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    South Beach
    Sharon Hahn Darlin / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

    United States

    South Beach

    City

    South Beach is the southern tip of Miami Beach, a separate city on the long barrier island off Miami.

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    7. Miami
    9. South Beach
    South Beach is the southern tip of Miami Beach, a separate city on the long barrier island off Miami. It’s home to the Art Deco Historic District, with over 800 preserved historic buildings, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The pastel-colored hotels on Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, and Washington Avenue owe their continued existence primarily to Barbara Capitman, who co-founded the Miami Design Preservation League in the late 1970s and campaigned against their demolition.The most famous stretch is Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Street: a beach promenade by day, its hotels’ neon signs glow by night. A few blocks inland, you’ll find Lincoln Road, a pedestrian zone since 1960 designed by Morris Lapidus, and Española Way, a small alley in the 1920s Mediterranean Revival style.But South Beach is more than just beaches and façades. The Wolfsonian showcases design and propaganda from the period between industrialization and World War II, the New World Center broadcasts free concerts onto a large screen in the park, and from South Pointe Park at the southern tip, you can watch the Government Cut harbor entrance.Best Time: For architectural photos, early morning is ideal when the light is soft and Ocean Drive is still quiet. South Pointe Park is worth visiting for sunset, followed by the neon lights along Ocean Drive.

    Sights in South Beach

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Art Deco Welcome Center
    Attraction

    1Art Deco Welcome Center

    The starting point for the Art Deco Historic District is at 1001 Ocean Drive, operated by the Miami Design Preservation League. Here you get maps and information, and daily guided tours of the district's architecture depart from here; there's also an audio tour in German.
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    Española Way
    Historic Landmark

    2Española Way

    This alley between 14th and 15th Street emerged in 1922 as Whitman's Spanish Colony in Mediterranean-Revival style. With arches, tiled roofs, and outdoor restaurants, it feels like a slice of Southern Europe in South Beach.
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    The Wolfsonian-FIU
    Museum

    3The Wolfsonian-FIU

    The museum at 1001 Washington Avenue is housed in a 1927 warehouse and collects approximately 180,000 objects from the period 1885 to 1945: furniture, industrial design, posters, and political propaganda. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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    Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
    Historic Landmark

    4Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach

    The memorial by Kenneth Treister on Meridian Avenue, inaugurated in 1990, is dominated by an approximately 13-meter-high bronze sculpture of an outstretched arm, from which nearly 100 life-sized figures hang. Admission is free.
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    South Pointe Park
    Park

    5South Pointe Park

    The 7-hectare park at southernmost South Beach borders Government Cut. From here, gaze at Fisher Island, Downtown Miami and the port; a wooden boardwalk crosses the district's last natural dune.
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    Attraction

    6Lincoln Road

    The pedestrian zone between Washington Avenue and Alton Road was opened in 1960, designed by Morris Lapidus, with gardens, fountains, and pavilions. Today, it's lined with shops, cafés, and restaurants with tables under palm trees.
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    Restaurants in South Beach

    1

    Joe's Stone Crab

    The establishment at 11 Washington Avenue traces its origins back to a snack bar opened by Joe Weiss in 1913. Known for its renowned Stone Crab claws and Key Lime Pie; the Stone Crab season in Florida runs from October 15th to May 1st. Be prepared for a wait.
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    2

    Puerto Sagua

    Cuban diner at 700 Collins Avenue, since 1962 with wood paneling and a counter. Ideal for breakfast with Café con leche or Colada and Tostada.
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    Nightlife

    1

    Mac's Club Deuce

    Miami Beach's oldest pub (since 1926, as a bar since 1933) near Washington Avenue on 14th Street: dark, cheap, with a jukebox and pool table, open late. Anthony Bourdain was a regular.
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    Getting There & Around

    South Beach is located on an island and is not connected to the Metrorail network. From the mainland, the best way to get there is by bus via the MacArthur Causeway; within South Beach, use the free trolley or walk.South Beach Trolley: free, daily 8 AM to 11 PM, approximately every 20 minutes. Two loops in opposite directions along Washington Avenue, Alton Road, and Collins Avenue, with stops at Lincoln Road and the Convention Center, among others.Metrobus 150 (Miami Beach Airport Express): from the airport (Miami International Airport Station) directly to Miami Beach, with stops in South Beach and at Lincoln Road.Metrobus 14 and 100: connect Downtown Miami via the MacArthur Causeway to South Beach.The City-of-Miami Trolley does not go to Miami Beach.

