The best things to do in Miami are the Art Deco walking tour on Ocean Drive, the Wynwood Walls, Vizcaya on Biscayne Bay, Calle Ocho in Little Havana and a day out to the Everglades. Give the city 4 to 5 days, come between December and April, and hire a car: the neighbourhoods sprawl and the Metromover only covers downtown.
Miami is a Caribbean city that happens to sit in the United States: a Cuban capital in exile, the world's largest set of Art Deco hotels, a national park on its western edge and a coral reef on its eastern one. Below are the ten experiences worth your time (each mapped, with the fares and bookings to sort before you land), plus where to eat, drink and stay once you do.
Architecture· Ocean Drive between 5th and 23rd Streets, Miami Beach
The largest concentration of Art Deco buildings in the world, roughly 800 of them, listed on the National Register in 1979. The Miami Design Preservation League runs a 90-minute guided tour from the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive daily at 10:30. Self-guided audio tours are on sale at the same desk, and the Welcome Center is open 09:00 to 17:00 every day.
An outdoor museum of large-scale murals that Tony Goldman started in 2009 and that turned Wynwood from a warehouse district into the city's arts quarter. The core courtyard holds work by around 100 international artists, refreshed each Art Basel week. Doors close 10 minutes before closing, and hours shift, so confirm on the day.
History· 3251 South Miami Avenue, Coconut Grove, Miami
James Deering's 1916 Italian Renaissance villa on Biscayne Bay, 34 rooms of European antiques inside and 10 acres of formal gardens outside, with the carved Stone Barge sitting offshore. Open 9:30 to 16:30 and closed on Tuesdays, with ticketed evening events on occasional Fridays.
Neighbourhood· SW 8th Street between SW 12th and 27th Avenues, Little Havana, Miami
The commercial spine of Miami's Cuban quarter, and the closest thing on the mainland to a working-class Havana street. Order a cortadito at Versailles, watch the dominos at Máximo Gómez Park and stop at Ball & Chain for a live set. First Fridays, called Viernes Culturales, keep the galleries open into the evening.
Nature· Shark Valley Visitor Center, 36000 SW 8th Street, Miami
An hour west of downtown along the Tamiami Trail, Shark Valley is the closest entrance to Miami and the only park section you can bicycle around. The gate opens at 08:30 and closes to vehicles at 18:00. Three park-authorized airboat operators sit along US 41 by the entrance; the rest launch outside the boundary.
PAMM is a Herzog & de Meuron building on Biscayne Bay, hung with the city's own collection of modern and contemporary art from the Americas. Free general admission on the first Thursday evening of the month (16:00 to 21:00) and the second Saturday morning. The Frost Museum of Science sits next door.
Beach· Lummus Park, Ocean Drive from 5th to 14th Street, Miami Beach
The seven-mile beach south of 23rd Street, backed by Lummus Park's lawns, palms and lifeguard stands. All Florida beaches are legally public, and the sand at South Beach is free. Parking is not: use the Miami Beach city garages at 7th, 13th and 16th Streets rather than fighting for a meter.
The city was built with its back to the bay and reads better from the water. Private charters run 90-minute skyline loops past Star Island and Millionaire's Row, and half-day trips that anchor at the Nixon Sandbar off Key Biscayne. Most charters are BYOB. Weekends draw a party crowd; go on a weekday for the calm.
Neighbourhood· NE 40th Street & NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Design District
A pedestrian quarter of luxury flagships, public art commissions and restaurants north of Wynwood. Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome sits in Palm Court, the Institute of Contemporary Art is free and open Wednesday through Sunday, and Michael's Genuine anchors the food. Come in the evening, when the shops stay open late.
The southern tip of Key Biscayne, half an hour from downtown across the Rickenbacker Causeway, and one of the best beaches within the city limits. The 1825 lighthouse is the oldest standing structure in South Florida and can be climbed on the free ranger tours. Pair it with lunch at Boater's Grill on the lagoon.
Four to five. One for South Beach and the Art Deco walk, one for Wynwood and the Design District, one for Little Havana and Vizcaya, and one for the Everglades or the Keys. Add a day for the boat if you want the sandbar.
When is the best time to visit Miami?+
December through April. It is the dry, cooler season, and the calendar is at its densest: Art Basel in December, Art Deco Weekend in January, the wine festival in February and Calle Ocho, the Miami Open and Ultra in March. June to October is hurricane season, warmer and cheaper.
Do you need a car in Miami?+
For South Beach, downtown and Brickell, no: the Airport Express bus, Metrorail and free Metromover cover them, with Uber for the last mile. For the Everglades, the Keys, Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, yes. Hire one for the days you leave the beach rather than the whole trip.
Is Miami safe for travellers?+
Treat it as any large US city: keep valuables out of sight in rental cars, use e-hailing at night rather than walking between neighbourhoods, and check hurricane advisories in September and October. The tourist areas (South Beach, Brickell, Wynwood) are well policed.
Where do you see the Art Deco buildings in Miami?+
The Art Deco Historic District on Miami Beach, between 5th and 23rd Streets along Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue. Start at the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive, at 10th Street, and take the Miami Design Preservation League's 10:30 walking tour.
