Fort Lauderdale – One of the Best Beaches in Florida

1. Fort Lauderdale – Yachting Capital of the World

Fort Lauderdale is a pleasant high-rise resort city with high-end shopping malls, a pleasant Riverwalk lined with mega-yachts and a beautiful palm-fringed white sandy beach. Although relatively compact, it has everything that visitors are looking for in a winter sun destination.The city of Fort Lauderdale has grown from a busy trading post on the New River in the 1900s to the modern metropolis it is today, thanks to its many waterways. This was what first led to the three forts being built here during the Seminole Wars and has since allowed it to develop as one of the busiest cruise ports in the world.

Las Olas Boulevard

Most visitors head for Las Olas Boulevard which is lined with interesting shops, boutiques and galleries. In the evenings, tables spill out across the sidewalk and make the most of the pleasant temperatures and vibrant atmosphere after dark. Formal eateries blend with casual dining and there is always a long line waiting for a table at the popular Cheesecake Factory. More upmarket is the swish Jackson’s Steakhouse with its private club ambience.

Fort Lauderdale Riverwalk

Leading off from Las Olas Boulevard is the 1½-mile long Riverwalk, a meandering landscaped pathway along the north bank of the New River. It passes towering glass high-rise buildings, luxury sea-going yachts and eventually reaches the modern shopping district. There are several waterfront pubs offering tasty lunches, evening meals or sunset cocktails at Happy Hour overlooking the river. Enjoy people-watching and see the bridge lift from time to time to let tall-masted yachts sail up-river.

Further along the waterfront is Stranrahan House, the oldest surviving building in the city. It was once the site of the city’s first trading post, post office and bank. It is now restored to its heyday of 1901 with typical Floridian furnishings and old photographs of Frank Stranrahan trading alligator hides, otter skins and egret feathers with the native Seminoles. It’s hard to think how much this area has changed in just a century!

Continue along through the park-like area to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts which always has a varied program in its two theaters.

Boat Trips

From the waterfront, visitors can take a one or two-hour cruise of the waterways on a modern cruise boat. Nearby the old Jungle Queen paddle-wheeler offers onboard shows and barbecue buffets. Cruises sail around The Isles, a series of man-made canals dug in the 1920s. Multi-million-dollar mansions look out across swimming pools to luxury yachts moored at the end of the garden. The waterways eventually lead out to Port Everglades which has many container ships and oil tankers. The separate cruise port area is perpetually busy with huge cruise ships coming and going to the Bahamas, the Caribbean and further afield.

Old Fort Lauderdale

Second Avenue is where most of the historical houses in Fort Lauderdale can be found. These plantation-style homes have shady verandas and sit amid lush tropical gardens. Many of the buildings are administered by the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society from their base at the Historical Museum.

Highlights to look out for are the King-Cromartie House, built on the south bank of the river in 1907 and transported by barge to its present position in 1971 to preserve it. Behind the house is Fort Lauderdale’s first schoolhouse, built in 1899. The old brick buildings around Southwest 2nd Street are a great place to find a tempting lunch or iced coffee.

Also in this area is the Museum of Science and Discovery which is deservedly popular. It shows Florida wildlife in recreated ecoscapes and a range of realistic films in the IMAX Theater. The neighbouring Museum of Art is in an impressive post-modernist building and showcases CoBrA artworks. These are works by expressionist painters from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, hence the strange acronym.

From here, a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour links this downtown area with the beach which is truly beautiful. A narrow strip of white sand runs beside the bluest Atlantic waves. The paved promenade is shaded by many palm trees giving the area a truly tropical appeal and is enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and roller-bladers