Fort Lauderdale
Entertainment

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Fort Lauderdale is nothing if not entertaining. From—thankfully—long-gone days when an unremarkable film called Where the Boys Are skyrocketed the city to collegiate fame, to these simply sunny days when sophisticates have taken over the sands and ousted the undergrads, the city has learned many a lesson about entertainment.

Nature

Nature fans head to such spots as Everglades Holiday Park, where strange contraptions known as airboats skim across shallow waters for a look at that vast 'river of grass' heralded by authors and closely guarded by environmentalists. Here baby alligators play, deer seek refuge on high spots, birds swoop and squawk and visitors marvel at miles and miles and more miles of tropical trees, greenery and grasses as far as the eye can see. You can also explore the mangrove swamp at the Deerfield Island Park or discover the sea turtles at the 56-acre Hollywood North Beach Park.

For a man-made look at the creatures with whom we share the planet, a stop at Lion Country Safari is a not-to-be-missed diversion. Animals of the African veldt roam free while you stay caged in your car as they stare curiously at those strange creatures behind the glass—a nice twist on the zoo scene and an intriguing way to go nose-to-nose with a giraffe.

Museums

If history is your book, the city's small Himmarshee Village area focuses on the past. The city's first hotel sits serenely by the water, and some of its first homes are now on display, or in use as chic riverside restaurants. Star of the history scene is tiny Stranahan House, the antique, New River home of the city's founders: she a teacher, he operating the ferry that was once the only way to cross the river and make your way to Miami.

To learn a little about the Seminoles, whose flight from their own tribe ended in yet another flight from British, Spanish and American usurpers, visit Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum, in the heart of Big Cypress Reservation. One Seminole, a member of the Billie clan, created the Everglades' Billie Swamp Safari. You can paddle a dugout canoe, tune in to a Seminole storyteller or stay overnight in palm-thatched 'chickee' huts.

Art lovers will enjoy the displays at the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art.

Sports

If sports are the diversion of choice, Fort Lauderdale and environs present not dozens but hundreds of golf courses like Rolling Hills and Sabal Palm, and tennis courts like the Delray Beach Tennis Center, and plenty of oceanfront rollerblading and skateboarding space.

Performing Arts

Stage, ballet and opera performances take place at a variety of venues throughout the city, with touring Broadway plays going on stage at the showy waterfront Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Just across the street, the Museum of Discovery and Science offers its own kind of theater in a huge-screen Blockbuster IMAX 3-D Theatre, as well as in a variety of intriguing exhibits, even including a spot that's for children only, off-limits to adults. Theater productions also take place at cozy Parker Playhouse, the city's first full-fledged theater.

Nightlife

Finally, to unite history, water, nature—and to toss in a little dining, singing and comedy that's tame enough for any age or sensibility—a visit to Fort Lauderdale simply must include a lunch or dinner sail aboard the venerable Jungle Queen Riverboat, one of the state's oldest attractions. As you float by, homeowners come out on their lawns to wave, proving once again the joys of a small town that's small, but significant.