You have arrived in one of the vacation capitals of the world. Just say the name -- Miami -- and the tempo quickens.
And those memorable names -- which have embossed an international reputation for glamor and excitement over generations -- just keep coming: South Beach, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables; Biltmore, Fontainebleau, Eden Roc, and Intercontinental; Vizcaya and Deering; Art Basel and Art Deco.
Beneath this gloss are culturally intense neighborhoods; world-class arts and performance venues; and access to natural Florida’s Atlantic beaches, underwater wonders, and North America’s largest subtropical wilderness.
Neighborhoods
- Overtown. A new performing arts center, art galleries, and a trendy inn are rejuvenating one of the city’s oldest African-American communities. From Jodi Mailander Farrell: “Sam Cooke recorded ‘Live at the Harlem Square Club’ here. Before he became Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay used to shadow box down Northwest 2nd Avenue. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker all headed ‘over town’ to jam and sleep on this side of the railroad tracks after performing in Miami Beach’s segregated nightclubs.”
- Wynwood. The renaissance of the former warehouse district began with murals and graffiti. Today, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, “there are more than 70 galleries and museums, dozens of new restaurants and bars, and hundreds of companies, creators, and innovators working in a place that just feels alive.”
- Little Havana. Calle Ocho is where Miami’s Cuban exile experience began. Sip cafecito and eat guava and cheese pastelitos at Versailles. Take your Cuban sandwich to Domino Park and watch the furious fun. And when the sun goes down, move your hips to the beat at Ball and Chain.
Check out more Miami Neighborhoods (miamiandbeaches.com)
The Arts and the Performers
- At Perez Art Museum Miami, the collection, exhibits and the museum itself celebrate the links between Miami and Latin America, the Caribbean and the world beyond.
- The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum has four distinct buildings dedicated to science: aquarium, a planetarium, learning laboratories, and spaces for rotating exhibitions. Watch the hypnosis happen as children take a seat on the floor and look up through the Oculus lens at the hammerhead shark and rays swimming overhead.
- Of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Saundra Amrhein wrote: “The Center and its two massive buildings straddle Biscayne Boulevard like enormous ships anchored at a dock. With all that it offers inside – from Broadway shows to international symphony orchestras, from opera and classical ballet to the biggest names in jazz, comedy and rock music – the Center has become an anchor of another kind.”
- Big cities have big-city sports. Miami has baseball’s Marlins, basketball’s Heat, football’s Dolphins, hockey’s Panthers, soccer’s Inter Miami CF, plus multiple major universities.
For more arts and culture experiences in Miami, check out Guide to Miami Art and Culture (miamiandbeaches.com)
The Great Outdoors
- Juxtaposed with Miami, one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, is the Everglades, the great subtropical wilderness that is home to the endangered Florida panther and the rare ghost orchid and the unconquered Miccosukee tribe; a River of Grass that is best explored by airboat or intrepid swamp walkers.
- Just an hour’s drive from Miami’s glittering skyline, Biscayne National Park is a snorkeler’s paradise, encompassing two-thirds of Biscayne Bay, the northernmost Florida Keys and the northern portion of the world's third-largest coral reef system.
- There is some validity to South Beach’s reputation as “a sunbathe-all-day, dance-all-night party paradise.” The fact is, this is one of the most stunning stretches of coast on the planet. Farther north is Haulover Park, Florida’s best-known public nude beach.
For more outdoors activities, go to Outdoor Activities in Miami (miamiandbeaches.com)
The Beaches
Miami has beaches in abundance. Find your favorite with this list: Enjoy Miami's Beaches (miamiandbeaches.com)
And If You're This Far South... The Florida Keys
The drive
- The Florida Keys Highway, aka the Overseas Highway, is Florida’s ultimate scenic drive: 106 miles of “screensaver photos so blindingly gorgeous that they hardly look real.”
Key Largo
- Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is America’s first underwater park. Jeff Klinkenberg wrote that Pennekamp is “our Grand Canyon, a place of clear-water wonders, where fish swim and lobsters crawl and colorful living organisms make up the reef.”
Islamorada
- This is the Keys’ primary port of call for saltwater anglers -- the Sportfishing Capital of the World. But activities under, above or near the water are available here 24 hours a day. One bucket-list must is dangling a minnow from the dock at Robbie’s and watching a 6-foot tarpon swallow the fish and your helping hand.
Key West
- You have arrived at 24 degrees 33 minutes north latitude and 81 degrees 45 minutes, arguably the southernmost point in the United States. Key West also is arguably the most bohemian destination in America, a visual parade of gay pride, six-toed cats, Hemingway lookalikes, neighborhood roosters, and Mallory Square sunsets.
