Things to Do in Fort Lauderdale, United States: Walking Guide

Wondering what to do in Fort Lauderdale? This South Florida city offers much more than its waterfront: its museums, historic buildings, churches, cinemas, and cultural landmarks reveal different sides of local life. Neywo has a free audio guide for Fort Lauderdale with 24 narrated places, so you can explore while the story plays as you arrive.

What to see in Fort Lauderdale

The city’s sights range from major museums to carefully preserved buildings. These are some of the most interesting stops to include in your plans.

International Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Swimming Hall of Fame celebrates the history of aquatics through art, objects, and memorabilia. Its collection includes swimwear, photographs, Olympic medal swimsuits, and artifacts connected with people who have excelled in or promoted swimming. The museum also presents works by Norman Rockwell and LeRoy Neiman, along with material related to civil rights.

A screening room covers subjects such as water safety and classic films including Million Dollar Mermaid and Tarzan the Ape Man. Outside the galleries, the complex includes two 50-meter pools, a diving well, and a training pool.

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale

Formerly known as the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale focuses strongly on modern and contemporary art. The museum began in 1958 as the Fort Lauderdale Art Center before moving into its current modernist building, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes.

Its collection contains more than 7,500 pieces, including a substantial group of ceramics and prints by Pablo Picasso. The museum is also known for Latin American and Cuban art, as well as its collection of work from the Northern European CoBrA movement. The building includes a 21,000-square-foot main exhibition area and a sculpture terrace.

Museum of Discovery and Science

The Museum of Discovery and Science combines science, animals, space, and hands-on exhibits. Its AutoNation IMAX theater offers 3-D films, while other attractions explore ecological zones, aviation, space exploration, sustainability, and the human body.

Visitors can experience a simulated trip to Mars and a MaxFlight airplane simulator. The museum also presents Floridian animal species through demonstrations and informal encounters. Younger children have their own Discovery Center, designed for ages 7 and under.

Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum

Car enthusiasts should make time for the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, also called the Packard Car Museum. Arthur Stone created the collection after becoming a devoted Packard enthusiast, and the museum displays a Packard from each year the company was in production.

Among the highlights are a 1915 delivery truck, a 1909 speedster with kerosene-powered headlamps, and a 1948 station sedan known as a “woodie.” The collection offers a focused look at Packard’s changing designs and engineering.

Old Dillard Museum

The Old Dillard Museum preserves and presents the heritage of Fort Lauderdale’s African-American community. The building originally served as a masonry school and was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style, with Mission-style elements, by local architect John Morris Peterman.

The Old Dillard School opened in 1907 on land acquired from Frank and Ivy Stranahan. It was the city’s first educational institution for African-American students and was named for educator and philanthropist Dr. James Hardy Dillard. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building now supports exhibitions, cultural activities, and educational opportunities.

Historic Stranahan House Museum

Built in 1901 along the New River, Historic Stranahan House Museum is the oldest surviving structure in Fort Lauderdale. Frank Stranahan arrived in the area in 1893 and established a trading business with local settlers and the Seminole people. Ivy Stranahan arrived in 1899 as the settlement’s first schoolteacher, and the couple married in 1900.

The building served as a trading post, post office, town hall, and family home. Today, its furnished rooms reflect different periods in the house’s history and show how closely early daily life was connected to the river.

Bonnet House Museum and Gardens

Bonnet House brings together a historic home, art, and gardens near the Atlantic Ocean. Its grounds include native plants, forest areas, an orchid house, and beachfront access. The bonnet lily, which grows on the property, gave the gardens their name.

The estate includes the main house, an art studio, a music studio, and a guest house. Hugh Taylor Birch purchased the property in 1895, while the plantation-style home was built in 1920 as a winter residence for the couple. Its design, by Bartlett, uses vernacular architecture and materials inspired by the local environment. Evelyn Fortune Lilly later helped shape the estate and introduced wildlife to the grounds.

Fort Lauderdale’s historic buildings

Fort Lauderdale’s architecture provides another way to understand the city’s development. The Bryan Building, completed in 1914 by Thomas Bryan, once housed a U.S. Post Office, the Fort Lauderdale Bank, and a hotel. Its role in the early business district earned it a place on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Croissant Park Administration Building dates from 1923 and is a notable example of Mission Revival architecture. Its L-shaped, two-story form, textured stucco, parapets, concrete lamps, cypress staircase, and Dade Pine floors preserve details of the period.

The Dr. Willard Van Orsdel King House, built in 1951, offers a different architectural perspective. Designed by William F. Bigoney, it is a well-preserved example of Mid-century modern design, with a bright central room framed by two walls of windows. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

The Sam Gilliam House dates from 1925 and combines Mediterranean Revival and Prairie School elements. Built by lumber-company proprietor Sam Gilliam, the two-story residence features a concealed flat roof, green barrel tiles, and detailed woodwork. In 1998, the house was moved from its original location after being offered to anyone willing to relocate it.

Fort Lauderdale’s churches and cultural venues

First Baptist Church has stood in the downtown community since 1907. Its mid-century Anglican Baptist architecture is accompanied by community facilities, including the Student Life Center. The church also holds Christmas traditions dating from 1983, as well as Easter and Christmas concerts.

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church was founded in 1960 by D. James Kennedy. Its present building was dedicated in 1974 by Billy Graham and can seat 2,300 people. The church became part of the Presbyterian Church in America in 1978 and was known for its televised Coral Ridge Hour, which reached a nationwide audience.

Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church reflects the history of Fort Lauderdale’s Greek Orthodox community. Greek families began gathering in the city in 1946, and the church was established in 1988. Its Byzantine-style building has a white and blue facade, mural paintings, and a Byzantine cross layout centered on a dome.

For an evening of film, Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale is an art house theater in downtown Fort Lauderdale, formerly known as Cinema Paradiso. Its program includes art house films, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, and independent movies. The venue has a courtyard, a full bar, 220 stadium seats, and a stage with lighting and sound equipment.

Explore Fort Lauderdale with Neywo

Neywo offers two walking tours and one bus route in Fort Lauderdale. The walks include Downtown Fort Lauderdale museums, a 1.13-kilometre route lasting 42 minutes with 6 narrated stops, and The Ultimate Fort Lauderdale: Riverwalk to Croissant Park, a 5.51-kilometre route lasting 140 minutes with 14 stops. The bus route, Bus 40: Downtown Fort Lauderdale to the 17th Street Causeway, covers 5 kilometres in 21 minutes and includes 5 stops.

Download Neywo and explore Fort Lauderdale at your own pace. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Fort Lauderdale is part of Florida, where you can continue discovering destinations such as Miami, Key Largo, and Key West. You can also explore the wider United States with Neywo.