Fort Lauderdale: Arts, Entertainment and Nightlife

Fort Lauderdale is lucky to have several fantastic breweries and wine lounges, but for me, Funky Buddha Brewery is the ideal spot to visit for an entertaining afternoon or night out. They pride themselves on using only the finest, all-natural ingredients, grains and hops and don’t filter or pasteurize their beer, making each a bold and delicious flavour. Their flagship beers include Hop Gun IPA and the fruitier Floridian Hefeweizen. They change up their selection often, and while I was there I sampled the Piña Colada and Peanut Butter and Jelly beer.

A game room will keep you and your friends entertained with bocce, giant Jenga and various other fun games, or take a brewery tour to sample the beers and learn all about the brewing process.

The W Fort Lauderdale Hotel is the place to visit for not only amazing accommodations, but also for the modern, oceanfront Steak 954 restaurant, where dry-aged beef from select ranches, locally caught seafood and fine wine and spirits make for a wonderful night. I enjoyed my tasty steak al fresco whilst dining on the terrace, but made sure to take a few minutes to admire the astonishing 4.5-meter-long reef aquarium, home to mesmerising jellyfish.

After dinner, stop into the Living Room with its welcoming décor, or sit at the bar to enjoy watching mixologists whip up something delicious for you.

There is absolutely something for everyone’s taste, budget and style in Fort Lauderdale when it comes to evening entertainment: Broadway productions, operas, clubs, comedy spots and various live music venues happily welcome you in for the night.

Edgy and fun is the name of the game at downtown’s FATVillage (Flagler. Arts. Technology). Originally an industrial area dating to the 1950s, it is now Fort Lauderdale’s urban arts district and one of the largest in Florida. The graffiti wall along the Flagler railroad tracks at the back of the arts district is a must-see. The last Saturday of every month, the FATVillage Art Walk brings the local arts community together, celebrating their work in painting, sculpture, graffiti and performance art. Local food trucks join in the liveliness to offer visitors a range of nibbles, and you will love seeing the library bar. Open from 7 p.m. until late, the Art Walk welcomes a diverse crowd.

Fort Lauderdale also has a brilliant bicycle program in place. Broward B-cycle allows you to hire bikes and drop them off at multiple locations around the city, a perfect way to make transportation easy.