Date Night Ideas in Fort Lauderdale: 20 Plans From Free to Splurge
Fort Lauderdale date night defaults to Las Olas dinner and a walk on the beach, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the city has a lot more: a free jazz brunch on the river, a monthly art walk two blocks from our brewery, an art-house cinema, a gondola, a sunset kayak tour in a state park, and rooftop bars that face the ocean. We put this list together from what we do ourselves and what our regulars tell us they did, ordered roughly from free to splurge, with the address, the cost signal and the catch for each one. Several are seasonal, so the schedule notes matter.
Sunset on the Wave Wall — free
Park near Las Olas and A1A and walk the two-mile promenade along Fort Lauderdale Beach at sunset. The low white Wave Wall is the city's most photographed stretch, the ocean is on one side and the restaurant lights on the other, and it costs nothing beyond parking. Pair it with a drink at one of the beachfront hotel bars on the way back.
Riverwalk and Las Olas stroll — free
Start at Esplanade Park, 400 SW 2nd St, walk east along the New River on the Riverwalk, and finish on Las Olas Boulevard. The free LauderGO! water trolley runs on the river daily, so you can ride one way. It is a first-date walk: easy to talk, easy to cut short, easy to extend into dinner.
Sunday Jazz Brunch on the Riverwalk — free
The first Sunday of every month, the city runs a free jazz brunch on three stages along the Riverwalk and in Esplanade Park from 11 AM to 2 PM. Bring chairs and a picnic, or buy from the vendors; dogs are welcome. The 2026 season runs through December 6, with October 4, November 1 and December 6 still to come. It is a daytime date, which is underrated.
FATVillage / Flagler Village Art Walk — free
On the last Saturday of the month, the art walk fills the warehouse blocks around NW 1st Avenue in Flagler Village with open studios, galleries, food trucks and music, roughly 7 to 11 PM, rain or shine, and dogs are welcome. The blocks around it have been redeveloped, but the walk continued in 2026; confirm the date on the organizers' social channels the week of. It is a few minutes' walk from our taproom, which makes a pizza before or a beer after the obvious plan.
Mural walk through Flagler Village and the Thrive Art District — free
Skip the crowd and do the murals on your own. The Mockingbird Trail is a self-guided urban art walk of about two miles through Flagler Village, marked by steel mockingbird sculptures, and our own neighborhood, the Thrive Art District in Progresso Village, has walls painted by local and visiting artists. Go in the last hour of daylight. Our Flagler Village guide has a suggested route.
Free First Thursday at NSU Art Museum — free
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, at 1 E Las Olas Blvd, is free on the first Thursday of the month and stays open until 7 PM that day. The rest of the week it is a paid ticket, closed Mondays. It is the best rainy-night date downtown and it sits at the west end of Las Olas, so dinner is a walk away.
Trivia Tuesday and live music Friday at Uncommon Path — cheap
Our taproom at 710 NW 5th Ave runs official Jeopardy! Bar League trivia every Tuesday at 7 PM, hosted live by Geeks Who Drink, free to play with prizes, and live music every Friday night. Wood-fired pizza, house-brewed beer, a full bar with wine and cocktails, and a patio for the dog. Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday, so a Tuesday date is the cheapest night on this list that still counts as going out.
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park: sunset paddle or a full-moon kayak — cheap
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, at 3109 E Sunrise Blvd, is 180 acres of coastal hammock between the Intracoastal and the beach for a few dollars per car, open until sunset. The Park & Ocean concession rents kayaks, canoes and paddleboards by the hour and runs a weekly Friday sunset paddle and a monthly full-moon kayak tour; call ahead for prices and to reserve. Park & Ocean also has a dog-friendly garden bar with its own small brewery.
Water Taxi at night — mid
The Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi runs daily until 10 PM with stops at the Riverside Hotel and Stranahan House, Las Olas, Bahia Mar and the beach, and it sells a reduced evening pass after 5 PM. Ride it as the loop it is: the Intracoastal mansions and yachts lit up, a stop for a drink, and a ride back. Check the current fare on the water taxi site.
Savor Cinema — mid
Savor Cinema, at 503 SE 6th St, is the art-house theater formerly called Cinema Paradiso and the home of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. It shows independent and foreign films most evenings and weekend afternoons and is closed Mondays. It is a five-minute drive from Las Olas and a better movie date than a multiplex.
Rhythm + Vine — mid
Rhythm + Vine, at 401 NE 5th Terrace in Flagler Village, is an outdoor garden bar with an Airstream bar, rotating food trucks and DJs. It is open Wednesday through Sunday, late. It is the Flagler Village bar for a date that wants to feel like a party, and it is a short walk from the art walk blocks.
Sistrunk Marketplace & Brewery — mid
Sistrunk Marketplace, at 115 NW 6th St, is a food hall with a brewery, a cocktail bar, an axe-throwing lane and live music several nights a week. It is a ten-minute walk from our taproom, which makes a Progresso Village bar crawl possible: Sistrunk Marketplace, Orchestrated Minds Brewing, and Uncommon Path, all within a mile. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Stache Drinking Den — mid
Stache, at 109 SW 2nd Ave in the Himmarshee district, is a 1920s-styled cocktail lounge with live bands, DJs and periodic burlesque and cabaret nights. Some nights are ticketed and most are 21 and up. Go for the room and a cocktail, then walk to Pizza Craft or the Riverwalk.
