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Key Attractions Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the metropolis’s nerve centre – the commercial heart of the city – distinguished by its sleek skyscrapers, impressive government buildings and cultural centres and edged by the Port of Miami, the largest cruise-ship port in the world. Flagler Street, Miami’s bustling main thoroughfare, is lined with shops and ethnic eateries. Brickell Avenue is home to major international banks, businesses and power-lunch restaurants. On the waterfront, lively Bayside Marketplace is a popular shopping and entertainment arcade, clustered round a small harbour and abuzz with bars, shops and market stalls. Bayside is the main stop for the water taxi service (see the Getting Around section) and the starting point for several boat tours (see the Tours of the City section below) of Miami Bay. Beyond the port, exclusive Fisher Island, accessible only by boat or private plane, is the address in Miami and home to many celebrities. Bayside Marketplace 401 Biscayne Boulevard Tel: (305) 577 3344. Website: www.baysidemarketplace.com Transport: Metrorail Brickell, Government Center or Overtown Arena. Opening hours: Mon-Thurs 1000-2200, Fri-Sat 1000-2300, Sun 1100-2100. Admission: Free. South Beach Glitzy, glamorous South Beach is undoubtedly the trendiest part of town, the place to see and be seen and a magnet for celebrities and fun-lovers who thrive on its cosmopolitan atmosphere, designer shopping, upbeat restaurants and fast-paced nightlife. By day, a young, hip crowd of trendy film-star wannabes, international supermodels, artists, writers, tourists, strollers, strutters and the thriving local gay community all cruise Ocean Drive, providing the colourful mix that fuels the district’s feverish energy levels. By night, salsa rhythms flow from the many outdoor dance clubs on the beach. South Beach itself, with its white sands, palm trees and dazzling blue sea, stretches from 15th Street to South Pointe Park at the southernmost tip (great for surfing, fishing and sunsets). The main access point is Lummus Park, bordering Ocean Drive, a favourite park for in-line skaters and volleyball players. However, the most striking feature of South Beach is its famous Art Deco Historic District – over 800 buildings within one and a half sq kilometres (one sq mile), all in the same streamlined architectural style, painted in pastel shades and lit with brilliantly coloured neon lights. Even the Burger King on Alton Road is housed in an Art Deco structure. 15th Street to South Pointe Park Transport: Bus C, K, M and W. Opening hours: Daily 24 hours. Admission: Free. Miami Beach Miami Beach is located on a long slender island connected to mainland Miami by six causeways. It comprises various coastal towns, each with its own personality – including Surfside, Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles Beach, South Beach (see above) and Golden Beach. Miami Beach’s white sands extend from 15th Street northwards to 87th Street, with a scenic boardwalk popular with joggers and strollers, and pastel-coloured Art Deco lifeguard stations dotting the shoreline. A variety of watersports are available including windsurfing, sailing, jet-skiing and parasailing. 15th Street to 87th Street Transport: Bus C, G, H, L, M, S and W. Opening hours: Daily 24 hours. Admission: Free. Little Havana After Fidel Castro took power in 1959, refugees fleeing Cuba settled just west of downtown Miami, in a neighbourhood known as Little Havana. Today, with its 800,000-strong Cuban-American community, this colourful district has a distinctly Latin atmosphere with its Spanish signs, Cuban coffee bars and restaurants, small cigar factories and street-side food stalls, selling such delicacies as baho (Cuban stew) and freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice. Monuments to anti-Castro Cubans line the streets, especially around Calle Ocho, the liveliest part of Little Havana and the venue for a famous annual spring carnival – America’s largest street party. Little Havana Transport: Metrorail Vizcaya; then bus 17 or 24. Key Biscayne Linked to the mainland by the Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne combines traditional Florida-style houses with ostentatious mansions belonging to some of Miami’s wealthiest residents. The beaches here rank among Florida’s best – their fine sand and relatively calm seas make them a popular choice for families. Other top attractions include two beautiful parks – Crandon Park and the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area – both with magnificent beaches, bike trails and nature walks. Crandon Park 4000 Crandon Boulevard Tel: (305) 361 5421. Transport: Bus B. Opening hours: Daily 0800-sunset (park); daily 1000-1900 (amusement area). Admission: US$4 per car. Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area 1200 South Crandon Boulevard Tel: (305) 361 5811. Website: www.dep.state.fl.us/parks Transport: Bus B. Opening hours: Daily 0800-sunset. Admission: US$2; US$4 per car. Miami Seaquarium Located on beautiful Biscayne Bay, the Miami Seaquarium is one of Florida’s premier marine parks, containing over 10,000 aquatic creatures on display – including crocodiles, ‘gators’ and seals, as well as fish of every imaginable shape, size and colour. Star acts include Lolita, a 7000-pound killer whale (visitors should sit at least six rows back in the audience to keep dry), Salty the sea lion and TV superstar Flipper the dolphin. The most impressive aspect of Seaquarium, however, unlike so many aquatic fun-parks, is its genuine attempt to preserve and protect marine life. Numerous exhibits are endangered species and the in-house Marine Mammal Rescue Team is constantly striving to save stranded or injured manatees, dolphins and whales in the waters of South Florida. Other exhibits include Discovery Bay, a natural mangrove habitat used to rehabilitate rescued sea turtles; and the special Manatee Exhibit where manatees are nursed back to health, ready for release into the wild. 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne Tel: (305) 361 5705. Fax: (305) 365 0075. Website: www.miamiseaquarium.com Transport: Bus B. