A tour of the main tourist, gastronomic and cultural attractions of the emblematic city of South Florida
RAUL ALARCON
It may sound like a trite destination, but Miami continues to like it because it is one of those cities that has options for all tastes: if you are looking for sunny weather, Miami has it all year round; if you want to travel with children, Miami has amusement parks such as Miami Seaquarium, Jungle Island and Zoo Miami; if you are looking to satisfy your consumerist spirit, it has dozens of ‘malls’ that are Eden for compulsive shoppers (Bal Harbour, Aventura Mall, Coco Walk, Bayside Marketplace, etc.); If you are looking for debauchery, the nights of South Beach are showers in the matter and, although many find it hard to believe, given its reputation for frivolousness, Miami also enjoys a series of very intense cultural activities and with important film festivals and exhibitions throughout the year.
THE EPICENTER OF THE MOVEMENT
It is impossible to talk about Miami without referring to Miami Beach, a coastal strip located 15 minutes from Downtown, where beautiful beaches with turquoise waters and white sand are located. The epicenter of this resort is the emblematic Collins Av., where imposing hotel complexes are located with all imaginable amenities. Ocean Drive deserves special mention, recognized for its emblematic Art Deco buildings that today function as hotels, among which we can mention the Colony Hotel, the Cavalier, as well as the Clevelander (with its delicious mojitos and night meeting point for youth).
In this area we can not fail to mention the mansion that the designer Gianni Versace lived in and that today has become a luxurious hotel. In front of this area is a busy boardwalk where you will see enviable silhouettes of women and men on skates, bicycles and the attraction of the season: the segways (motorized two-wheeled vehicles). Here you will find one of the most popular beaches (South Pointe Park/Lummus Park), with beach volleyball courts and many palm trees to protect you from the sun.
Other areas with good beaches are between 21 St.-35 St., as well as between 46 and 87 Collins Av.
A few blocks from the Art Deco district, is Washington Street, where Lincoln Road Boulevard begins, a pedestrian promenade with people to look from the terrace of some of its busy cafes or to visit stores such as Banana Republic, Gap or Guess. If you are a technology lover, you can not miss the Apple store, one of the most visited in the place. From this point you can also embark on a gastronomic and architectural walking tour called “SoBe tour Forks”, which will take you to appreciate the most emblematic buildings of the area and to make tastings in various restaurants at lunchtime.
If you want to enjoy the night of Miami, we recommend you start the evening at Mango’s, where you can enjoy a dinner show with a Tropicana-style show. Then you can choose to continue the night at Nikki Beach, Mansion or Set, the most exclusive nightclubs, where it is not difficult to run into some Hollywood celebrity in their VIP areas.
THE HEART OF THE CITY
Converted for some years into the financial center of Miami, Downtown stands out for its huge and modern buildings that stand in front of Biscayne Bay, where the Bayside Marketplace is located, a shopping center with shops, restaurants and bars with a lot of nightlife (here is the famous Hard Rock Café).
From its dock you can board a catamaran that will take you through the port of Miami until you reach the exclusive Fisher Island, where stars such as Oprah and Jennifer López have lived; as well as Star Island, where you can see the mansion that Tony Montana (Al Pacino) made famous in the blockbuster film “Caracortada”; the residence of Emilio and Gloria Estefan, that of Julio Iglesias, as well as that of the owner of Viagra (the most luxurious on the island). Very close to here is Little Havana, bastion of the most representative group of the city: the Cuban community, a place where you can breathe the smoke of cigars and cortaditos (Cuban coffee) that emerge from the tables where hard-fought games of dominoes are played. It is the area to which the first immigrants arrived at the end of the 50s and that preserves in its streets that essence of yesteryear with characters of guayabera and hat.
15 minutes from this point Coconut Grove, the oldest neighborhood in the city, stands in front of an impressive luxury yacht harbor. Here you can see spectacular mansions, as well as cafes, restaurants and small outdoor shopping centers such as Coco Walk and Shoppes at Myfair.
On the 8th floor of the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel in this town there is one of the best restaurants in the area, El Panorama, where you can try delicacies of Peruvian food such as ceviche and lomo saltado.
Another must-see neighborhood is Coral Gables, the first planned community in the U.S., whose streets and mansions are inspired by Europe. Here is one of the most famous hotels in Miami, the Biltmore, where the legendary Al Capone stayed, and where one of the best golf courses in South Florida is located.
ENTERTAINMENT FOR CHILDREN
To satisfy the little ones it is not necessary to continue traveling to Orlando, since Miami offers attractions such as the Miami Seaquarium, where you can interact with dolphins and appreciate sharks, turtles and crocodiles. There is also the Monkey Jungle, where you can observe 30 species of primates in a natural jungle. Also at Zoo Miami there are guided tours and animal shows throughout the day.
A place that has become the favorite of children is the Miami Children’s Museum, which has a giant sand castle and palestra for the little ones to have fun. There’s also the Miami Science Museum, a place where kids learn by playing and where they can explore a wildlife center with eagles, reptiles and insects, as well as learn about the constellations in a large planetarium.
SHOPPING AND CULTURE
As is known, Miami is a paradise for those who enjoy shopping. For the most refined tastes we recommend taking a tour of Bal Harbour, where you will find stores such as Bulgari, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, among other firms. If you are looking for department stores, then go to the Miami International Mall (near the airport) where you will find Macy’s, Dillard’s, JC stores. Penney and Sears. If you are looking for low prices, you should go to the Dolphin Mall, where you will find the outlets of Calvin Klein, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th., Brooks Brothers, among other famous names.
For those who describe modern Miami as frivolous, we remind you that this city also has many museums and galleries. Among the most reputable we can mention the Bass Museum of Art, which has a large collection of paintings, sculptures and textiles from the Renaissance and Baroque, and its Egyptian gallery, where sarcophagi and mummies are exhibited.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is a space where you can find innovative and avant-garde exhibitions. On October 3, the exhibition “Latina women & the body” will be inaugurated, on the occasion of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Another space to visit is the Jewish Museum of Florida, an old synagogue transformed into a museum where you can learn about the evolution of Jewish culture in South Florida. In this enclosure you can see, until October 14, an exhibition of the renowned photographer Mel Finkelstein entitled “Representation of the man behind the camera”, with images published in the Daily News between 1950 and 1980.
