Miami is the most un-American of American cities — a sun-soaked, Spanish-speaking, Latin-inflected metropolis that feels as much like the capital of the Caribbean as a city of the United States. It is glamorous and slightly absurd, a place of pastel Art Deco hotels, turquoise water, Cuban coffee, and a nightlife that takes itself extremely seriously. It can be superficial, and it is certainly hot, but it is also genuinely beautiful, deeply multicultural, and the gateway to both the Everglades and the Florida Keys. Come for the beach and the architecture; stay for the food and the energy of a city unlike any other in the country.
We have barely touched this city. Several times we have stayed on the periphery (near the airport) or driven through it to other destinations (Orlando, the everglades, Key West) so the places we describe here need more personal exploration.
A Little Background
The shores of Biscayne Bay were home to the Tequesta people for around two thousand years before European contact, living off the bay’s abundant fish and shellfish; the Seminole came later. Spanish contact and disease devastated the Tequesta, and the area remained sparsely settled for centuries.
Modern Miami is a remarkably young city. It was incorporated only in 1896, after the businesswoman Julia Tuttle persuaded the railroad magnate Henry Flagler to extend his Florida East Coast Railway south to the settlement on the bay — the spark that turned a frontier outpost into a city. The 1920s land boom built Miami Beach and its Art Deco hotels; but the defining transformation came after 1959, when hundreds of thousands of Cubans fleeing Castro’s revolution settled in the city, followed by waves of migrants from across Latin America. That influx made Miami the bilingual, Latin-majority cultural capital it is today.
What to See and Do
South Beach and its Art Deco Historic District are the signature image of the city: more than 800 pastel-coloured Art Deco buildings from the 1920s–40s, concentrated along Ocean Drive and the streets behind it, best seen on a walking tour or simply by strolling at dusk when the neon comes on. The beach itself is wide, white, and exactly as advertised. Little Havana, centred on Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street), is the heart of Cuban Miami — cafés serving cortaditos, cigar rollers, domino players in Máximo Gómez Park, and some of the best Cuban food outside Havana.
Wynwood, a former warehouse district north of downtown, has become one of the world’s great street-art quarters, anchored by the Wynwood Walls — a constantly changing open-air gallery of large-scale murals — surrounded by galleries, breweries, and restaurants. For something older and stranger, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is an extravagant early-twentieth-century Italianate villa on the bay, one of the most beautiful spots in the city.
Miami is also the launch point for two great natural excursions. The Everglades — the vast subtropical wetland west of the city — can be visited on an airboat tour to see alligators and wading birds in their element. And the Florida Keys, the chain of islands trailing south towards Key West, begin a short drive away along one of America’s classic road trips.
Getting There
Miami International Airport (MIA) is a major international gateway, especially for Latin America and the Caribbean, about 20 minutes from downtown; Fort Lauderdale’s airport is another option a little further north. Miami is a car city — distances are large and public transport limited — though the free Metromover loop covers downtown and the beach areas are walkable once you are there. A hire car is the practical choice for most visitors, essential for the Everglades and the Keys.
Weather
Miami has a tropical climate: hot and humid year-round, with a distinct wet season. Winter and spring (December–April) are the prime season — warm, sunny, and dry, which is exactly why so many escape the northern winter here. Summer and autumn (June–November) are hot, very humid, and the hurricane season, with frequent afternoon downpours. For the best weather, come between December and April.
The Bottom Line
Miami is expensive in high season: mid-range hotels run roughly US$200–400 a night in winter, dropping considerably in the humid summer. Three days covers the beach, the Art Deco district, Little Havana, and Wynwood; add days for the Everglades or a run down to the Keys. Pace yourself, stay hydrated, and lean into the city’s particular blend of glamour and chaos — there is nowhere else in America quite like it.