Best Things To Do in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is a city made for beach bums and nature lovers. Case in point: Fort Lauderdale Beach and Sawgrass Recreation Park, home to alligators and other Floridian wildlife. History buffs will find things to do here as well (we recommend a stop at Bonnet House Museum & Gardens or the Stranahan House). And though the Venice of America may lack the rollicking nightlife its Floridian neighbors are known for, downtown Fort Lauderdale has its charms. The Riverwalk, the arts and entertainment district along the New River, and Las Olas Boulevard host art exhibitions and concerts that might surprise you with their quality.
Las Olas Boulevard
Diverse restaurants, three museums, 10 international art galleries and 65 retail options line Las Olas Boulevard, with recent visitors saying it’s the perfect place for a stroll, if not a shopping spree. But while casual walkers and window shoppers enjoy soaking in the Floridian atmosphere and overall aesthetic of the boulevard, the more intent consumer may not find this commercial street as appealing due to the high price tags. However, travelers recommended grabbing a bite above all else, as many were impressed with the quality of food and the amount alfresco dining options available. Our advice would be to make a stop here if you’re planning to visit the nearby Stranahan House, Riverwalk or Museum of Art.
Fort Lauderdale Beach
Want a beautiful Florida beach without a crazy party scene? Fort Lauderdale Beach may be just what you’re looking for. Here you’ll find a calmer and less chaotic version of Miami Beach — but with the same sugary sands and crystal clear water. There are still parties, but you’re more likely to find families relaxing or leisurely walking the waterline than raucous groups of college kids. Backing the shoreline, the palm tree-lined promenade bustles with visitors looking to shop and dine in the many establishments along it. There are also water sport and beach chair rentals near the shore.
Sawgrass Recreation Park
Take an airboat tour of the Florida Everglades at the Sawgrass Recreation Park, home to a huge range of flora and fauna, including a variety of birds, fish and alligators. And prepare to be amazed (or scared) by the close-up vistas of gators and other creatures. You can even reserve an airboat tour for nighttime runs to see nocturnal animals in their natural state. Visitors can also arrange for private tours, which are longer than the normal 30-minute runs.
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
Located less than 2 miles north of the Bonnet House, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is situated between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean and boasts fun activities for all types of travelers. Those looking to get a little wet can canoe or kayak in the largest of the park’s coastal dune lakes. Adventurers who want to get their adrenaline pumping can bike along the nearly 2-mile paved park drive. Meanwhile, visitors who prefer to explore by foot can hike the Coastal Hammock Trail, which snakes through a native maritime tropical hardwood hammock ecosystem, one of the last of its kind in the county. Fisherman can make a catch at the seawall while bird-watchers can have fun trying to spot any one of the 250 species that live in and regularly grace the park. There are also free ranger-guided walks that take travelers through sensitive habitats, along the beach and even to Hugh Taylor Birch’s old residence, for which the park is named.
Stranahan House Museum
The oldest residence in Fort Lauderdale is now a living monument to Floridian life in the 1900s. Frank Stranahan originally constructed the house located off Las Olas Boulevard, as a trading post before making it a home for him and his wife Ivy, the city’s first schoolteacher. From this spot, he met and did business with Seminole Indians who were in the area. After Ivy Stranahan’s death in 1971, the building was purchased by the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society and is now a museum that provides guided tours three times a day.
Bonnet House
This house sitting in the middle of the city has a long romantic history. In 1919, a wealthy settler gave the 35-acre property (named after the bonnet lily flower that grew on the grounds) as a wedding gift to his daughter Helen and her husband Frederic. In 1920, the newlyeds began construction of Bonnet House, hoping to build a winter getaway where Frederic could pursue his art and Helen could work on her music and poetry. But construction soon stopped when Helen unexpectedly died in 1925. Frederic didn’t resume property renovations until 1931 when he married Evelyn Fortune Lilly. The new couple continued decorating the house until Frederic’s death. Several decades later in 1983, Evelyn donated the house to the state’s Trust for Historic Preservation, opening it to visitors for guided tours.
Museum of Discovery and Science
If it’s a rainy day and you need an indoor activity that appeal to the kids, take them to the Museum of Discovery and Science. The museum’s Ecodiscovery Center is filled with so many activities, animals and exhibits your kids may never want to leave. Get introduced to river otters, take a simulated airboat ride along the Everglades or learn more about Florida weather patterns at the Storm Center. There’s also an aviation station, where kids can climb into the cockpit of a DC-9 commercial airliner, and rea dinosaur bones at the Fishy Fossils exhibit. If that’s not enough, guests can venture into the 7-D capsule theater that takes visitors on a flight through the sky to learn more about the mechanics of aviation. There’s also a 300-seat Imax theater showcasing documentaries and major motion pictures.
