A visit to Fort Lauderdale wouldn’t be complete without spending a day on Las Olas Boulevard, the very heart and soul of Fort Lauderdale. Running a little over a mile west to east from Route 1 through the manicured downtown and all the way to the beach, Las Olas Boulevard is dotted with restaurants, fashion boutiques, art galleries, and other cultural highlights. Here, we detail an ideal day spent experiencing the best of it, from morning to night.
10 a.m. | Breakfast at Nanou French Bakery & Café
It’s a little slice of France in Southern Florida. Nanou French Bakery & Café offers choices like the Paris breakfast (coffee, orange juice, a half baguette with butter), crepes, and omelettes, but you can’t walk out the door without one of Nanou’s heavenly croissants that are crispy on the outside and a buttery on the inside. You’ll thank us later.
11:00 a.m. | NSU Museum of Art
A fixture on the South Florida art scene for 60 years, the 83,000-square-foot NSU Museum of Art houses more than 7,000 contemporary works from celebrated artists like William Glackens, Pablo Picasso, and Cecily Brown. There are always interesting exhibitions rotating in and out, so check out their exhibition schedule to look ahead and see what’s coming next.
1:00 p.m. | Lunch at Raw Poke Bar
Raw Poke Bar is the perfect spot to grab a quick, healthy lunch during an otherwise indulgent day. If you’ve never tried a poke bowl, this is your chance to be a little adventurous: Pieces of raw fish are cut and marinated and tossed over rice and finished with vegetables and sauces.
2:30 p.m. | Shopping Downtown
Las Olas Boulevard has been called the “Rodeo Drive of Southern Florida,” so it should come as no surprise that we’ve blocked off some time for retail therapy. Stores like Andre Dupree (luxury handbags), Blue Gallery (contemporary art), J. McLaughlin (clothing and accessories), Moda Mario (also clothing), and Unique Treasures (luxury home furnishings), are among those worthy of a visit.
6:00 p.m. | Dinner at Louie Bossi’s
Louie Bossi’s is a lively ristorante with a menu full of Italian mainstays like fresh antipasto, pizza, and pasta. One guest favorite? The lasagna – so good that it often sells out. Check the menu for specials, as they change from night to night. If the weather permits, opt to sit outside on the patio for a little extra breathing room.
8 p.m. | Something Sweet at Hoffman’s Chocolates
If you were too full for dessert at Louie Bossi’s, Hoffman’s Chocolates is the place to go to get an assortment of sweets – think chocolate-smothered pretzels and Oreos, caramels, all kinds of truffles, chewy pecan jitterbugs, nut clusters, and more – to go. Or, if you did save room, their thick and creamy ice cream comes in unique flavors like dulce de leche cheesecake, carrot cake, and calypso crunch.
Pelican Grand Beach Resort