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1800. Admission: US$22.95, concessions available. Coconut Grove Located on the edge of Biscayne Bay, south of downtown Miami, Coconut Grove is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. Today, it is a trendy district with a bustling village atmosphere, full of colourful galleries, theatres, nightclubs, fine restaurants, hip sidewalk cafés and shops. The main attraction is the stylish CocoWalk, a stylish shopping mall packed with restaurants, bars, shops and a cinema. CocoWalk 3015 Grand Avenue Tel: (305) 444 0777. Website: www.cocowalk.com Transport: Metrorail Coconut Grove. Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 1100-2200, Fri-Sat 1100-2400 (bars and restaurants until 0200). Admission: Free. Coral Gables This elegant Mediterranean-style residential district – 16km (ten miles) southwest of downtown Miami – was created by local developer George Merrick, during the boom years of the 1920s. Today, it contains some of the city’s finest architecture, set amid broad boulevards, canals and parkland. Some buildings are preserved as historic landmarks, including the gigantic Biltmore Hotel, identified by its 15-storey tower modelled on the Giralda bell-tower in Seville. The remarkable Venetian Pool, with its exotic bridges and waterfalls, was once a quarry. Today, it is the only swimming pool on the National Register of Historic Places. Coral Gables is also known for its art galleries, its exclusive Miracle Mile shopping street, its neatly manicured golf courses and some of the best hotels and restaurants in town. Biltmore Hotel 1200 Anastasia Avenue Tel: (305) 445 1926. Fax: (305) 913 3152. Website: www.biltmorehotel.com Transport: Metrorail Douglas Road, then bus 42, 72 or J. Opening hours: Daily 24 hours. Admission: Free. Venetian Pool 2701 De Soto Boulevard Tel: (305) 460 5356 Website: www.venetianpool.com Transport: Metrorail Douglas Road, then bus 42, 72 or J. Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1100-1930, Sat-Sun 1000-1630 (Jun-Aug); Mon-Thurs 1100-1730, Sat-Sun 1000-1630 (Sep-Oct); Mon-Fri 1000-1630, Sat-Sun 1000-1630 (Nov-Mar); Mon-Fri 1100-1730, Sat-Sun 1000-1630 (Apr-May). Admission: US$8.50 (Apr-Oct); US$5.50 (Nov-Mar). Museums The Historical Museum of Southern Florida offers a fascinating insight into the region’s past, with a small but impressive collection of hands-on displays, archive material, historical objects and multimedia presentations covering 10,000 years of Florida history from the first settlers to the present day. The Miami Art Museum displays international art since World War II, complemented by art from other periods to provide historical perspective. The nationally renowned Miami Museum of Science & Space Transit Planetarium features over 140 interactive scientific exhibits on physics, electricity, light, sound and anatomy, as well as daily astronomy and laser shows in the adjacent planetarium. It also boasts South Florida’s largest natural history collection and a wildlife centre that rehabilitates injured birds of prey and reptiles and displays more than 175 live animals. Historical Museum of Southern Florida Miami-Dade Cultural Center, 101 West Flagler Street Tel: (305) 375 1492. Fax: (305) 375 1609. E-mail: hasf@historical-museum.org Website: www.historical-museum.org Transport: Metrorail Government Center. Opening hours: Mon, Tues, Wed and Sat 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100, Sun 1200-1700. Admission: US$5, concessions available. Miami Art Museum Miami-Dade Cultural Center, 101 West Flagler Street Tel: (305) 375 3000. Fax: (305) 375 1725. Website: www.miamiartmuseum.org Transport: Metrorail Government Center. Opening hours: Tues-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1200-1700, third Thurs of the month 1000-2100. Admission: US$5, concessions available; free on Sun and second Sat of the month. Miami Museum of Science & Space Transit Planetarium 3280 South Miami Avenue, Coconut Grove Tel: (305) 646 4200. Fax: (305) 285 5801. Website: www.miamisci.org Transport: Bus 48. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800 (last entry at 1700). Admission: US$10, concessions available. Zoos Miami Metrozoo is a state-of-the-art cageless zoo, with over 700 animals of 240 species roaming the 116-hectare (290-acre) grounds. Wildlife shows, a petting zoo, tram tours, monorail, gift shops, food courts and a playground provide fun for all the family. Metrozoo has also won a number of awards for their successful breeding of rare and endangered animal species. At Monkey Jungle, the humans are kept in caged walkways while the primates roam freely. Here, visitors can see North America’s first colony of wild monkeys, crab-eating monkeys diving for treats and hundreds of other exotic primates in lush, tropical jungle surroundings. The Parrot Jungle and Gardens is a unique bird sanctuary-cum-botanical garden with more than 1100 birds and 100 plant varieties, together with alligators, giant tortoises and apes. Spectacular trained bird shows run throughout the day and children can help hand-feed the birds, hold one of the free-flying macaws or play with the animals at the petting zoo. Miami Metrozoo 12400 Southwest 152nd Street Tel: (305) 251 0400. Fax: (305) 378 6381. Website: www.metro-dade.com/parks/metrozoo.htm Transport: Metrorail Dadeland South; then Metrobus Coral Reef MAX to Miami Metrozoo. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1730 (last entry at 1600). Admission: US$8, concessions available. Monkey Jungle 14805 Southwest 216th Street Tel: (305) 235 1611. Fax: (305) 235 4253. Website: www.monkeyjungle.com Transport: Bus 35 to Cutler Ridge Mall. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1700 (last entry at 1600). Admission: US$15.50, concessions available. Parrot Jungle and Gardens 11000 Southwest 57th Street Tel: (305) 666 7834. Fax: (305) 661 2230. Website: www.parrotjungle.com Transport: Bus 57. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1800 (last entry at 1700). Admission: US$15.95, concessions available. |
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