Fort Lauderdale: Stylish Sophistication

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 truly lives up to its designation as the "Venice of America." With 20 miles of Atlantic coastline, and miles of navigable waterways on the Intracoastal Waterway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida is an outdoor lover's paradise.

Fort Lauderdale is a city of islands held together by an intricate web of canals, rivers, bays and waterways hundreds of miles long. Needless to say, boating is a favorite city pastime, whether zooming along on a speedboat, enjoying a fishing charter, or cruising the coastline by yacht. Las Olas Boulevard, a shoppers paradise, is the chic new shopping and trendy dining area of downtown. If sports are more your inclination, dozens of golf courses and hundreds of public parks allow you to absorb the great Florida outdoors. Cultural arts are also popular. Water taxis bring theater-goers from throughout the city to the Performing Arts Center on the water.

Entertainment ranges from the incomparable Fort Lauderdale Boat Show or Air & Sea Show spectacles along famed Fort Lauderdale Beach to Florida Panthers action in Sunrise. In between are rodeos in Davie, jazz festivals on Fort Lauderdale's Riverwalk, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and assorted arts and food festivals unfolding throughout Broward County. Each December, Greater Fort Lauderdale takes on added sparkle with stellar festivities tied to the Winterfest Boat Parade.

The fun in big-city Fort Lauderdale starts at the beach and spreads wide to a full slate of cultural, historical and social activities. Beach-blanket movies such as Where the Boys Are made Fort Lauderdale famous among the young decades ago. It has grown up now. Still a bustling center of sunning, watersports, nightlife and other happy goings-on, it also appeals to families and couples with a science museum, shopping, fine restaurants and beachside festivities.

Fort Lauderdale also offers an outstanding quality of life, highlighted by a semi-tropical climate, rich natural beauty and array of cultural, entertainment and educational amenities. Blessed with over 3,000 hours of sunshine each year and pleasant year-round ocean breezes, world-famous Fort Lauderdale Beach offers premier opportunities for recreation, relaxation and enjoyment. The picturesque Riverwalk serves as the cornerstone of the City's arts, science, cultural and historic district which features the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Discovery and Science, Museum of Art and Old Fort Lauderdale Village and Museum.