Things to do in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
While many people compare this city to Miami, Fort Lauderdale is a unique place. It’s a growing city that’s changing a lot. New restaurants by famous chefs, popular beaches, and a burgeoning arts scene. You can’t get bored here. But you don’t get lost. Fort Lauderdale still has all the charm of a small town. There’s something for every taste and lifestyle.
Fort Lauderdale has many advantages:
- International airport
- Cruise port
- Trains station that allows you to get to Miami in less than 40 minutes
- More waterways than Venice
Eating Out
- Las Olas Boulevard
This boulevard is a street of a few hundred meters lined with rather chic shops and restaurants. Nice place to walk, have a drink. Lots of nice shops and art galleries. There is something for everyone. Perfect to distract yourself and feel the vibe of the city.
- The Wharf
The place is incredibly-built. Its open format showcases the best parts of downtown life. Music, a bar for your drink and food trucks with a variety of food choices. There are picnic tables, table tennis, Jenga, Connect Four, and bags for playing.
Cultural Visits
- Bonnet House Museum and Gardens
The visit to the park is better done on foot or by electric car with a guide who will make you discover the fauna and flora. If you are lucky you may come across monkeys, herons, or raccoons. The guides are passionate volunteers.
- NSU Art Museum
Small museum to visit in rainy weather. The visit is about 2 hours if you take the time to look at all the paintings. Exhibitions change on a regular basis. Free Wifi and you can drink coffee on the ground floor.
Family activities
- Pirate Cruise to Fort Lauderdale
Join an interactive pirate cruise offering navigation on Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal Waterway. The crew provides tips on how to talk and dress like a pirate. Find hid treasure and fend off rival pirate attacks. Face painting, temporary tattoos, and water cannons on board add to the fun. Children receive a bag of loot and a pirate certificate to take home.
- Airboat Rides Fort Lauderdale
It’s a family business with a different approach than other airboat tours that are on route 41 doing mass tourism. The captain is a lover of the fauna and flora of the everglades. He loves to share his passion with all the guests.
History of Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is a nautical paradise. It is often nicknamed the “Venice of America”. At the beginning of the 20th century, hundreds of canals were dug there to drain the original marshes. These canals are all connected to the Intracoastal Waterway which runs all the way down to Miami. FLL became in the wake of a rich history of over a hundred marinas where there are up to 42,000 yachts. The city is the undisputed nautical capital of the USA.
Where does the name Fort Lauderdale come from?
Fort Lauderdale takes its name from a series of forts built during the Second Seminole War. This occurred between 1835 and 1840. Major William Lauderdale who erected the first fort near what is now downtown on the New River. This city of 170,000 inhabitants can accommodate 10 million tourists. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area. With 5.5 million inhabitants, it is almost a third of the population of Florida. It is also considered one of the most pleasant cities in Florida.
The Creation of an Independent Cruise Port
Fort Lauderdale is a suburb a little far from Miami. The city has grown independent thanks to 3 phenomena.
- An airport that had the intelligence to receive low-cost airlines. This was the case from the very beginning, while Miami’s airport snubbed them.
- The port is also very active. It welcomes cruises towards the Bahamas or the Caribbean. it has thus become the third American port. One can imagine the excitement generated by these cruise passengers on a whim.
- A large gay community has chosen to settle under this always sunny sky. In particular in the Wilton Manors district. The population of Fort Lauderdale increases during the winter months. Why? Because of the arrival of seasonal residents. This phenomenon is well known everywhere else in Florida. Especially in the south of the peninsula.
A City That Has Developed on the Ocean’s Edge
In the 1980s, the city center was built around Las Olas Boulevard. This particular area is now known for:
- Shopping streets
- Canals
- Fashion boutiques
- Restaurants
- Trendy bars
It is also the corner of the art galleries. Atmosphere assured on the evenings of the beautiful season, that is to say almost all the time.
