Miami

South Beach in the 1930s

Walk Ocean Drive in South Beach and you'll see low, round-cornered hotels lined up facing the sea. In 1979 this cluster of 1930s buildings became the first urban 20th-century historic district in the US listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It started in 1976, when Barbara Baer Capitman and her son John set out to honor the nation's bicentennial. That effort ended up saving Miami Beach. If you're curious about the interiors, the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) runs a walking tour. It leaves daily from the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive and covers about 2.4 km (1.5 miles) in two hours, stepping inside the lobbies of old hotels and restaurants. Adults pay $50. On the lifeguard towers, a red flag means high surf or strong currents, and a purple one means dangerous marine life.

Little Havana's coffee windows

Little Havana got its name when Cuban immigrants settled here in the 1960s. You can trace that era at the Freedom Tower downtown. The building opened in 1925 as a newspaper headquarters, served as the Cuban Refugee Center from 1962 to 1974, and now houses exhibitions. The heart of the neighborhood is SW 8th Street, Calle Ocho. Buying coffee at a ventanita, a small walk-up window, and chatting with Cuban locals is an everyday scene here. In Domino Park (Máximo Gómez Park), older folks shuffle tiles with cigars in hand; games are usually members only, so watch from the side. Versailles, serving Cuban food since 1971, is on this street, and so is Ball & Chain, which opened in 1935 and is still known as the place to go for salsa. On the third Friday of each month, from noon into the evening, the stretch between 14th and 17th avenues turns pedestrian-only.

Wynwood's warehouse walls

Wynwood was once the third-largest garment district in the US. When factories closed one after another in the early 1990s, the windowless walls of empty warehouses were left to graffiti. Tony Goldman, who had already helped revive New York's SoHo and Miami Beach's Ocean Drive, decided to use art to give people a reason to come first. In 2009 he and curator Jeffrey Deitch handed those walls to artists, and that was the start of the Wynwood Walls. Today it's an open-air mural gallery you can wander at your own pace for $12 per adult. The murals carry on along the streets outside its fences, so you'll keep walking long after you leave.

Vizcaya's winter estate

On the shore of Biscayne Bay, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is the winter estate businessman James Deering built between 1914 and 1922. It reimagines an 18th-century Italian villa for a subtropical climate, and it was designed to make the most of its spot on the bay. Deering began spending winters here on Christmas Day 1916, when Miami was still a fledgling town. The gardens adapt formal Italian design to South Florida's tropical setting.

The Everglades at the end of the road

Calle Ocho is the same road as US 41, the Tamiami Trail. Follow it about 40 km (25 miles) west from the Florida Turnpike and you'll reach Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. Established in 1947, the Everglades was the first national park created for its biodiversity, and it protects about 6,070 km² of wetland, forest and sea. Shark Valley has a 24 km (15-mile) paved loop. Ride the narrated tram or rent a bike, and you'll see alligators and wading birds up close along the way. From the observation tower halfway around, the River of Grass spreads out in every direction. Waits get long between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., so arrive early. Airboat rides aren't at Shark Valley; three operators 15–20 minutes east run them. In the May–November wet season, rain is frequent and mosquitoes can be heavy.

Stone crab and Cuban coffee

Stone crab has a season set by regulation. In Florida, claws can be harvested and sold only from October 15 to May 1, and since whole crabs can't be kept, only claws over the legal size make it to market. Joe's Stone Crab, which opened in 1913 as a small lunch counter on Miami Beach, is the place that started serving the claws chilled and cracked, with hash browns, coleslaw and mayonnaise. In Little Havana, start with a Cuban sandwich pressed with roast pork, ham, cheese and pickles, and with croquetas, minced ham or chicken coated in breadcrumbs and fried. At the bakery next to Versailles, a cafecito comes with a sweet or savory pastelito.

Summer showers and Art Basel in December

In summer, short showers pass through almost every day, usually clearing in about ten minutes. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and South Korea's foreign ministry notes that hurricane damage is possible each year from mid-August through October. In early December, the contemporary art fair Art Basel Miami Beach comes to town. In 2026 it runs December 4–6.

What to eat

• Stone crab (claws served chilled)
• Cafecito (Cuban coffee from a walk-up window)
• Cuban sandwich (Little Havana)
• Croquetas (ham or chicken croquettes)

Handy tips

• Everglades National Park charges $35 per vehicle, plus $100 per person for non-US residents aged 16 and older. It applies on tours too, and entering with an Annual or America the Beautiful pass waives it.
• Downtown's Metromover and the Miami Beach trolley are free. The Metrorail Orange Line from the airport to downtown costs $2.25, but on weekends only a shuttle train runs between the airport and Earlington Heights, so you'll change there.
• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens closes on Tuesdays, and the Freedom Tower on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you're fitting in both, check the day of the week first.