Miami

Domino players in Máximo Gómez Park, the aroma of Café Cubano, and towering murals on old warehouses: Miami sounds and tastes more Latin American than any other big city in the U.S. A trip to Miami combines art, Caribbean flair and beaches with a skyline that gets taller every year. The dry, warm winter months are perfect for a vacation in Miami – while the north is buried in snow, you can swim in the Atlantic here.

A Young City with Many Roots

Miami is one of the few major U.S. cities founded by a woman: businesswoman Julia Tuttle persuaded railroad magnate Henry Flagler to extend his rail line to Biscayne Bay, and the city was officially incorporated in 1896. After real estate booms and hurricanes, the Cuban Revolution from 1959 onward transformed Miami fundamentally – hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles arrived, followed later by people from Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua. Today the city is the financial and trade hub for Latin America, and a large share of its residents speak Spanish in daily life.

Miami Attractions

Little Havana, centered on Calle Ocho, is the heart of the Cuban community: cigar rollers, fruit juice stands, a walk of fame for Latin American stars and, in Máximo Gómez Park, the legendary domino games. On the last Friday of the month, the neighborhood celebrates Viernes Culturales with music and art. The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, an Italian Renaissance–style villa from the 1910s, sits right on the bay with magnificent gardens. Downtown, with Bayfront Park and Bayside Marketplace, is the starting point for boat tours to the celebrity mansions on the islands. Coconut Grove, with its lush trees and marina, and Coral Gables, home to the Venetian Pool, a public swimming pool in an old quarry, show the green side of the region.

Art, Museums and Neighborhoods

The Wynwood Walls have turned a warehouse district into an open-air street art museum, and galleries, breweries and bars have sprung up all around. The Pérez Art Museum Miami at Museum Park impresses with hanging gardens on its terrace, and the neighboring Frost Science Museum with a huge aquarium. The Design District is lined with luxury boutiques and art installations. Every December, the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair turns the region into a meeting place for the international art world. Brickell, the financial district with its gleaming residential towers, is also a nightlife neighborhood with rooftop bars, while Little Haiti preserves Caribbean traditions with its markets and cultural center.

Eating in Miami

Miami's restaurants are a mirror of Latin America. The Cubano sandwich with roast pork, ham, cheese and pickles, croquetas, ropa vieja and pastelitos are Cuban staples, and Café Cubano is sipped from small cups at the window of a "ventanita." Peruvian ceviche, Venezuelan arepas and Haitian griot are just as common. Stone crabs, stone crab claws served with mustard sauce, are in season from mid-October to early May. Key lime pie, the lime dessert of the Florida Keys, is the perfect finish.

Beaches and Islands

Even without a side trip to Miami Beach, there are plenty of places to swim: on Key Biscayne you'll find Crandon Park with its shallow water and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park with a lighthouse from 1825. Virginia Key is popular with kitesurfers. Around the bay, kayak and paddleboard tours among the mangroves are an inviting option, and the Rickenbacker Causeway offers one of the best views of the Downtown and Brickell skyline.

Getting Around, When to Go and Day Trips

Miami International Airport is about 9 miles (15 km) west of Downtown; the Metrorail connects it with the city center and Brickell, and the free Metromover loops through the center. Buses run to Miami Beach, and a car is handy for day trips. The Brightline train connects Miami with Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. The best time to visit is between November and April; summer is hot, humid and stormy, and hurricane season runs from June to November. Day trips lead to Miami Beach with its Art Deco district, to Everglades National Park with alligators and airboat tours, to Key Biscayne, and along the Overseas Highway all the way to Key West.