Where to swim
Best beaches in Miami (2026)
Warm Atlantic water, seven miles of city sand and quieter stretches within a short drive.
The residential stretch from 63rd to 87th Streets, with the MiMo architecture the district takes its name from and a boardwalk that doubles as a bike route.
Argentine open-fire cooking in the Faena Hotel courtyard. Whole cuts from the parrilla, seven-hour lamb and the burnt vegetables that made Mallmann's name.
The Miami Design Preservation League's welcome centre at 1001 Ocean Drive. Guided walking tours run daily at 10:30; the museum and gift shop are open 09:00 to 17:00.
Don and Mera Rubell's private collection, moved to a repurposed DEA warehouse in Allapattah in 2019. The best single view of the last four decades of American contemporary art.
Downtown's high-rise financial quarter, with Brickell City Centre for lunch and hotel rooftops for sundowners. The free Metromover Brickell Loop links it all.
83 acres of palms, cycads and rainforest at the edge of Coral Gables. Half an hour from downtown by car and one of the best subtropical collections in the world.
The party sandbar west of Key Biscayne, in shin-deep water south of Nixon's Cove. Accessible by private boat only; charters leave from Miami Beach Marina.
Ocean Drive closes to cars for a three-day festival of talks, tours, films and vintage cars, run by the Miami Design Preservation League.
Feb
South Beach Wine & Food Festival
Five days of tastings, dinners and Grand Tastings along the sand, benefiting FIU's hospitality school since 2002.
15 Mar
Calle Ocho Music Festival
Fifteen blocks of SW 8th Street close for the largest Latin street festival in the United States, roughly a million people.
Mid Mar
Miami Open
Two-week ATP and WTA hard-court tournament at Hard Rock Stadium, the traditional US spring warm-up.
27–29 Mar
Ultra Music Festival
Three days of electronic music at Bayfront Park, capacity around 55,000 a day. The centrepiece of Miami Music Week.
1–3 May
F1 Miami Grand Prix
Formula 1 weekend on the temporary Miami International Autodrome around Hard Rock Stadium.
Late May
Miami Swim Week
The city's swimwear trade shows and runway shows take over hotels and pool decks across Miami Beach.
4–6 Dec
Art Basel Miami Beach
The winter edition of Art Basel at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Design Miami/, the satellite fairs and every gallery party run alongside.
Getting around
Miami transport & airports
How to arrive and move around the city.
MIA
Miami International (MIA)
About 13 km west of downtown. The free MIA Mover connects the terminal to the Miami Intermodal Center, where the Metrorail Orange Line runs to downtown every 15 minutes for $2.25.
Higher-speed intercity rail from MiamiCentral downtown to Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. The Miami Beach Airport Express bus links MIA to South Beach for $2.25.
The Metromover is a free automated loop through downtown and Brickell, running 05:00 to midnight every day. Metrorail and Metrobus fares are $2.25 and cap at $5.65 a day with an EASY Card.
A car is the sensible way to reach the Everglades, the Keys and the mainland neighbourhoods; Uber and Lyft cover the city and are the standard way home from South Beach at night.
Roast pork, ham, Swiss, pickle and mustard on pressed Cuban bread. The unofficial state sandwich of South Florida.
Croquetas
Ham or chicken fritters bound in a béchamel roux and fried until crisp. Order two per person and add a cortadito.
Ropa vieja
Slow-braised flank steak in a sofrito of pepper, onion and tomato, served over yellow rice with black beans and sweet plantains.
Stone crab claws
The Florida stone crab is caught between 15 October and 1 May. The claw is served chilled with a mustard sauce, and it is what Joe's is for.
Ceviche
Peruvian-leaning ceviches (fish, shrimp, calamari) with leche de tigre, sweet potato and choclo. La Mar and Amara run the benchmarks.
Cortadito
A shot of espresso cut with scalded, sweetened milk. The Cuban morning drink, and the reason walk-up windows still exist.
Pastelitos
Cuban puff-pastry pockets, usually guava, guava-and-cheese or spiced beef. The bakery breakfast, especially the guayaba y queso.
Frita cubana
Cuban chorizo-and-beef burger topped with shoestring potatoes on a griddled bun. El Rey de las Fritas is the reference.
Miami fact sheet
Miami at a glance
The essentials worth knowing before you go.
Country
United States
Region
Southeast Florida
Population
460K city · 6.1M metro
Founded
28 Jul 1896
Nickname
The Magic City
Language
English, Spanish
Currency
US Dollar ($)
Time zone
EST · UTC-5
Calling code
+1 305 / 786
Airports
MIA · FLL
Power
120V · Type A/B
Emergency
911
Interesting facts
Miami is the only major US city founded by a woman. Julia Tuttle mailed Henry Flagler an orange blossom in 1895 as proof the coast had escaped a hard freeze, and the railway followed a year later.
Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District has roughly 800 protected buildings and has been on the National Register since 14 May 1979.
Everglades National Park is one of only three places on Earth, and the only one in the United States, carrying all three international protections: World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.
The Metromover has been fare-free since 2002 and runs 05:00 to midnight every day of the year across three downtown loops.
The Calle Ocho Music Festival draws around a million people to a fifteen-block stretch of SW 8th Street each March, the largest Hispanic street festival in the United States.
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