Attraction
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Vizcaya is James Deering's early twentieth-century bayfront estate in Coconut Grove, with a furnished Mediterranean Revival villa and formal Italian Renaissance-style gardens.
There are plenty of things to do in Miami beyond the beach, from Art Deco hotels and Cuban cafés to street art, gardens and waterfront museums. The city sits on Biscayne Bay, with Miami Beach across the water on its barrier island, and it mixes a strong Latin American and Caribbean culture with a busy arts and dining scene.
Most visitors split their time between Miami Beach, where South Beach has the Art Deco district, Lincoln Road and the ocean, and the mainland neighbourhoods: Little Havana for Cuban food and music, Wynwood for murals, the Design District for galleries and boutiques, downtown for Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Frost Museum of Science, and Coconut Grove and Coral Gables for Vizcaya, the Venetian Pool and leafy streets. The food scene runs from walk-up coffee windows and Cuban sandwich shops to Michelin-starred restaurants. Four or five days is enough for the main sights and a couple of beach days, and a week lets you add the Everglades or Key Biscayne.
Attraction
Vizcaya is James Deering's early twentieth-century bayfront estate in Coconut Grove, with a furnished Mediterranean Revival villa and formal Italian Renaissance-style gardens.
Attraction
Wynwood Walls is an outdoor street art museum in Wynwood, showing large murals by artists from around the world since 2009.
Attraction
PAMM is downtown Miami's modern and contemporary art museum, set in Museum Park on Biscayne Bay between the Arsht Center and the Kaseya Center.
Attraction
Frost Science is a science museum, aquarium and planetarium in Museum Park, best known for its three-level aquarium and a large domed planetarium.
Attraction
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden covers 83 acres near Coral Gables, with collections of palms, cycads, orchids and tropical flowering trees.
Attraction
The Bass is Miami Beach's contemporary art museum in Collins Park, with changing exhibitions, a café and free entry for local residents and on set days.
Café
Zak the Baker is a kosher-certified Wynwood bakery and café known for its sourdough bread and pastries, open from Sunday to Friday.
Café
Panther Coffee's Wynwood café, established in 2010, is the first of the Miami coffee company's locations and is open every day from 7am to 7pm.
Café
Azucar Ice Cream Company makes artisanal ice creams and sorbets in Cuban and tropical flavours at its shop on Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
Café
Tinta y Café is a Bib Gourmand Cuban café in Coral Gables serving pastelitos, croquetas, café con leche and pressed sandwiches from 8am daily.
Café
Fireman Derek's Bake Shop is a Wynwood pie shop founded by former Miami firefighter Derek Kaplan, known for key lime pie as well as cakes and…
Café
Greenstreet Cafe has served all-day American food on Main Highway in Coconut Grove since 1990, with a people-watching patio and weekend brunch.
Hotel
Faena Hotel Miami Beach is a luxury oceanfront hotel on Collins Avenue with restaurants by Francis Mallmann and Paul Qui, a spa and its own theatre.
Hotel
The Setai is an oceanfront luxury hotel on Collins Avenue at 20th Street, set around a 1937 Art Deco building, with three pools and three restaurants.
Hotel
Fontainebleau Miami Beach is a large oceanfront resort on Collins Avenue with more than 1,500 rooms, Lapis Spa, the LIV nightclub and many restaurants.
Hotel
The Biltmore is a 1920s National Historic Landmark hotel in Coral Gables, with a Giralda-style tower, a very large pool and an 18-hole golf course.
Hotel
The Betsy is a boutique hotel on Ocean Drive known for its cultural programme, nightly live jazz in the Piano Bar and three Michelin Key awards.
Hotel
The Goodtime Hotel is a 266-room lifestyle hotel on Washington Avenue in South Beach, with a tropical-style pool club, restaurant and bar.
Bar
Ball & Chain is a Calle Ocho bar established in 1935, with live Latin music and jazz from the afternoon, an outdoor stage and Cuban food.
Bar
Café La Trova is a Little Havana cocktail bar from cantinero Julio Cabrera and chef Michelle Bernstein, ranked among North America's 50 Best Bars.
