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Fort Lauderdale |
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Fort Lauderdale
Just 23 miles north of Miami, Fort Lauderdale is a smaller, more low-key counterpart to the Magic City. It may not have as many nightclubs pumping out high-volume dance hits until the wee hours as Miami does, but it has the same sun, the same warm Atlantic Ocean, and similarly gorgeous beaches. America’s Venice also has something Miami doesn’t: 300 miles of navigable waterways.
Activities and Attractions:
Fort Lauderdale’s canals are a great introduction to the city. Water taxis cruise the major ones; hop on for a unique city tour. Or rent a boat and go exploring on your own.
Waterways eventually lead to the ocean, and so do most daily itineraries in Fort Lauderdale. Make your first stop the Fort Lauderdale Beach Promenade. This lively urban beach area is kept extremely clean, and the warm, clear waters are gentle and shallow. The retail area across the street means you don’t have to go far at mealtime.
When you’re ready for a little more adventure, explore John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. This preserve has a wide beach with safe swimming, and tends to be less crowded than the Promenade. The surrounding 250-acre park is laced with self-guided nature trails, and in June and July, rangers lead tours to view sea turtle nests.
Because so much of life in Fort Lauderdale revolves around water, there are naturally lots of water-sport opportunities. You can cruise the canals in everything from a jet ski to a catamaran. There’s good fishing—the International Game Fish Association World Fishing Center is located here. If you can’t get out on the water, you can land a virtual trophy in the museum’s fishing simulator. There is scuba diving, too. A highlight is a trip out to the Mercedes I, a derelict freighter purposely sunk a mile offshore in 1985 to make a reef.
Back on dry land, you can take advantage of a lively shopping scene. Malls are everywhere. A particularly good one is the Galleria, featuring many upscale shops. Another retail paradise is the Design Center of the Americas, a 775,000 square-foot home-furnishing emporium. If you like your shopping on a smaller scale, Las Olas Boulevard has lots of boutiques. And the nearby town of Dania is home to over 100 antique vendors—in fact, it’s known as the antique capital of the south.
There are some good museums in town, too, from those with general appeal, like the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and the Museum of Discovery and Science, to more niche attractions, like the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Here you can see memorabilia like the starting blocks used by Mark Spitz in the 1972 Olympics. If that doesn’t hold your interest, you can take a long walk off a short diving board at two Olympic-sized pools.s
Two historical sites are well worth a visit. Bonnet House, built in 1921, is a two-story, lushly landscaped plantation home. Stranahan House, on the other hand, was built in 1901 and is the city’s oldest standing structure. The former trading post still has its original furnishings, and provides a look back to Fort Lauderdale’s’ pioneering days—a time not so long ago but a world away from today’s exciting luxury destination.
Insider Tip:
Everything about Fort Lauderdale is relaxed, including the dress code. This isn’t true of every city on the Gold Coast, but in Fort Lauderdale, you’re free to dress like you’re on vacation. Shorts and flip-flops are acceptable daywear all over town.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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