23 miles (37 km) of popular beachfront and 300 miles (480 km) of navigable waterways surround Fort Lauderdale, which has the title of “The Venice of America”. The Atlantic coastline north of Fort Lauderdale is known as the Gold Coast, which refers to several Spanish galleons loaded with treasure that ran aground along this stretch of coast.
Fort Lauderdale has beautiful wide beaches lined with upmarket shops, restaurants and a variety of hotels and condominiums. Intermixed with shopping malls and a trendy town centre are a landscape of beaches, parks, golf courses and tennis courts.
As Fort Lauderdale continues its expansion, so too does its near neighbours. Hallandale Beach, once a small, oceanfront town now has a skyline dominated by condominiums and resort developments. The fast-developing Hollywood is now an area of 1.5 million people made up of many different ethnic backgrounds.
Port Everglades is Florida’s deepest harbour and second only to Miami for the number of cruise passengers passing through the port terminal. Most cruises from this port are bound for the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and Latin America, although several casino day cruises operate from this port.
Fort Lauderdale Vacation Highlights
Fort Lauderdale lies at the centre of more than 50 golf courses, making the area a popular vacation destination for keen golfers. Sometimes referred to as the “Yachting Capital of the World,” Fort Lauderdale provides great opportunities to cruise or sails along the Intracoastal Waterway and on the open ocean.
The diving in and around Fort Lauderdale is rated by experienced scuba divers as being on a par with the best in North America, with excellent water temperatures, good visibility and a diverse mixture of fish and marine life. There is a natural off-shore reef plus 81 man-made artificial reefs and 18 major shipwreck sites. Jupiter has a dive site onto a 17th-century wreck.
All types of fishing are popular in and around Fort Lauderdale, including drift-boat fishing, deep-sea charters or simply casting a line from the pier. The International Game Fish Association World Fishing Center is an angler’s heaven, being a combined museum, library and park with virtual-reality simulations.
The historic Bonnet House and estate provide a glimpse of Florida history. The spacious two-story waterfront mansion and surrounding gardens were the home of Evelyn Bartlett, the wife of acclaimed artist Frederic Clay Bartlett. Stranahan House is typical of “Florida Frontier” architecture and is Fort Lauderdale’s oldest standing structure, dating back to 1901.
A popular visitor attraction is the paddlewheel steamer dinner cruises and sightseeing tours that take visitors past Old Fort Lauderdale, the new downtown and Millionaires’ Row.
Fort Lauderdale Transport
The area is serviced by the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with carriers such as Air Canada, Air Tran, American Airlines, Continental and Delta. Several budget airlines also operate from this airport. Numerous shuttle bus services provide door-to-door connections and the local city bus service has routes that include the airport. Amtrak, the USA train system, has stations at Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.
Tri-Rail is the southern Florida commuter train that connects all the major centres from North Palm Beach to Miami and all cities in between. BCT (Broward County Transit) is the city bus service that services Fort Lauderdale and all surrounding areas.
