Fort Myers is a city on Florida’s southwest Gulf Coast, located along the Caloosahatchee River near its entrance to the Gulf of Mexico. The city combines a historic downtown, riverfront parks, residential neighborhoods, and access to beaches and coastal islands. Its location makes waterways central to recreation, with boating, fishing, kayaking, and wildlife viewing available on the river and nearby Gulf waters. Fort Myers is also known for the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, whose former properties have become one of the city’s best-known cultural attractions.

Fort Myers has a history shaped by Indigenous peoples, military activity, river transportation, agriculture, and tourism. The city takes its name from Fort Myers, a military post established along the Caloosahatchee River. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates preserve the homes, gardens, laboratories, and workshops associated with the two inventors and industrialists, offering insight into their lives and work in Southwest Florida. Downtown, the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center and the historic River District contribute to the city's cultural life, while preserved buildings illustrate its development as a river and commercial community.

The Caloosahatchee River provides a natural focus for Fort Myers, with the River District and waterfront parks offering views across the water. Nearby Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve protects a freshwater wetland crossed by an elevated boardwalk, where visitors can observe alligators, turtles, wading birds, and other wildlife. Manatee Park, located beside a warm-water discharge canal, is another important wildlife-viewing site during cooler months when manatees gather in the area. The city also provides access to nearby Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and other Gulf Coast destinations, where beaches, mangroves, and shallow coastal waters create different environments.

Fort Myers' food scene reflects the coastal character of Southwest Florida, with seafood restaurants serving grouper, shrimp, oysters, stone crab, and other regional dishes alongside Cuban, Caribbean, Italian, and contemporary American cuisine. The historic River District provides many of the city's restaurants, galleries, and entertainment venues within a walkable area. A distinctive feature is the Edison and Ford estates, where tropical gardens contain plants collected from around the world and the former laboratory buildings preserve equipment connected with Edison’s experiments. Fort Myers also has a strong baseball connection, with the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins holding spring training in the region.