Valentine’s Day is not just for couples anymore. Gather your besties and celebrate your friendship and love on Galentine’s Day, with plenty of activities, shopping, dining, and partying throughout Greater Fort Lauderdale.

For the Ladies Who Brunch

Your group counts down to the weekend for the meal that serves all cravings: brunch. Foxy Brown boasts an extensive menu for brunch, from doughnut holes, bananas Foster pancakes, and obviously mimosas and Bloody Marys. If your group wants a waterfront view during their meal, opt for Shooters set along the Intracoastal and watch the boats wade by. Or, go sky-high for brunch at Rooftop @1WLO and start a game of ProseccoPONG or ChamBONG. And of course, Las Olas is lined with restaurants at the ready with their brunch menus, such as Louie Bossi’s, American Social, Big City Tavern, and Casa Sensei.

French bull dog wearing sunglasses at Shooters Waterfront with a bloody mary and mimosa

For the Shopaholics

Grab your gal pals, we’re going shopping! The epic Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise is bursting with more than 355 stores, including luxe brands in The Colonnade Outlets like Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, and Neiman Marcus Last Call. Over in Coconut Creek, The Promenade also has a great selection of shops, like White House Black Market and DSW. In Dania Beach, Dania Pointe features great finds at retailers including Anthropologie and Sugarboo & Co. The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale is another classic shopping destination with your favorite brands: Free People, Michael Kors, Sephora, and more. Then, when you’ve worked up an appetite after a day of shopping, gather the girls for a glass of wine at Cooper’s Hawk. 

shopping mobi

For the Creatives

If your group is always up for checking off items on its bucket list, book an activity that lets everyone try their hand at crafting. Schedule a session at Ann’s Florist & Coffee Bar on Las Olas Boulevard to make flower crowns or flower arranging, set against a backdrop of elegant and modern blooms. Also, on Las Olas is Candle Land, where you and the girls can book a one-hour class to make soy wax candles that burn with aromatic oils. If your gang likes to get their hands dirty, throw clay at Sarah Glass Ceramics in Flagler Village. The woman-owned biz gives you the chance to make pottery from scratch—and bring home a memento to remember your Galentine’s Day date with the ladies. 

ann's florist

For the Night Owls

Getting dolled up for a night out is your idea of fun—the question is where to go. Follow the lights to The Guitar Hotel in Hollywood and try your hand at the blackjack tables or slot machines before heading to DAER Nightclub’s dance floor. Adjoined to the newly opened Holly Blue is The Angeles, a nightclub born from the rubble of an old church. At The Wharf, there is plenty of people watching to be done while ordering food from your favorite food truck or demolishing the competition at corn hole. And when you walk into Rhythm & Vine, you’ll feel as if you’ve crashed a backyard party lit by bistro lights.

Rhythm & Vine

For the Outdoorswomen 

Being in the sun and exploring nature is your gaggle’s happy place. Grab your fishing rods and head to Pompano Beach’s Fisher Family Pier, a newly imagined space that, when looking from a bird’s eye view, is in the shape of a pompano fish. Another water activity is paddleboarding or kayaking through the mangroves in Hollywood’s West Lake Park (grab dessert at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor after). If hiking is your choice of activity, explore the Tree Top Nature Trail Loop in Davie for a nearly 2-mile adventure filled with wildflowers, birds, and waterways.

Kayaking in West Lake Park

For the Cocktail Connoisseurs 

Your gang’s Instagram is filled with artfully crafted cocktails that took 10 minutes to make, and none of you mind one bit on the wait. Celebrate Greater Fort Lauderdale’s mixology scene at Apothecary 330, sneakily connected to Pizza Craft on Himmarshee Street. Also in Fort Lauderdale, The Wilder’s decor is just as beautiful as its drink menu, never skimping on garnishes. New to the scene is No Man’s Land, a sushi-bar-turned hideaway for the girls to order a decadent libation while catching up.

Craft cocktails from above at Apothecary 330 in Fort Lauderdale

For the Girls Who Need a Break

It’s not easy being a girl boss, and part of it is recognizing when you need to put down the phone for a much-needed spa day. The spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale offers treatments that will have you melting into your massage table, like the 80-minute Cleansing Ceremony massage or 110-minute Intuitive Ocean body wrap. Away Spa at W Fort Lauderdale offers not only massages but also mani-pedis in a studio wrapped in fuchsia walls. If you all really need to shut out the world, book a float session in a sensory deprivation tank at Float8, with two locations in Fort Lauderdale and Deerfield Beach. You’ll feel completely refreshed and ready to take on the world.