Helm Lynne - Fodors 2015 South Florida: with Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Keys

Florida is synonymous with sunshine: every year, more than 80 million visitors revel in it. However, the people who live herea diverse group that includes Mouseketeers, millionaires, and rocket scientistsknow that the states appeal rests on more than those reliable rays.

Geography and gastronomy go hand in hand in Florida. Seafood is a staple almost everywhere, yet the way it is prepared changes considerably as you maneuver around the state. In South Florida, menus highlight Floribbean cuisine, which marries Floridian, Caribbean, and Latin flavors (think mahimahi with mango salsa), while inland, expect catfish, gator tails, and frogs legs, all of which are best enjoyed at a Cracker-style fish camp with a side order of hush puppies. A trip to the Miami area is not complete without a taste of Cuban food. The cuisine is heavy, with pork dishes like lechon asado (roast suckling pig) but also arroz con frijoles (the staple side dish of rice and black beans) and arroz con pollo (chicken in sticky yellow rice). Key West is a mecca for lovers of Key lime pie and conch fritters. Stone-crab claws can be savored from October through May.

Floridians celebrate the arts year-round. Miami Beachs annual Art Basel festival draws 40,000 art lovers to town in the first week of December. Meanwhile, every April the Palm Beach International Film Festival hosts documentaries, shorts, and feature films. Its easy to catch a bit of bluegrass, country, classical, jazz, blues, or Americana with such festivals as the week-long SunFest in West Palm Beach, or hear some of the nations best jazz performers at the annual Hollywood Jazz Fest. Miamis ArtCenter South Florida is dedicated to incubating Floridas cultural life with programs for emerging artists of all ages. The oral tradition remains vibrant with the South Florida Storytelling Project, where live readings, storytelling slams, and festivals are free and open to the public through Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Spanish explorer Ponce de Len didnt find the Fountain of Youth when he swung through Florida in 1513. But if hed lingered longer, he could have located 7,700 lakes, 1,700 rivers and creeks, and more than 700 springs. Over the centuries these have attracted American Indians, immigrants, opportunists, and countless outdoor adventurers. Boaters come for inland waterways and a 1,200-mile coast, and anglers are lured by more than 700 species of fish. (Florida claims 4,780 past and present world-record catches, so concocting elaborate fish tales may not be necessary.) Snorkelers and divers eager to see what lies beneath can get face time with the marine life that thrives on the worlds third-largest coral reef or bone up on maritime history in underwater archaeological preserves ( www.museumsinthesea.com ). Back on dry land, all those beaches are pretty impressive, too.