As the annual Art Basel-Miami Beach visual feast approaches, you might wonder why any art-lover would venture north of the Broward-Palm Beach line. Between the Art Basel fair at the Miami Beach Convention Center, 20-plus satellite fairs and first-rate exhibitions at local museums, you'll get an eye-full right here at home.

But don't think the Florida arts scene is only a local affair. Museums and art sites around the Sunshine State are well worth visiting for their permanent collections and visiting exhibitions.

Here are a few worth the drive; check their calendars as all offer expert programs and/or films. Warning: You might want to wait until Art Basel eye strain wears off before you hit the road.

-- JANE WOOLDRIDGE

University of Florida

Gainesville

Like any first-rate university museum, the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art spans time as well as geography. Here you'll find superb masks from Central Africa, religious statues from Asia and ancient American figures. But perhaps most impressive are contemporary works spanning the globe -- including works by Rauschenberg, Tapies and Warhol -- and photography by UF professors and alum.

Details: Open Tuesday-Sunday; free. Cafe on premises; store worth a visit. 352-392-9826; www.harn.ufl.edu.

MORSE ART MUSEUM

Winter Park

The distinctive stained glasswork and jewelry of Louis Comfort Tiffany forms the centerpiece of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum in Winter Park, just north of downtown Orlando. Many would-be visitors fail to realize that works by other American artists are shown here as well, and some exhibitions do change. Permanently on display, though, is the Tiffany Chapel, created for the 1893 Chicago Fair and later rescued from Tiffany's estate.

Details: Open Tuesday-Sunday, adult admission $3, students $1. Make time for the free introductory films and tours. Restaurants nearby; store worth a visit. 407-645-5311; www.morsemuseum.org.

SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM

St. Petersburg

The surreal paintings of the prolific Salvador Dali are found in art institutions throughout the world, but his namesake museum on Florida's West Coast offers a rare comprehensive view of Dali's vision through more than 1,500 works. Built in 1982 to house the private Dali collection of Ohio residents A. Reynolds and Eleanor R. Morse, the museum repeatedly has been expanded and now hosts 200,000 visitors per year.

Details: Open daily; adults $15, reductions for students and seniors. Excellent museum store. 727-823-3767; www.salvadordalimuseum.org.

RINGLING MUSEUM OF ART

Sarasota

Set on 66 bayfront acres in a 1920s mansion, the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art rates as one of the most spectacular settings in the Sunshine State. It is also our official state art museum, featuring European and American paintings, Cypriot antiquities and contemporary art. The name hails from those Ringlings; the grounds include the delightful Circus Museum and the historic, carefully restored Asolo Theater. Current exhibitions include Modern Masters of Japanese Print, Fashioning Kimono: Art Deco and Modernism in Japan, and Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum.

Details: Open daily but closed on major holidays; adults $19, reductions for students and seniors. Restaurant and museum store on premises. 941-359-5700; www.ringling.org.

APPLETON MUSEUM OF ART

Ocala

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