Best Places to Explore in Miami

Miami is a major city in the south-eastern United States and makes up part of the largest metropolitan area in Florida. Being part of the South Florida region, it is 20 miles from Fort Lauderdale, 106 miles from Naples (Florida) and 156 miles from Key West.

Think of Miami as a teenager: a young beauty with growing pains, cocky yet confused, quick to embrace the latest fads, exasperating yet lovable. This analogy may help you understand how best to tackle this imperfect paradise.

Coconut Grove

Eclectic and intriguing, Miami’s Coconut Grove can be considered the tropical equivalent of New York’s Greenwich Village. A haven for writers and artists, the neighborhood has never quite outgrown its image as a small village. During the day it’s business as usual in Coconut Grove, much as in any other Miami neighborhood. But in the evening, especially on weekends, it seems as if someone flips a switch and the streets come alive.

Coral Gables

You can easily spot Coral Gables from the window of a Miami-bound jetliner—just look for the massive orange tower of the Biltmore Hotel rising from a lush green carpet of trees concealing the city’s gracious homes. The canopy is as much a part of this planned city as its distinctive architecture, all attributed to the vision of George E. Merrick nearly 100 years ago.

Downtown Miami and Little Havana

Downtown Miami dazzles from a distance. The skyline is fluid, thanks to the sheer number of sparkling glass high-rises between Biscayne Boulevard and the Miami River. Business is the key to downtown Miami’s daytime bustle. Traffic congestion from the high-rise offices and expensive parking tend to keep the locals away, unless they’re bringing out-of-town guests to touristy Bayside Marketplace.

Key Biscayne and Virginia Key

Once upon a time, these barrier islands were an outpost for fishermen and sailors, pirates and salvagers, soldiers and settlers. The 95-foot Cape Florida Lighthouse stood tall during Seminole Indian battles and hurricanes. Coconut plantations covered two-thirds of Key Biscayne, and there were plans as far back as the 1800s to develop the picturesque island as a resort for the wealthy.

Miami Beach

The hub of Miami Beach is South Beach (SoBe, but you’ll never hear locals calling it that), with its energetic Ocean Drive. Here, life unfolds 24 hours a day. Beautiful people pose in hotel lounges and sidewalk cafés, tanned cyclists zoom past palm trees, and visitors flock to see the action. On Lincoln Road, café crowds spill onto the sidewalks, weekend markets draw all kinds of visitors and their dogs, and thanks to a few late-night lounges the scene is just as alive at night.

By: Suze