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale
Las Olas Boulevard’s NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is a great spot to escape the hot or rainy weather, according to recent visitors. The modern art museum features more than 6,000 works from a variety of artists in its permanent collection, including the largest holding in the country of post-war and avant-garde works from CoBrA (stands for Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam) artists in the country. There is also a significant amount of work from various Latin and Latin-American artists, as well as art from African, Native American and Oceanic Tribal Arts. The museum has rotating exhibits, previous of which have included the likes of Frida Kahlo and Pablo Picasso. Along with an extensive art collection, the more than 50-year-old museum also works in conjunction with Nova Southeastern University to provide art classes for visitors.
By: usnews
The best Christmas events for kids in NYC
The best Christmas events for kids are right under your nose! These special picks will have the littles ice skating, checking out gorgeous holiday windows, seeing renditions of the Nutcracker and working together on super fun crafts. You’ll want to check out the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, stop by one of many amazing holiday train shows, grab a cup of the best hot chocolate and more.
Columbus Circle Holiday Market
Run by the same company that organizes the Holiday Market at Union Square, this alfresco fair offers much of the same merchandise as its predecessor with an emphasis on creating a European piazza atmosphere. Said to have been designed with Copenhagen and Munich in mind, the holiday hot spot is the perfect place to meet a friend, shop for the family or simply enjoy the novelty of browsing at the edge of Central Park. Look for handmade wooden puzzles, gingerbread houses and kits, and lots of sweets from local vendors. All ages.
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Every year, this holiday stalwart gets families in the spirit with Santa appearances, colorful sets and, of course, one-of-a-kind dance numbers from the impressive Rockettes. Enjoy classic routines like “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “New York at Christmas,” in which dancers journey through the city on a double-decker bus, and keep an eye out for exciting new additions as well. The show now incorporates advanced technology throughout, taking the audience on a wild ride via 3D glasses and a flying LED screen, and one number even sends a host of helium-filled, GPS-enabled iridescent snowflakes floating high above the audience, transforming Radio City into a sparkling winter wonderland! All ages.
Breakfast with Santa at Rock Center Cafe
Flanked by glittery angel sculptures and New York’s famously giant Christmas tree, Rockefeller Center is the backdrop to this merry holiday breakfast with Santa. Enjoy brioche french toast, applewood smoked bacon, scrambled eggs & breakfast pastries as you watch the skaters whiz by, knowing soon you and the kiddies will be joining them after your yummy meal! But don’t forget to hit the candy bar, where the children can create their own treat filled souvenir bags before convening to the ‘Throne Room’ for pictures with Santa. All ages.
New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show
Whatever holidays you celebrate, this beautifully lit exhibition makes a festive excursion for the whole family. With 3,000 added square feet of space this year and more than a dozen large-scale model trains zipping over a quarter mile of track, it’s NYBG’s biggest train installation to date! Elaborate displays composed of moss, twigs and leaves are anchored by 150 NYC landmarks, each reconstructed painstakingly using natural materials: You’ll see the Empire State Building, the Unisphere and other familiar structures crafted from unique elements like lotus pods, hemlock cones, walnut shells, acorn caps, bamboo and cinnamon curls. New to the display is a whimsical collection of architecture and attractions from Coney Island. All ages.
By: timeout
Disney World: New holiday attractions light up the season
Lights twinkle year round at Mickey’s Florida home, but during the holiday season Walt Disney World positively sparkles. Some of the largest crowds of the year descend on the resort to enjoy its decked halls, Christmas-themed shows, and other holiday hoopla along with the parks’ celebrated rides and attractions.
With new Toy Story and Star Wars lands in development at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the long-running Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights lost its home for the holidays this year. But lights are still blazing at the movie-themed park with the new Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! nighttime show. Included with admission and scheduled to run nightly through December 31 in front of the Chinese Theater, the presentation includes eye-popping projections, lasers, fire blasts, and pyrotechnics. It uses the theater’s facade and adjacent buildings as enormous screens.
Characters from Disney’s Prep & Landing animated TV special anchor Jingle BAM. In order to save Christmas, they are on a mission to locate Santa Claus, who has mysteriously disappeared. Woven into the show are winter scenes from classic cartoons starring Donald Duck, Chip and Dale, Bambi, and others in the Disney canon. Tim Burton’s quirky The Nightmare Before Christmas gets a shoutout as well.