Bar
Broken Shaker is the backyard cocktail bar at Freehand Miami, set on a brick-lined patio and named Best American Hotel Bar at Tales of the Cocktail.
Bar
Mac's Club Deuce is a South Beach dive bar established in 1926 that calls itself Miami's oldest bar, open from 8am to 5am every day.
Bar
Lagniappe is a relaxed wine bar on NE 2nd Avenue with live jazz, funk and blues every night from 9pm to midnight and no reservations.
Bar
Club Space is a downtown Miami nightclub known for marathon parties on its open-air Terrace, opening at 11pm and running from night through to sunrise.
Restaurant
Joe's Stone Crab has been a Miami Beach institution since 1913, serving chilled stone crab claws with mustard sauce near the southern tip of South Beach.
Restaurant
Versailles has served Cuban food on Calle Ocho since 1971 and is known for its Cuban sandwiches, late opening hours and its busy walk-up coffee window.
Restaurant
Ariete is chef Michael Beltran's Michelin-starred restaurant in Coconut Grove, offering a tasting menu and an a la carte menu that change with the seasons.
Restaurant
COTE Miami is the Design District branch of the COTE Korean steakhouse group, recognised with a Michelin star and open for lunch and dinner every day.
Restaurant
Boia De is a Michelin-starred contemporary Italian restaurant run by chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer, found under a neon pink exclamation point on NE 2nd…
Restaurant
Mandolin Aegean Bistro serves Greek and Turkish cooking from the Aegean, with outdoor tables on NE 2nd Avenue, and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Thing to do
Calle Ocho, the stretch of SW 8th Street through Little Havana, is Miami's best-known Cuban street, with domino games, cafés, live music and a walk of…
Thing to do
South Beach's Art Deco Historic District holds hundreds of 1920s to 1940s buildings, with the pastel hotels of Ocean Drive facing Lummus Park and the beach.
Thing to do
Lincoln Road is Miami Beach's pedestrian promenade, running about a mile between Washington Avenue and Alton Road with more than 200 shops, restaurants, cafés and galleries.
Thing to do
The Miami Design District is a compact neighbourhood of luxury boutiques, design showrooms, public art and restaurants, with free museums including ICA Miami nearby.
Thing to do
South Pointe Park is a 17-acre waterfront park at the southern tip of Miami Beach, with a boardwalk, playgrounds, beach access and views over Government Cut.
Tour operator
The Miami Design Preservation League runs a daily two-hour Art Deco walking tour of South Beach from its Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive.
Tour operator
Miami Culinary Tours, founded in 2009, runs guided food walks in Little Havana, South Beach, Wynwood and the Design District, mixing tastings with local history.
Tour operator
Island Queen Cruises runs sightseeing boat trips on Biscayne Bay from downtown Miami, including the Millionaire's Row cruise past waterfront homes and the skyline.
Tour operator
Coopertown Airboats has run airboat tours into the Florida Everglades from the Tamiami Trail since 1947, with a live alligator presentation included.
Tour operator
The Museum of Miami, formerly HistoryMiami, runs scheduled walking, boat and coach tours of the city's history, released as a quarterly programme.
Four to five days covers South Beach, Little Havana, Wynwood, the Design District and a museum or two, with time for the beach; a week lets you add Key Biscayne, Coral Gables and an Everglades airboat trip.
South Beach suits first-time visitors who want the beach, Art Deco architecture and nightlife, Mid-Beach has large resort hotels, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove are quieter and leafier, and downtown and Brickell are convenient for museums and business.
From Miami International Airport, Metrorail links the airport with downtown, and taxis and ride-shares reach downtown and Miami Beach; journey times depend heavily on traffic.
It can be, especially for beachfront hotels and dinners on Miami Beach, but free or low-cost options such as the beaches, Wynwood's street murals, Lincoln Road, Little Havana and free museum evenings help keep costs down.
Most visitor areas are safe with normal precautions: keep valuables out of sight on the beach and in cars, stay aware in crowded nightlife areas, use ride-shares late at night and follow official advice during storms.