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Fort Lauderdale is called the "Venice of America" for its more than 300 miles of canals and 162 bridges.
But if you haven't been here for a few years, you might assume the similarities end right there. Spurred on by the 1960 spring break comedy Where the Boys Are, which was set here, hormone-driven teens flocked to Fort Lauderdale's beaches by the hundreds of thousands — in the process, initiating a springtime bacchanalian spectacle worthy of the Venetian Carnival. Nowadays, the connections to the Italian city are more than superficial. Sure, there are the canals and the bridges.
There are even water taxi and gondola rides on offer! But these days, chic Fort Lauderdale has adopted an almost European sensibility, marked by elegance, confidence, and good style. You can see it in the genteel beachside promenade, the swanky shops on Las Olas Boulevard, or the waterfront Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District — any of which would be right at home beside the pedestrian-friendly piazzas of Venice, the Fort Lauderdale of Italy.
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If you think Fort Lauderdale has been scrubbed clean of its old Florida roots, head to Rustic Inn Crabhouse, which started as a roadhouse saloon in 1955. The specialty of the house here is the garlic crab, which comes in three varieties: golden, blue, or Dungeness. The setting is decidedly no-frills, with newspaper-covered tables, mallets loudly crushing shells, and plastic bibs on the patrons. If you stop by between October 15 and May 15, you can also take advantage of Florida stone crab season — here, the claws are served chilled with a simple mustard dipping sauce.
Built in 1920 by the artist Frederic Clay Bartlett, the Bonnet House is a Caribbean-style plantation that supposedly takes its name from the way lilies sat on alligators' heads as they surfaced in the inlet. The 35-acre property once housed panthers, alligators, and monkeys, but now the wildest thing you'll find here is the colorful and creative art decorating every room: antique painted Portuguese tiles, Baroque columns, friezes crafted from seashells, and bright murals by Frederic himself. During the summer, you can take a series of orchid classes in the gardens. You'll be given a seedling from the greenhouse and then learn how to repot, mount, and care for your flower.
Most cities with any significant culinary reputation have a restaurant week. But in Fort Lauderdale, they have an entire month! Throughout October and the first week of November, Dine Out Lauderdale offers three-course menus for $35 at dozens of the top culinary hot spots in Fort Lauderdale and neighboring cities like Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Celebrate Valentine's Day on a romantic sunset cruise with Gondolas West. These guys know better than to play on kitschy Italian motifs — no striped-shirted singing gondoliers in funny straw hats here! Instead, they've modernized the gondola ride with this uniquely South Florida version, which departs from the Bahia Mar Beach Resort hotel lobby. The six-person, 22-foot electric gondola is quiet and narrow, meaning it can fit into even the tiniest inlets off the New River without disturbing nature. The result: an intimate look at the local wildlife that calls these canals home.