    Accommodations in South Beach

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      • 2Española Way4 days
      • 3The Wolfsonian-FIU5 days
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    Nearby

    Miami

    Miami

    Miami is situated in southeastern Florida on Biscayne Bay, with Miami Beach located on a barrier island just opposite. You visit for its beaches, Art Deco architecture, and Cuban-influenced districts.The Art Deco District in Miami Beach is home to around 960 historic buildings, which have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. The hotels on Ocean Drive overlook Lummus Park and the beach. In Little Havana, locals play dominoes in Máximo Gómez Park, known as Domino Park, on Calle Ocho. In Wynwood, the Wynwood Walls have showcased murals and sculptures by over 130 artists since 2009; a ticket is required for entry.Miami International is the largest aviation hub between the USA and Latin America. In Downtown and Brickell, the Metromover operates for free. The warm dry season lasts from November to April, and hurricane season from June to late November.
    Downtown and Brickell

    Downtown and Brickell

    Downtown Miami and the adjacent Brickell to the south form the city's center: skyscrapers, banks, hotels, and amidst them, parks along Biscayne Bay. Brickell is named after William and Mary Brickell; Mary Brickell had Brickell Avenue parceled for villas in the early 20th century. From the 1970s onwards, office towers replaced the mansions, and Brickell became one of the largest financial districts in the USA. Today, it's primarily apartment tower residents, and the streets are lively even in the evenings.Much of the action for visitors unfolds along the bay. Museum Park features the Pérez Art Museum with its hanging gardens and the Frost Museum of Science with a large aquarium. Further south are Bayfront Park, designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi, and Bayside Marketplace with its shops and boat docks. Opposite, the Freedom Tower commemorates the 1960s, when Cuban refugees were registered here.The best part: The Metromover, a free, driverless elevated train. Glide above the streets, see the skyline from above, and get off wherever interests you.Best Time: Museums in the morning, followed by a Metromover ride. Bayfront Park is worthwhile in the late afternoon, and Brickell's rooftop bars in the evening.
    Wynwood and Design District

    Wynwood and Design District

    North of Downtown lie two neighborhoods that have completely reinvented themselves in the last two decades. From the 1920s, Wynwood was a textile district; in the 1940s and 1950s, many families from Puerto Rico moved here, earning the neighborhood the nickname Little San Juan. When the clothing factories closed in the early 1990s, the warehouses stood empty.In 2009, real estate developer Tony Goldman, together with curator Jeffrey Deitch, had the exterior walls of several of his buildings painted by street artists: The Wynwood Walls were born. Today, almost every facade in the district is painted, interspersed with galleries, breweries, cafes, and bars.Directly north lies the Design District. Here, in the 1920s, T. V. Moore built a furniture store on a former pineapple farm; starting in the late 1990s, developer Craig Robins and his company Dacra acquired numerous buildings and brought in designers and later luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Hermès. Among the boutiques, there is much public art, such as Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome, and the ICA Miami showcases contemporary art with free admission.Best time: Come in the afternoon when galleries and museums are open, and stay for the evening in Wynwood. The Wynwood Art Walk takes place on the second Saturday of the month.
    Little Havana

    Little Havana

    Located west of Downtown, Little Havana has been the heart of Cuban Miami since the 1960s. After the 1959 revolution, tens of thousands of Cuban exiles arrived in what were then the Riverside and Shenandoah neighborhoods, many expecting to stay only briefly. By 1970, over 85 percent of residents were Cuban. Since the late 1990s, many people from Nicaragua, Honduras, and other Central American countries have joined them, but most businesses are still run by Cubans.Its main artery is Calle Ocho, SW 8th Street. Here, older gentlemen play dominoes in Máximo Gómez Park, Ventanitas (the street windows of cafes) offer Cafecito to go, and stars on the Calle Ocho Walk of Fame commemorate icons like Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan. The Cuban Memorial Boulevard features monuments to the fighters of the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.Little Havana is not a museum district: You come here to eat, drink coffee, and listen. In the evenings, live bands play in bars like Ball & Chain, and on salsa nights, the dance floor is packed.Best Time: Late morning, when games are underway in the Domino Park. On the last Friday of each month, the district celebrates Viernes Culturales with music, art, and stalls on Calle Ocho between 14th and 17th Avenue, from noon until late, with free admission.
    Key Biscayne

    Key Biscayne

    Key Biscayne is an island southeast of Downtown Miami, connected by the approximately 6.5-kilometer-long Rickenbacker Causeway, which opened in 1947 and passes over Virginia Key. The island is divided into three parts: To the north is Crandon Park, in the middle is the Village of Key Biscayne, founded as an independent municipality in 1991, and to the south is the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.Crandon Park originated from a donation by the Matheson family, who operated a coconut plantation here. In 1940, they transferred the land to the County, which in return built the causeway. Today, the park boasts about 3 kilometers of Atlantic beach, a nature center, a marina, and a golf course.At the southern tip stands the Cape Florida Lighthouse. The first tower was built in 1825, set on fire during a Seminole attack in 1836, and rebuilt in the mid-1840s. Surrounding the lighthouse are beaches, hiking trails, and the small inlet of No Name Harbor.The island is quieter than Miami Beach: families, cyclists, and anglers define its character. Among its more famous residents was Richard Nixon, who owned homes here starting in 1969.Best Time: Arrive early in the day, especially on weekends, when beachgoers cause traffic jams on the Causeway. Stay until sunset at No Name Harbor.