Chic, panache and plenty of sand
By Karen Haymon Long/Tampa Tribune

Originally published June 5, 1994

South Florida hot spots

Imagine wide sandy beaches lined with Art Deco hotels and trendy cafes and you'll be conjuring up South Florida's Miami Beach.

Imagine a canoe gliding past blue herons, saw grass and thick hammocks and you're picturing South Florida again - this time the Everglades, a treasure unique in the world.

Now, picture seaside mansions amid lush sea grape bushes and statuesque palms. That's Palm Beach, home of rich and famous Floridians or part-time Floridians.

South Florida is anything you want it to be.

If you love sailboats, Fort Lauderdale has some of the finest in the world. Wanna catch a sailfish? Hook up with a drift boat in Deerfield Beach. Like zoos? Miami's is a fine one. Food with a Cuban flair? That's Miami, too. Outdoor jazz festivals? West Palm Beach has a good one. Mansions? Palm Beach. Gucci? Palm Beach again. Swamp cabbage and mouth-watering homemade pies? LaBelle in Hendry County.

No wonder South Florida is one of the more popular tourist destinations in America. And it's just hours - about 4 to Fort Lauderdale by car or one hour by air - from Tampa.

Parts, especially Miami, have a faster pace than Tampa. Some areas - Miami Beach's South Beach comes first to mind - are swankier. Vast tracts of land - Everglades National Park, for instance - are more scenic. The whole area is different enough from West Central Florida that it's worth a visit.

First-time visitors will probably think of South Florida's East Coast as one huge metropolis, for very few areas are undeveloped. But it still has great escapes, some gorgeous beaches, pretty parks and boatloads of water.

Fort Lauderdale, especially, has lovely canals, the wending Intracoastal Waterway and the meandering New River that passes through downtown.

Few places are prettier than Palm Beach, best known to tourists for its ocean-front mansions, pricey restaurants and Worth Avenue shops. Miami, with its rich blend of ethnic groups, perhaps the most cosmopolitan part of the state, is known worldwide for its music, food, art galleries and beaches.

Here's a look at just some of the area's many attractions, parks and museums:

SOUTH FLORIDA HOT SPOTS

WORTH THE TRIP