Wilton Drive — mid
Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors is a walkable strip of bars and restaurants ten minutes north of downtown, with drag shows, karaoke, trivia and live music most nights and Saturday the busiest. It is the best bar-hopping date in Broward that does not need a car between stops.
An escape room — mid
Fort Lauderdale has several: Escapology at Beach Place on Fort Lauderdale Beach, and Escape-topia, Cloak & Dagger and Evolution Escape Rooms around the city. An hour locked in a room is a fast way to find out how you solve problems together. Book ahead on weekends.
Bonnet House Museum & Gardens — mid
Bonnet House, at 900 N Birch Rd behind the beach, is a 1920s estate on 35 acres of gardens and coastal habitat with monkeys, swans and an orchid house. It is open Tuesday through Sunday until late afternoon with self-guided admission and discounted Broward resident tickets. It is a daytime date; follow it with the beach across Birch Road.
A show at the Broward Center — mid to splurge
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, at 201 SW 5th Ave on the river, runs the Broadway in Fort Lauderdale season and hundreds of other shows a year. The 2026-27 Broadway season includes Hamilton in November 2026 and Mamma Mia! in February 2027. Dinner on Himmarshee Street first, and a walk on the Riverwalk after.
Jungle Queen dinner cruise — splurge
The Jungle Queen riverboat leaves Bahia Mar, 801 Seabreeze Blvd, at 6 PM Wednesday through Sunday for a roughly four-hour cruise up the New River to a private island with an all-you-can-eat barbecue and a Polynesian show. It is unapologetically touristy and people have been proposing on it for decades. Book ahead; check the current price on its site.
Sunset sail or a private gondola — splurge
Tropical Sailing runs a sunset catamaran, the Spirit of Lauderdale, with champagne, and several operators run sunset cruises and private charters from the beach marinas. For something smaller, Las Olas Gondola runs private 75-minute Venetian gondola rides on the Las Olas canals, bring-your-own-bottle with ice and glasses provided, by reservation. Both are anniversary and proposal territory.
Everglades at night — splurge
Sawgrass Recreation Park, at 1006 N US-27 in Weston, about forty minutes west, runs airboat tours by day and Gator Nights tours on Wednesday and Saturday evenings that go out after dark with spotlights. Everglades Holiday Park on Griffin Road is the daytime alternative and closes in the late afternoon. Bring bug spray and a jacket for the boat.
What is not on this list, and why
Anglin's Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has been closed since hurricane damage in 2022 and is still in permitting, so it is not a pier walk right now; the beach and restaurants at the end of Commercial Boulevard are still worth the drive. Friday Night Sound Waves, the free beach concert series at Las Olas Oceanside Park, runs in winter and spring only, and Starlight Musicals at Holiday Park runs in summer, so check dates before planning around either. Museum of Discovery and Science has run adults-only after-hours nights in the past; check its calendar for current ones.
What is a good cheap date night in Fort Lauderdale?
A sunset walk on the beach promenade, the free first-Sunday Jazz Brunch on the Riverwalk, the last-Saturday art walk in Flagler Village, Free First Thursday at NSU Art Museum, or free trivia on Tuesday nights at Uncommon Path Brewing with happy hour prices.
What is a romantic thing to do in Fort Lauderdale at night?
An evening Water Taxi ride along the Intracoastal, a sunset sail from the beach marinas, a private gondola ride on the Las Olas canals, or the Jungle Queen dinner cruise.
Where is the art walk in Fort Lauderdale?
In Flagler Village around NW 1st Avenue (the FATVillage and MASS District blocks), on the last Saturday of the month in the evening. Confirm the date on the organizers' social channels the week of.
Is there free live music in Fort Lauderdale?
Yes. The Sunday Jazz Brunch on the Riverwalk is free the first Sunday of the month, Starlight Musicals at Holiday Park is free on summer Fridays, Friday Night Sound Waves at Las Olas Oceanside Park is free in winter and spring, and Uncommon Path Brewing has free live music every Friday night.
What day is trivia at Uncommon Path Brewing?
Tuesday at 7 PM. It is official Jeopardy! Bar League trivia hosted by Geeks Who Drink, free to play, with prizes for the top teams.
Uncommon Path Brewing — 710 NW 5th Ave, Suite 1071, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311.
- Address
- 710 NW 5th Ave, Suite 1071, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 (Progresso / Flagler Village (Thrive Art District))
- Hours
- Mon–Thu 12 PM–10 PM, Fri–Sat 12 PM–11 PM, Sun 12 PM–8 PM (America/New_York)
- Phone
- (954) 765-6016
- Price range
- $$
- Parking
- Free street parking on NW 5th Ave and the surrounding Progresso Village blocks
- Seating
- Indoor taproom plus open-air patio seating
- Dogs
- Dog-friendly patio
- Families
- Family welcome — kids can order from the food menu
- Food
- Wood-fired kitchen on site: pizza, wings, salads, handhelds and shareable plates
- Live music
- Live local music every Friday night
- Trivia
- Jeopardy! Bar League every Tuesday at 7 PM, hosted by Geeks Who Drink — free to play
Call Uncommon Path Brewing at (954) 765-6016 or email events@uncommonpathbrewing.com.