Live Your Best Life Now
Greater Miami & Miami Beach
Engrossing Enclaves
T
There’s always been something magical about Greater Miami and Miami Beach — where people are as radiant and as diverse as the colors of the sunset skies; languages from every corner of the world mingle midair like a cosmopolitan symphony; and beautiful beaches and bays are never much more than a stone’s throw away.
But Miami shines even brighter nowadays, when time spent outside is more freeing than ever — and when experiencing as much as possible while minimizing travel time is of utmost value.
Scroll on to find out what makes this illustrious region the vacation
destination of the moment.
The walls are literally dripping with art in Wynwood, Miami’s energetic hub of mural art, galleries and open-air art installations. Day or night, the sidewalks are always abuzz here, whether with street performances, live music wafting from the windows of eclectic lounges or art-themed block parties flanked by mouthwatering food trucks. Shepard Fairey, Aiko and Futura are just a few of the celebrated artists who have contributed to the towering Wynwood Walls murals with their energetic,
thought-provoking creations.
Thriving Arts & Culture
Ready to go?
OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
BEACHES
Blissful Beaches
It’s easy to make a day of museum-going in downtown Miami, home to neighboring art and science museums that will thrill guests of all ages. The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is an oasis of learning, with an ever-evolving list of exhibitions that has included everything from microscopic superbugs to the evolution of flight in pre-historic animals. A perennial draw are the museum’s massive aquariums, starring everything from octopus, to billowing jellyfish to hammerhead sharks.
The Pérez Art Museum Miami offers a look at intriguing modern and contemporary paintings, video art and sculpture in a beautiful bayside setting. The sinewy blue installation guests “swim” through at the entrance, coupled with the museum’s jaw-dropping hanging gardens get the creative vibe going before you even step inside.
Classic ballets? Check. Modern musicals? Check. Historical storytelling? Check. There’s a theater and an event for every interest in Greater Miami.
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts downtown attracts acts from all over the country — and homespun playwrights, as well — to perform on its three stages, which range in size from regal to intimate.
The Lyric Theater in Historic Overtown, which will celebrate its 110th birthday next year, hosts everything from talent shows to productions showcasing the history of black life in South Florida. And the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables is a centerpiece of community arts, where local and national performers engage their stellar pipes and dancing shoes for audiences young and old.
ARTS & CULTURE SCENE
NEIGHBORHOODS
Learn more about traveling safely in Greater Miami &
Miami Beach and start planning your
escape today.
in partnership with:
Greater Miami and Miami Beach have had a huge arts renaissance over the past 20 years, with the inception of Art Basel Miami Beach — the US version of the celebrated Swiss art extravaganza — and arts patron/developer/preservationist Tony Goldman’s reinvention of the Wynwood neighborhood, formerly a clothing manufacture district, now a world-renowned epicenter of expression and creativity.
There’s a good reason long stretches of white sand and lapping ocean waves are often the first images that come to mind at the utterance of the word “Miami.” With its 35 miles of glistening shoreline, Miami is and will always be a top destination for sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling and toe-tingling barefoot strolls on the sand.
Deciding which patch of paradise to visit isn’t easy; your best bet is to do your own extensive, firsthand research. No lab coat required—your bathing suit will do just fine.
OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
learn more about:
NEIGHBORHOODS
BEACHES
What’s better than live music? Live music by the beach, obviously. That’s just what you’ll get at the North Beach Bandshell, an open-air venue with a lineup of events as rich and tantalizing as the environment it occupies. Performances span all manner of genres — from domestic radio hits, to South Indian classical music, to Brazilian samba — and some are even free.
Lummus Park on South Beach’s 11th Street beach is another beachside oasis that often serves up live performances along with the sand and surf; this March alone will bring names like Alanis Morissette and Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes. The FTX Arena downtown and the Fillmore on Miami Beach are just two more event spaces that showcase talented musicians year-round.
The streets of Little Haiti announce you’ve arrived — as the sight of tropical-hued buildings and the smells of toothsome Creole cooking come to the forefront of your senses. Throwback record stores, independent art galleries and restaurants serving Caribbean fare are among the neighborhood’s many draws. Stop into the Caribbean Marketplace, a 9,000-square-foot covered shopping center modeled after the Iron Market of Port Au Prince, where you can shop authentic Haitian crafts and foods, or even take an Afro-Caribbean folk dancing class if your timing is right.
This tree-lined, walkable and inviting bayside neighborhood holds welcome surprises in every nook. Namely, gourmet cafes and cake shops, gelaterias and artisanal boutiques, beautiful historic buildings and leafy public parks — just to name a few. Check out the impressive farmer’s market on Saturdays for local organic produce and inventive raw vegan pies and ice creams.
Located west of downtown, Historic Overtown is brimming over with black culture and history. For a view into its storied past, visit the Black Police Precinct Courthouse Museum, a site packed with artifacts, video and other testaments to the journey of black life in Miami.
View the work of Miami artist Purvis Young throughout the neighborhood—on building walls and overpasses. These paintings harken back to the 1970s and depict the now-famous artist’s observations from his life in Overtown. Refuel with a plate of fire-roasted oxtail with a side of succotash at celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson’s recently opened Red Rooster restaurant, an outpost of
his beloved Harlem establishment.