When the Mouse House first began incorporating digital mapping projections in its kiss-goodnight shows, the imagery was largely impressionistic. With projection technology and artistry improving and evolving, Jingle BAM! offers crisp, bright, and extended narrative scenes, creating a linear story arc that is easy to follow and engaging.
“We wanted to reinvent how we use lasers and projections,” says Tom Vazzana, show director at Walt Disney World. He adds that his mantra for the holiday show was, “Let’s go sharper and more story-driven.”
One of the show’s highlights was a happy accident. During rehearsals, Vazzana’s team was running the overhead snow machines while a technician was playing with the lasers. “We split the laser so it was green on the sides and red in the middle like a ribbon and it caught the snow,” he explains. “I said, ‘This is gorgeous!’ How do we capitalize on it?” Laser-enhanced snow now falls on mesmerized Jingle BAM! crowds.
It’s not really a spoiler to say that Santa is rescued, and Christmas is saved. The finale, choreographed to a rousing rendition of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” that was recorded by a 60-piece orchestra, is a riot of fireworks, lasers, and projections.
Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom also serves as a canvas for festive holiday projections as part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The separately ticketed event is being held on select nights through December 22 with adult tickets ranging from $91 to $99 depending on the date.
New this year during the party is Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration, a show that includes characters such as Daisy Duck, who sings about cell phones and text messages (really!), and Clarabelle Cow. The under-the-radar (or is that udder-the-radar?) toon turns out to be quite the soulful diva. As the musical numbers unfold on a stage in front of the castle, projections supplement the action and animate the iconic building. The show will be staged for regular park guests from December 23 to 31.
Projections onto the castle are also featured in A Frozen Holiday Wish. The returning Christmas Party show features the ubiquitous “Let It Go” crew. Festive projections complement the pyrotechnics as well for the Holiday Wishes – Celebrate the Spirit of the Season fireworks show. And toy soldiers, reindeer, and other holiday ambassadors march through the Magic Kingdom for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade. Both Christmas Party and daytime guests at the Magic Kingdom can groan at the silly puns shared by the skippers aboard the renamed-for-the-season Jingle Cruise. The holiday-themed version of the beloved attraction runs through the end of the year.
Each evening from November 25 to December 30, Epcot will present Candlelight Processional. Celebrity guests, including Whoopi Goldberg and Meredith Vierra, will narrate the Christmas story. A choir and 50-member orchestra will join them.
Also, the countries represented in Epcot’s World Showcase, including Mexico and the U.K., will demonstrate their traditions in Holidays Around the World. New this year, the park will offer holiday treats from around the world in booths set up along the promenade. In the Future World area of the park, a gospel choir will perform holiday favorites. And the nightly IllumiNations will include some Christmas cheer amid the fireworks. All of Epcot’s holiday presentations are included in general admission.
By: usatoday
A World Showcase of Unforgettable Shopping at Epcot – Mexico Pavilion
Each month this year, I’ve traveled around World Showcase at Epcot sharing looks at beautiful architecture and unique products found in each pavilion. This month, my unforgettable shopping adventure concludes with a visit to Mexico Pavilion.
Within the majestic pyramid of the Mexico Pavilion, visitors will find the Plaza de los Amigos located just past a gallery containing historic artifacts.
The plaza is an “open air” marketplace with festive carts and shops such as La Tienda Encantada that carries accessories and fine jewelry, or La Princesa de Cristal that is home to crystal and glassware by Arribas Brothers.
In the plaza, visitors will also find the Gran Fiesta Tour attraction starring The Three Caballeros; the San Angel Inn Restaurante that is modeled after a 17th-century hacienda at the base of Mayan ruins; and La Cava del Tequila that has over 200 tequilas, top-shelf cocktails, Mexican beer and wine.
I love how the inside of this pavilion feels like perpetual twilight. I enjoyed strolling throughout the plaza while looking at the colorful assortment of glassware, food items, leather goods, and decorative figurines. During my visit, I also found apparel and drinkware featuring Disney characters, and beautiful handcrafted Mexican jewelry and scarves.
Finally, I was delighted to see products celebrating Día de los Muertos. Visitors will find T-shirts created especially for World Showcase, jewelry, handbags, home goods and more. They also recently introduced gorgeous handmade dolls inspired by this annual celebration.
