14 Best Sights in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale and Broward County

This 35-acre subtropical estate endures as a tribute to Old South Florida. Prior to its "modern" history, the grounds had already seen 4,000 years of activity when settler Hugh Taylor Birch purchased the site in 1895. Birch gave it to his daughter Helen as a wedding gift when she married Frederic Bartlett, and the newlyweds built a charming home for a winter residence in 1920. Years after Helen died, Frederic married his second wife, Evelyn, and the artistically gifted couple embarked on a mission to embellish the property with personal touches and surprises that are still evident today. This historic place is a must-see for its architecture, artwork, and horticulture. While admiring the fabulous gardens, look out for playful monkeys swinging from the trees.

More than 80 native and international butterfly species (more than 20,000 butterflies in total) live inside the first butterfly house in the United States and the largest in the world. The 3-acre site inside Coconut Creek's Tradewinds Park has aviaries, observation decks, waterfalls, ponds, and tunnels. There are lots of birds, too: kids love the lorikeet aviary, where birds alight on every limb.

Inspired by Miami's Wynwood Arts District, Flagler + Art + Technology (or Food + Art + Technology) Village encompasses several square blocks of a formerly blighted warehouse district in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It's now thriving with a slew of production studios, art studios, and loft-style apartments. On the last Saturday of the month (except in December), FATVillage hosts an evening art walk, in which businesses display contemporary artworks by local talent and food trucks gather. There are libations, of course, and the warehouse district erupts into a giant, culture-infused street party.

The same stretch of sand that once welcomed America's wild spring breakers is now miles of beachside sophistication. It remains gloriously open and uncluttered when compared to other major beaches along the Florida coastline; walkways line both sides of the road, and traffic is trimmed to two gently curving northbound lanes. Fort Lauderdale Beach unofficially begins between B Ocean Resort and the DoubleTree by Hilton Bahia Mar Resort, starting with the quiet Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, where picnic tables and palm trees rule. Going north, a younger crowd gravitates toward the section near Las Olas Boulevard. The beach is actually most crowded from here to Beach Place, home to Marriott's vacation rentals and touristy places like Hooters and Fat Tuesday (and a beach-themed CVS). An LGBTQ crew soaks up the sun along Sebastian Street Beach, just north of the Ritz-Carlton. Families with children enjoy hanging out between Seville Street and Vistamar Street, between the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach and The Atlantic Hotel and Spa. High-spirited dive bars dot the Strip and epitomize its "anything goes" attitude. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee). Best for: partiers; sunrise; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

North of the bustling beachfront at Sunrise Boulevard, quieter sands run parallel to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, an exquisite patch of Old Florida. The 180-acre subtropical oasis forms a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway—surprisingly close to the urban core. Lush vegetation includes mangroves, and there are lovely nature trails through the hammock system. Visit the Birch House Museum, enjoy a picnic, play volleyball, or grab a canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard. Amenities: toilets; water sports. Best for: solitude; walking.

What Lincoln Road is to South Beach, Las Olas Boulevard is to Fort Lauderdale. Regarded as the heart and soul of Broward County, Las Olas has historically been the premier street for restaurants, art galleries, museums, shopping, dining, and strolling. Lined with high-rises in the downtown area and original boutiques and ethnic eateries along 10 blocks of the main stretch, it's also home to beautiful mansions and traditional Florida homes along the Intracoastal Waterway to the east, which typify the modern-day aesthetic of Fort Lauderdale. The ocean appears beyond the residential swath, and that's where you see that the name "Las Olas" (Spanish for "The Waves") begins to make more sense. It's a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare, but it's not closed to vehicular traffic at any point.

Led by visionary director and chief curator Bonnie Clearwater, the NSU Art Museum's international exhibition programming ignites downtown Fort Lauderdale. Part of Nova Southeastern University, the 83,000-square-foot modernist building, designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, opened in 1986. The interior holds an impressive permanent collection of more than 7,000 works, including the country's largest collection of paintings by American realist William Glackens and pivotal works by female and multicultural artists, avant-garde CoBrA artists, and a wide array of Latin American masters.

The lobby-level Museum Café is a cool hangout with art-inspired gifts.

Beyond the western suburbs of Broward County is Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, which means "a place to learn, a place to remember" in the Seminole language. This Smithsonian Affiliate documents the living history and culture of the Seminole Tribe of Florida through artifacts, exhibits, and experiential learning. There's a mile-long boardwalk above the swamplands (wheelchair-accessible) that leads you through the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. At the midpoint of the boardwalk, you can take a break at the re-created ceremonial grounds.

Many episodes of Animal Planet's Gator Boys were filmed here, making this wetland "park" an extremely popular tourist attraction. Take an hour-long airboat tour, snap a selfie with a python, and catch alligators wrestling in the pit.

The airboats tend to be supersize, and the overall experience can feel commercialized.

Wander through the aviary, arboretum, and wildlife sanctuary at Flamingo Gardens, and don't miss the Everglades museum inside the historic Wray Home. A half-hour guided tram ride winds through tropical fruit groves and wetlands, where a large collection of Florida native wildlife lives (flamingos, alligators, bobcats, otters, panthers, and more).

The posh Harbor Beach community includes Fort Lauderdale's most opulent residences on the Intracoastal Waterway. Due east of this community, a stunning beach has adopted the name of its surroundings. The Harbor Beach section has some of the only private beaches in Fort Lauderdale, and most of this beach belongs to hotels like the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa and Lago Mar Beach Resort & Club. (To be clear: Only hotel guests have access.) Such status allows the hotels to provide guests with full-service amenities and dining options on their own slices of heaven. Amenities: water sports. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

The city's oldest surviving structure was once home to businessman Frank Stranahan, who arrived from Ohio in 1892. With his wife, Ivy, the city's first schoolteacher, he befriended and traded with the Seminole tribe. In 1901 he built a store that would later become his home after serving as a post office, a general store, and a restaurant. The couple's tale is filled with ups and downs. Their home remains Fort Lauderdale's principal link to its brief history and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. Guided tours are about an hour long and are offered a few times a day; however, calling ahead for availability is a good idea. Self-guided tours of the museum are not allowed.

There are dozens of interactive exhibits here to entertain children—and adults—through the wonders of science and Florida's delicate ecosystem. The state-of-the-art 7D theater takes guests on a virtual tour of aviation technology, while the EcoDiscovery Center comes with an Everglades Airboat Adventure ride, resident otters, and an interactive Florida storm center. The 300-seat AutoNation IMAX theater is part of the complex and shows mainstream and educational films, some in 3D, on the biggest screen in South Florida with a rare high-tech laser projection system.

Catch a good glimpse of plants and wildlife—from ospreys and alligators to turtles, snakes, and fish—on a 30-minute airboat ride through the Everglades. The fee covers admission to all nature exhibits as well as a visit to a model Seminole village.

Nature truly comes alive at night. Sawgrass Recreation Park offers longer nighttime airboat rides on Wednesday and Saturday at 8 pm, reservations required.