South Florida: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Key West

The port cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Key West are among the most gayfriendly places you’ll find, and some argue this region is the center of the LGBTQ universe. In Miami, stroll South Beach’s Ocean Drive to see bodies that have been meticulously sculpted by untold hours at the gym. After dark, the music starts pumping at clubs like Twist, Score, and Palace Bar. For shopping, arts, and museums, Fort Lauderdale is the selfdescribed Venice of America. Experience its Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District and Las Olas Boulevard for a bevy of boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants. A few miles beyond, in Wilton Manors (aka WilMa), you’ll find the “second gayest city in America,” with a long corridor of LGBTQ-owned restaurants and shops along Wilton Drive. Meanwhile, in Key West, the gay watering holes move at a slightly more relaxed pace. Artists have been coming here since the era of Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway, so be sure to budget some time for the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Old Town to tour the famed writer’s studio.