Looking for the best things to do in Hollywood, Florida? Tucked between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood is best known for its Beach Broadwalk — a 2.5-mile brick promenade along the sand — plus a walkable downtown and the arts at Young Circle. Locals point to the Broadwalk and beach, ArtsPark at Young Circle, and the nearby Seminole Hard Rock.

Things to do in Hollywood, FL

Hollywood Beach & the Broadwalk

The car-free, 2.5-mile Broadwalk lined with cafés, ice cream and rental bikes — a classic, old-Florida beach stroll.

Downtown Hollywood & ArtsPark at Young Circle

Restaurants, murals, live music and the green ArtsPark with events and a food-truck scene.

Nature & Nearby

The Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park for kayaking and mangroves, and the Seminole Hard Rock for gaming, dining and concerts nearby.

Things to do in Hollywood at night

Downtown Hollywood and the beach area lead for dining, live music and bars, with the Hard Rock’s entertainment a short drive away.

Free things to do in Hollywood, FL

• The Beach Broadwalk and sand
• ArtsPark at Young Circle events
• Downtown murals and strolls

What Hollywood locals actually recommend

The best Broadwalk spots, downtown restaurants worth it, what’s on at ArtsPark — that comes from people who live here. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Hollywood community, real neighbors answer “what should I actually do this weekend?” Join your Hollywood neighbors free →

Fitting it into a day in Hollywood

The best days here mix the well-known spots with the places only locals frequent. What sets Hollywood apart is how close everything sits together. Start near the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, work in one of the spots from this guide, and you are minutes from ArtsPark at Young Circle if you want to keep going. Locals often round out a full day out with a detour to North Beach Park or a quieter stop at the historic downtown. Because the distances are short, you can improvise as you go rather than lock the whole day down in advance.

The Broadwalk, and why it defines the city

Start here. Hollywood Beach’s Broadwalk – spelled without the “oar”, because it is a 2.5-mile pink-brick promenade rather than a wooden boardwalk – is the thing this city is known for, and Travel + Leisure has voted it one of America’s best boardwalks regardless of the spelling. It runs the length of the beach with cafes, bars and hotels on one side and the Atlantic on the other, and it is genuinely walkable end to end.

Anchoring the northern end, Hollywood North Beach Park at 3601 N Ocean Dr covers 56 acres with over a mile of shoreline, a 60-foot observation tower and pier fishing, open 8am to 7:30pm daily. Full detail in our Broadwalk guide.

Free live music and outdoor films

Two of the best things to do here cost nothing, and both are badly under-publicised.

The Hollywood Beach Bandshell at 320 Johnson St is an open-air theatre directly on the Broadwalk running free live performances Wednesday through Sunday, 7pm to 9pm. Bring a chair, eat nearby, and the evening costs only your dinner.

Downtown, ArtsPark at Young Circle – 10 acres of park inside a traffic circle at Hollywood Boulevard and Federal Highway – screens free films on Friday evenings at 8pm and hosts concerts, exhibitions and festivals through the year. It also holds a children’s play area with an interactive fountain and a feature fountain by the Japanese artist Ritsuko Taho.

Nature: the half of Hollywood visitors never see

Inland from the beach, Hollywood has genuinely good nature, and it is cheap. West Lake Park at 1200 Sheridan St protects more than 1,500 acres of mangrove forest, and inside it the Anne Kolb Nature Center at 751 Sheridan St opens Monday to Saturday 6am to 7pm and is free on weekdays. It holds an exhibit hall with a 3,500-gallon aquarium and simulated mangroves, a hands-on EcoRoom, an Intracoastal fishing pier, and ★ a 68-foot observation tower with the best free view in the city. It is a stop on the Florida Birding Trail, and the 6am opening is the only civilised time to walk it in summer.

T.Y. Park at 3300 N Park Rd is the big inland county park – free Monday to Friday, $1.50 per person at weekends, open 8am to 6pm, built around a lake with trails, picnic areas and a campground. Our parks guide covers all of them.

Downtown Hollywood

A walkable district centred on Hollywood Boulevard, Harrison Street and ArtsPark, with murals, galleries, independent boutiques and outdoor cafes, and a food scene running from Cuban to Haitian. It is the most genuinely local part of the city and the antidote to a day spent entirely on sand. Our restaurants guide has more.

Yellow Green Farmers Market

Worth planning a weekend around. Yellow Green Farmers Market at 1940 N 30th Road opens Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 6:30pm with 600 vendor booths under cover, including 200-plus food and drink stalls. Being covered makes it one of the few things here that works in August. Parking is free after 5pm.

The Seminole Hard Rock and the Guitar Hotel

Impossible to miss and worth seeing even if you never set foot in the casino: the Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, One Seminole Way, is a 450-foot building shaped like two back-to-back guitars, with LEDs built into every side and a nightly orchestrated light-and-music show. It redefined the South Florida skyline and is genuinely striking after dark. Inside are concert venues, clubs and fine dining including Council Oak Steaks & Seafood.

A perfect weekend in Hollywood

Saturday morning: Anne Kolb early for the tower and the mangroves while it is cool, or breakfast on the Broadwalk at Mamacita’s, which opens at 8am.

Saturday afternoon: the beach, then Yellow Green from mid-afternoon – arrive after 5pm and parking is free.

Saturday evening: stone crab at Billy’s if it is between October and May, then the free Bandshell show at 7pm.

Sunday: downtown for coffee and the murals, T.Y. Park if you want space, and sunset from the northern end of the Broadwalk where it is quietest.

What Hollywood is not, and where to go instead

Worth being straight so you plan the right trip. Hollywood is not a nightlife destination in the way Miami Beach is – the bars close earlier, the scene is smaller, and anyone whose main goal is clubbing should base themselves further south. It is not a shopping destination either; the independent boutiques downtown are pleasant but modest, and the malls are inland and unremarkable. It has no major museum, no theme park and no headline cultural institution, and pretending otherwise does visitors no favours.

What it does have, better than either neighbour, is a long uninterrupted beach promenade you can actually walk, free live music five nights a week, genuinely wild mangrove nature ten minutes inland, one of the largest covered markets in the region, and prices that undercut Fort Lauderdale and Miami across the board. Those are the reasons to come. If your weekend is built around those, Hollywood is excellent value; if it is built around nightlife or shopping, you will be happier elsewhere and it is better to know that in advance.

More Hollywood guides

Hollywood rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Free things to do in Hollywood, Best restaurants in Hollywood, undefined Hollywood — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Get a local’s take

Guides are a starting point; the current, on-the-ground details come from people who live in Hollywood. Hours shift, favorites change, and residents always know what is genuinely worth it now. Ask Hollywood neighbors directly or join your town community free to hear from real locals.

Frequently asked questions

What are the top things to do in Hollywood, Florida?

Stroll or bike the 2.5-mile Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, hit the beach, explore downtown and ArtsPark at Young Circle, kayak at the Anne Kolb Nature Center, and catch dining or a concert at the Seminole Hard Rock nearby.

What is Hollywood Beach known for?

Its Broadwalk — a car-free, 2.5-mile brick promenade along the sand, lined with cafés and shops, with an old-Florida, laid-back feel.

What are free things to do in Hollywood, FL?

The Beach Broadwalk and sand, ArtsPark at Young Circle events, and downtown strolls are all free.

Is Hollywood FL worth visiting between Miami and Fort Lauderdale?

Yes — its Broadwalk and beach offer a more relaxed, walkable alternative right between the two, with a lively downtown and the Hard Rock nearby.