See Tampa Bay from a different angle when you take to the water with Tampa e-Boats. Rent a boat for an hour or more, launched from the public docks outside the waterfront Tampa Convention Center. The electric-powers boats can hold eight to 10 passengers. Hire a captain or, after a quick tutorial, take the controls yourself and explore Tampa Bay from its sparkling waterfront.

A few of the things you'll see:

Tampa Riverwalk

Tampa Bay's newly completed 2.5-mile waterfront thoroughfare runs through the heart of downtown, linking some of the most popular attractions like gems on a string. The new quarter-mile Kennedy Boulevard Plaza, running along the Hillsborough River with its sail-like canopies and seating areas, is as beautiful from the water as it is from the path itself. Wave to the folks on shore -- Tampa Bay's a friendly place.

Wildlife

Dolphins, manatees and seabirds are all around you when you're on the water in Tampa Bay -- a reminder that just beyond the skyscrapers and sidewalks, the waters of Hillsborough River and Tampa Bay are still very much wild spaces. Tread gently for the sake of our aquatic neighbors, particularly the manatees, who spend the winters in our warm inland waters.

Rowing teams

Each winter college rowing teams from the Northeast and Midwest flock to Tampa Bay for tournaments at a time when their venues up north are frozen over. During the rest of the year, rowers in their graceful long boats ply the river and bay almost every day -- some from local high schools, others from rowing clubs or lone rowers out for a bit of exercise. Beats a machine in the gym.

Architecture

Tampa Bay's most iconic buildings stand close to the water: the cylindrical Rivergate Tower, designed using the Fibonacci mathematical sequence; the silver domed minarets of historic Plant Hall, once the Gilded Age resort known as the Tampa Bay Hotel; and the ultra-modern Tampa Museum of Art perched above the river and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The museum's perforated metal skin shimmers each night with the lighted art installation "Sky (Tampa)" by New York-based artist Leo Villareal.

Tampa's Lights

From dusk to dawn, downtown's waterfront glows with shifting hues of colored lights. From the river, you can see Agua Luces, an artwork that lights downtown's five bridges in a rotating spectrum of color. The Tampa Riverwalk's canopies are also alight at night, as is the façade of the riverfront Aloft Downtown Tampa hotel, Tampa Museum of Art and parts of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. Taking out the last e-Boat of the day will show you a side of Tampa Bay day-time visitors never see.