Feel the rhythms of Cuba with a stroll down Little Havana’s famed
Calle Ocho—that’s 8th street if your Spanish isn’t stellar yet. Little Havana is the perfect place to practice rolling your Rs, maybe while ordering a bag of chicharrones at one of the neighborhood’s Cuban cafeterias, or during conversation over an intense game of dominoes at Maximo Gomez Park. Don’t leave without picking up some sinfully sweet helado — that’s ice cream — at neighborhood staple Azucar Ice Cream Company.
learn more about:
BEACHES
ARTS &
CULTURE SCENE
The iconic Art Deco Historic District of Miami Beach, with its signature sleek geometric buildings cast in bright contrasting colors amid the breezy palms, is what you’ll often see on postcards from Miami Beach. But Greater Miami and Miami Beach comprise a great many more neighborhoods as well, each with its own distinct flavor. Scroll on for just a sampling of the dozens of enclaves worth experiencing in this diverse region.
OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
From scenic South Pointe Park and the recently revamped pier on the southern-most tip of South Beach; to the serene sands and beachside green spaces of North Beach, Miami Beach offers literally miles of sunny shoreline on which to bask.
Bring a volleyball to start up a lively game at the courts on 7th Street, or work on your beach physique at an impressively outfitted open-air gym — no membership card or fees required. Stroll, rollerblade or bike the winding beachside boardwalk that runs from South Pointe all the way up to 46th street, or enjoy a picnic in a shaded pavilion amid lush green foliage at North Shore Open Space Park on 83rd Street.
Located on the north side of Miami Beach, Haulover Beach is one of the most happening stretches of sand in Greater Miami. Boaters flock to the nearby marina, picnickers heat up the park’s numerous grills and kite flyers decorate the skies with all manner of florid flying toys. If you forgot to pack your beach wear or just aren’t a fan of tan lines, the clothing-optional stretch of Haulover’s beach is the place to be.
Drive or bike over an arching causeway and take in breathtaking sea views on your way from downtown to Virginia Key Beach Park, a sprawling beachfront oasis whose backstory has earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is home to a playground, picnic areas, and a massive sandcastle that for a time held the Guinness Book’s world record for the largest in the world.
OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES
learn more about:
NEIGHBORHOODS
ARTS &
CULTURE SCENE
Wynwood’s Larger-Than-Life Art
Marvel at Museums
Catch All the Shows
Feel the Music—and the Breeze
Coconut Grove
Little Haiti
Little Havana
Historic Overtown
South Beach to North Beach
Virginia Key Beach Park
Haulover Beach
Once part of the largest coconut plantation in the US, today Crandon Park Beach is one of Miami’s most popular family beaches, thanks to its shallow, calm waters and numerous amenities. Covered picnic areas, barbecue grills, golf and tennis facilities and volleyball courts are just a few of the draws that pepper the park’s 808 acres.
Kite boarders, paddle boarders and kayakers also favor the spot for its open, rarely crowded waters. For immersive hands-on learning, visitors won’t want to miss the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, which offers curious guests the chance to collect and study local sea life, learn marine biology with a naturalist or get an
up-close view of baby sea turtles.
Crandon Park Beach
section end
Pick Your Lunch
A drive to the Redlands—the region’s thriving agricultural area, located just 20 miles southwest of downtown—will quickly demystify what’s so special about Miami’s growing agritourism scene. As you pass lot after lot of royal palm nurseries, dragon fruit trees and tropical ornamental plants, you may need to remind yourself—aloud—that all this, too, is Miami.
Stop at Robert Is Here for a literal taste of the local flavors, in the form of a milkshake made with fresh canistel, perhaps (an orange-colored fruit with a sweet, custardy taste), or a cut of locally grown jackfruit. Take your snack to the open-air fruit stand’s backyard for close encounters with the goats, parrots, tortoises and a steely-eyed emu that call this eclectic place home. On your way out, hit up Knaus Berry Farms for a sack of world-famous, gooey cinnamon rolls, or, depending on the season, the chance to pick your own strawberries and tomatoes on the neighboring farm.
Outdoor events are always a big draw in the region, and with themes like chocolate, mangos, local seafood, live music under the stars and local short film screenings, there’s little wonder why.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables is the backdrop of many of these unique celebrations — though the venue is more than worthy of a visit any day of the week, thanks to its surreal butterfly conservatory, home to 45 distinct species of exotic butterflies from around the world, and its 83 acres of gorgeously landscaped native plants and trees, weaving organically around free-form lakes and lawns.
The Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay is another popular events venue, and also a destination in its own right, thanks to the historic houses and beautiful bayfront vistas that grace the property.
Feel Festive
Hit the Trail
Greater Miami and Miami Beach offer a multitude of venues for walking, hiking and biking against an unforgettable backdrop. Oleta River State Park in
North Miami Beach is a great choice for all of these activities, plus kayak,
SUP paddleboard and canoe adventures through the park’s namesake river.
Make a day of it with a ride through 15 miles of off-road biking trails, a serene paddle excursion through the mangroves (keep an eye out for wading birds like herons and egrets, plus cute tree-climbing crabs) and a picnic lunch on the natural beach.
learn more about:
NEIGHBORHOODS
BEACHES
ARTS &
CULTURE SCENE
You don’t have to be a millionaire to feel like one on your Miami escape. You can experience #boatlife via one of the many sightseeing cruises aboard vessels ranging from party barges to multi-story yachts. These journeys depart from Bayside Marketplace downtown, among other launch points, and take guests past the glittering, palm tree-flanked mansions of Biscayne Bay, exclusive Star and Fisher Islands and South Beach’s scenic South Pointe. Private charters are also available. Book an evening one for a romantic look at the glittery tropical city by moonlight.
Become a Boat Person
The outdoors have always been “great,” but these last few years they’ve been elevated to superior status. And Greater Miami is teeming with enticing opportunities to get outside. Whether at the stern of a boat, the head of a trail or the window of a fragrant food truck, there’s always a compelling reason to bask in Miami’s stellar weather — as if the weather itself weren’t reason enough.
Outdoors Is
Where It’s At
