacha Pass. The town's fishing heritage mingles with funky little galleries and shops painted in fruit-inspired hues. End one of the regularly scheduled ArtWalks at a friendly, no-frills restaurant serving fresh-caught seafood. You might even spot Pine Island's resident novelist, Randy Wayne White, lifting a beer at the bar.

9. So close to all Naples has to offer (Waterside Shops and the Phil are just across the Trail), Pine Ridge is the only in-town neighborhood where you can have a big house, horses and stables likely overlooking a lake. Homes are nestled on one- to nine-acre sites and present an interesting architectural mix, from thoroughly modern to Southern traditional and Old World. Neighbors range from free spirits who dislike gated communities to families with kids and a yen for space.

10. The epitome of gracious, small-town Florida, Fort Myers' historic neighborhood along royal-palm-lined McGregor Boulevard runs from the Fort Myers Country Club to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. Stately Mediterranean Revival and near-century-old homes are mixed with newer estates perched along the eastern bank of the Caloosahatchee River. Some of Fort Myers' most notable residents have lived here and continue to do so, and neighbors of every age greet each other as they stroll the sidewalks of the tropically planted streets.