Fort Lauderdale Florida
23
miles (37 kms) north of
Miami
Fort Lauderdale, with a population of 155 000, lies at the center of 23 miles (37 km) of popular
beachfront and 300 miles (480 km) of navigable waterways, hence the
title of "The Venice of America".
The area between Fort
Lauderdale and the town of Jupiter to the north, comprises a
beautiful Atlantic shoreline known as the Gold Coast (not to be
confused with Australia's famous
Gold Coast), a
reference to the gold salvaged from the Spanish treasure ships
that foundered along this coastline during the 1500's and
1600's.
Fort Lauderdale has beautiful wide beaches lined with up-market shops,
restaurants and a variety of lodgings trying to entice the
multitudes who flock to these beaches each year.
Amidst the
shopping malls, hotels, condominiums and resorts is a landscape of beaches,
parks, golf courses and tennis courts. The rejuvenated town center has a village
atmosphere with trendy boutiques, cafes and jazz bands.
As development of Fort Lauderdale progresses, so to does that
of its near neighbors.
Hallandale Beach, once a small,
oceanfront town just north of Aventura, now has a skyline
dominated by accommodation in the form
of condominiums and resort developments.
Just to the north of
Hallandale is the fast developing Hollywood, now a area of 1.5
million people comprising many ethnic backgrounds.
Cruise liners berth in Port
Everglades, Florida's deepest harbor, located near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
on the outskirts of Hollywood.
Port
Everglades is second only to Miami for the number of cruise passengers
passing through the port terminal. The majority of cruises from this
port are bound for destinations in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and
Latin America. |