My husband and I (40's) will be spending this weekend in Fort Lauderdale at the Marriot Harour Beach resort. We've never been to the area and would love any tips on where to go, what to see. We will have a car, are not bringing the kids, snorkel but do not scuba, and have 4 days/3 nights to enjoy. Any help would be appreciated...Thanks!

Make sure you get over to Charlie's Crab to have a wonderful dinner on the outdoor patio overlooking the intracoastal. It's not far from HBR.

Thanks, we will definately plan on it. Would Key Largo be out of the question for a day trip? Someone mentioned the State park being worth the drive. I would think anything over 2 1/2 hours would be too much.

Enjoy spending some time riding around on the water taxi there. Its part of their public transportation system and can take you to many parts of the city
via the channels, past the huge houses.
Very relaxing. I always make sure to eat at the Sundowner Saloon. Good food, very relaxed place.
When we were there if you boarded after 7 pm it was half price. Still worth the $10.00 trip at least once.

Personally I would save Key Largo for another trip. Its a bit of a drive for the amount of time you are there and Ft Lauderdale has a lot to offer.

There is a boat company that cruises the intracoastal. It tells you all who lived where or who presently lives in different homes. They also have a day trip down to Miami on certain days. It operates by the Sheraton Hotel on A1A. I am sorry I cannot remember the name of it but we enjoyed it and found it informative.We went out some sort of nighttime show which included dinner. The dinner was just o.k. but the tour was interesting. I second eating at Charlies Crab!! A wonderful dining experience. There is also some riverfront place where there are shops, restaurants and outside dining. The water taxi is the best way of getting around, although somewhat slow. Have fun. We love FLL. It has been a few years since we there. The beach is also great! I liked the beach very much.

This is a good site to look for info on FLL:
http://www.sunny.org/visitors/index.cfm

The Jungle queen is a nice way to see the waterways;go during the day, and do not go on the dinner cruise, it is really awful.
http://www.junglequeen.com/dnn/

Go to Las Olas Blvd. There are many restaurants there.http://lasolasboulevard.com/

Some restaurants I would recommend:

For really good Spanish food
http://www.cafeseville.com/

Our favorite French restaurant:http://www.sagecafe.net/

Great Italian and very reasonable prices
http://www.bravoitaliano.com/index.swf

Great beach location, average food;
http://www.arubabeachcafe.com/home.htm

Nice location on the intercoastal, good food, and you can get there on the water taxi;
http://www.shooterscafe.com/

Expensive, really good food;
http://www.cafemaxx.com/

Good waterfront location on intercoastal.Mixed reviews, but we like it.
http://www.15streetfisheries.com/

Good food, interesting menu;
http://www.noodlespanini.com/main.html

There are so many great restaurants in FLL-we love it there.

In Key Largo, the John Pennekamp state park has great snorkeling. I think it took us less than 2 hrs from FLL, but I'm not sure.
http://www.pennekamp.com/

I'm not sure if Shirttail Charlies is still open. I thought I heard it closed.

Have a great trip!!

There's a lovely restaurant called The River House near (but not in) RiverWalk. The website is www.ftlauderdaleriverhouse.com. We always go there for our 'last night' dinner. To my mind, a perfect evening is the 6 p.m. river cruise, which you can catch at RiverWalk followed by dinner at The River House. Ask for a table on the veranda or a room overlooking the river. (I have no idea why the website is coming up twice -- I only typed it once -- and I can't get rid of it.)

Well, now you think I'm nuts because the url only showed once in the response above.

The Miami Dolphins play a home game Sunday, an easy drive from Ft. Lauderdale. Also checked the Ft. Lauderdale Center for Performing Arts: there is a Ballet performance this weekend. THis theater is easy walking distance from the River House Restaurant (also my favorite; we had our son's rehearsal dinner here, and it was magic), but is water taxi convenient to the crab house, etc. You might also like Palm Beach Norton Museum of Art, Clematis Street for night life.

Check out Las Olas Blvd. Lots of shops and restaurants. Also check out the Riverwalk at the end of Las Olas. We like the Himarshee Bar and Grill, and there's a Brazilian steak house on Las Olas we really enjoyed. It's Chimay or Chimee (something close to these). Maybe someone else knows the name. Have a great time.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We should definately be well feed by next Monday!