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Sights Overview

The Fort Lauderdale metro area is laid out in a basic grid system, and only myriad canals and waterways interrupt the mostly straight-line path of streets and roads. Nomenclature is important here. Streets, roads, courts, and drives run east-west. Avenues, terraces, and ways run north-south. Boulevards can (and do) run any which way. For visitors, Las Olas Boulevard is one of the most important east-west thoroughfares from the beach to downtown, whereas Route A1A -- referred to as Atlantic Boulevard, Ocean Boulevard, and Fort Lauderdale Beach along some stretches -- runs along the north-south oceanfront. These names can confuse visitors, since there are separate streets called Atlantic and Ocean in Hollywood and Pompano Beach. Boulevards, composed of either pavement or water, give Fort Lauderdale its distinct "Venice of America" character. Honeycombed with more than 260 mi of navigable waterways, the city is home port for about 44,000 privately owned boats. An easy, pleasant way to tour the canals is via Fort Lauderdale's water-taxi system, made up of motor launches carrying up to 70 passengers, providing transportation and quick, narrated tours. Larger, multiple-deck touring vessels and motorboat rentals for self-guided tours are other options. The Intracoastal Waterway, paralleling Route A1A, is the nautical equivalent of an interstate highway. It runs north-south between downtown Fort Lauderdale and the beach and provides easy access to neighboring beach communities. Keep in mind that Broward and adjacent Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties regularly rank in Florida's top five for pedestrian deaths.