By: disneyparks.disney.go
Shopping in Panama
Payless Shoes to Jimmy Choos, open-air artisanal markets to established souvenir shops, $2.99 shirt bins to Armani, chinitos (Chinese-owned mini-markets) to gluten-free pasta: Panama has something for everyone. Whether you´re on a budget or making a trip out of it, spending a few hours in one of Panama´s many shopping malls gives a nice break in the air conditioning to marvel at the many brands and reasonable prices that the country offers. Pop into a chinito located on almost every corner in Panama City for a $1.00 all-natural coconut water, or try and see what U.S. brands you won´t be able to find in one of the Republic´s large grocery stores. PriceSmart (Central America and the Caribbean´s Costco) and Do-It Center (Panama´s version of a Home Depot) make setting up a home familiar and comfortable. Colón´s Free Trade Zone, an hour from Panama City, is the second-largest duty-free area in the world and is quite the experience: 2,500+ companies in operation and perfumes, jewelry, name-brand clothing, leather goods and cigarettes in high supply for discount prices.
Shopping Malls
Panama is a good place to buy electronics, clothing and cosmetics, and with Panama´s rapidly growing economy, everyone´s shopping. Home to several U.S.-style shopping malls, one can find any and all brands in Panama City, dollar shirts to designer boutique stores. Multiplaza has Swatch, Louis Vuitton, Buffalo, Levi´s, Lacoste, Kenneth Cole, Adidas, Puma, etc., as well as a variety of price-friendly wear. There are 47 restaurants and cafes, with outdoor lounges to on-the-go frozen yogurt stands. Multiplaza is even home to movie theater, which features a VIP experience with reclinable seats and waiters who can bring you anything from sushi to margaritas. For $6.50 for retirees, the experience cannot be beat.
Multicentro is another favorite and even offers a Rossetta Stone stand. Check out Via Vai and Studio F for women´s wear to mix it up from familiar brands; department stores Conway and La Onda offer $2.99 shirts and $5.99 dresses, as well as goods for the whole family. Albrook Mall is definitely worth the trip for avid shoppers as well as a full-day´s visit: the mall is so large that exits are referred to by the nearby animal statue and guides wearing safari-type attire are stationed around the mall for service.
Souvenirs
Souvenirs are available in speciality shops located within many of the malls, as well as the airport, but for a high mark-up. Smaller stores located in the the capital´s center offer fairer prices. There are formal as well as makeshift craft fairs and displays from local artisans throughout Panama City, especially in Panamá Viejo and Casco Viejo, as well as in El Valle. The YMCA in Balboa, Panama City, features many indigenous-made crafts. Most popular tourist attractions from Portobelo´s Iglesia de San Felipe to beachside loading/drop-off points will typically have a few Guna women selling one of their traditional bracelets and anklets, and intricately woven and popularly-bought molas. Purchases support the preservation of their traditional costumes and jewelry, as well as support one of their primary sources of income.
Grocery Stores
Panama has large, modern, well-organized, U.S.-style supermarkets, carrying many familiar U.S. brands for comparable prices, if not less. Riba Smith and El Rey are among the favorites for expats and vacationers, with four Riba Smiths in Panama City and the established El Rey chain dotting Panama City as well as Coronado and David. Riba Smith is preferred for its´ selection of health-foods, special-needs dietary items and variety of American-brands of cereals, pastas, yogurts, ice creams, baking ingredients, salad dressings, breakfast foods and more, from Special K Bars to kettle chips to Aunt Jemima. Riba Smith´s holiday speciality items make baking and Thanksgiving easy, complete with holiday bake pans and pine-scented candles. With a logo similar to A&P, it´s not hard to miss this chain located in almost every Panama City neighborhood. Much like Riba Smith, El Rey offers reasonable prices and a great selection, as well as a rewards card, deli items and a large stock of liquor, wine and beer. Super 99 is another commonly found supermarket in Panama City carrying a wide selection with excellent prices.
Colón´s Free Trade Zone
Colón´s duty-free zone, referred to as the Free Trade Zone, opened in 1948 and has over 2500 companies that primarily sell to wholesalers, not individual consumers, but is an experience of a shopping city within a city for those adventurous travelers. Perfume, cigarettes, liquor, watches, jewelry, electronics, high-end clothing and handbags, cosmetics and more are all available inside, after receiving permission at the main office and presenting proper paperwork. If any purchases are made, most sales are sent to the airport, and be sure to hang on to any receipts.
By: vacationtopanama
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