While
in Ft Lauderdale beach take a moment to trade your business
suit for a bathing suit. Kick back and breathe deeply.
Make the most of your limited free time in Ft Lauderdale.
From major theater venues to sports facilities and unique
ideas, the perfect place for your group is Ft Lauderdale
and the Ft Lauderdale Beach area.
With more than 300 miles of navigable waterways and
40,000 resident yachts, it is no wonder that Greater
Fort Lauderdale is known as the "Venice of America."
But visitors need not have a yacht for their water view
of Greater Ft Lauderdale. Water Taxi of Ft Lauderdale
provides a scenic affordable mode of transportation
to and from many Ft Lauderdale
hotels, restaurant, shops and the theater. For entertaining
and informative guided voyages through the canals and
waterways, the Jungle Queen, Carrie B and Riverfront
Cruises offer day tours and dinner cruises, casino
cruises and even Bahama
day cruises. These water taxis also provide entertaining
and informative commentaries on the sights, historic
and contemporary, as well as insight into some of Greater
Ft Lauderdale's celebrity residents.
Miles of Lagoons and waterways make Fort Lauderdale
one of the most popular areas on Florida’s Gold
Coast. Getting around Fort Lauderdale is half the fun:
One of the city's main thoroughfares is the New River,
where you can hop on a water bus or taxi and take in
the sights. This South Florida city's extensive system
of waterways and a reputation for gracious living have
made it one of the country's largest yachting centers.
Restaurants and bars overlook the canals, and several
of the city's special events, including a winter holiday
boat parade that draws local, national and international
celebrities, revolve around boating and the water and
the Fort
Lauderdale Air and Sea Show.
Major redevelopment in the 1990s left Fort Lauderdale
with an abundance of excellent museums, art galleries,
restaurants, Ft Lauderdale hotels,
and chic sidewalk cafes. An elegant beachfront promenade
attracts upscale vacationers from all over the world.
Once known strictly as a tourism-based economy, Fort
Lauderdale now supports a diverse range of industries,
including marine, manufacturing, finance, insurance,
real estate, high technology, avionics/aerospace,
film and television production.
Incorporated on March 27, 1911, the City of Fort
Lauderdale is situated on the southeast coast of Florida,
centrally located between Miami and Palm Beach. Encompassing
more than 33 square miles with a population of nearly
167,000, Fort Lauderdale is the largest of Broward
County's 30 municipalities and the seventh largest
city in Florida. It is strategically located along
a stretch of wide, white-sand beach.
Several nearby coastal communities make up Greater
Fort Lauderdale. To the north are Pompano Beach (where
sportfishing is a favored pastime), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
(a small seaside oasis) and Deerfield Beach (virtually
untouched by beach erosion). To the south are Port
Everglades (the country's second-busiest port, frequented
by top cruise lines), Dania Beach (known for its antiques),
Hallandale Beach (a seaside community formerly home
to retirees but now popular with younger folks, as
well) and Hollywood (its Boardwalk parallels the ocean).
Las Olas Boulevard, which follows the New River as
it flows toward the Atlantic Ocean, is Fort Lauderdale's
upscale shopping and dining district. If you are a
history buff, the restored Victorian home of city
founder Frank Stranahan, now a museum, can easily
be included in a boulevard stroll. The picturesque
Riverwalk serves as the cornerstone of the City's
arts, science, cultural and historic district.
At the far west end of the boulevard is Las Olas
Riverfront, an entertainment and retail complex. Getting
around Fort Lauderdale is part of the sightseeing
experience: Water taxis ferry passengers between Ft
Lauderdale hotels, restaurants, theaters and nightclubs
until midnight. At night, the twinkling lights along
the canals make the rides quite romantic.
Though most of Florida's professional teams are based
in Miami-Dade County, South Florida is home to the
NFL's Miami Dolphins, MLB's champion Florida Marlins
and the NBA's Miami Heat. The NHL's Florida Panthers
play in nearby Sunrise. In spring, South Florida is
a mecca for baseball teams: Fort Lauderdale hosts
the Baltimore Orioles, and a neighbor to the north,
Jupiter, is the temporary home of the St. Louis Cardinals
and Montreal Expos.
Some of the less traditional shopping areas, frequented
mostly by locals, are of great interest to the visiting
treasure hunter. Antique buffs may want to head to
Dania Beach's Antique Row with its dozens of shops
within a few blocks along Highway 1. Bargain shoppers
will enjoy Pompano Beach's Festival Flea Market which
houses more than 650 vendors, an arcade and a farmers
market, and the Swap Shop, the state's largest indoor/outdoor
flea market. Sawgrass Mills is a vast, totally enclosed,
climate controlled shopping city. This super sized
outlet mall is so large that it is marked off inside
with street signs. There is never a slow day at Sawgrass
Mills.
Fort Lauderdale retains a fun-loving, beach town
atmosphere, but it also offers activities ranging
from contemporary art exhibits to Major League Soccer
games. At the heart of the city's cultural life is
the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, which
hosts operas, ballets, theater productions, symphony
concerts and other performances by both local and
touring companies.
Fort Lauderdale offers an outstanding quality of
life, highlighted by a semi-tropical climate, rich
natural beauty and array of cultural, entertainment
and educational amenities. Embraced by the Atlantic
Ocean, New River and a myriad of scenic inland waterways,
Fort Lauderdale truly lives up to its designation
as the "Venice of America." |
