Miami

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Coral Gables is a distinct city southwest of Downtown Miami and one of the first planned communities in the USA. Real estate developer George Merrick designed it during the 1920s Florida building boom, following the ideals of the City Beautiful movement; it was officially founded in 1925. The original plan prescribed the Mediterranean Revival style, and to this day, tiled roofs, arcades, fountains, and tree-lined streets define its image. Coral Gables bears the nickname The City Beautiful for good reason.At its heart lies Miracle Mile, the commercial street Merrick planned as the main axis. Right next to it, Giralda Avenue has been a pedestrian zone with restaurants since 2017. The Coral Gables Museum, housed in the old police and fire station, tells the city's history and serves as a visitor center.Two buildings from Merrick's era you shouldn't miss: the Venetian Pool, an outdoor swimming pool in a former rock quarry, and the Biltmore Hotel, whose tower, like the Freedom Tower in Downtown, is inspired by the Giralda in Seville. Further south are the University of Miami campus and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.Best Time: Mornings at the Venetian Pool before it gets crowded, lunch on Miracle Mile, and an afternoon stroll through Fairchild.

Coconut Grove is one of the oldest settlements in the Miami area and much greener than the rest of the city. The name dates back to a post office established by Horace P. Porter in 1873. Early residents included sailors, naturalists, and artists from the northeastern USA, as well as workers from the Bahamas who built many of the early structures. To this day, many families with Bahamian roots live in West Grove. In 1925, Coconut Grove was incorporated into the City of Miami.The district stretches along the shore of Biscayne Bay. In the north, at the edge of the neighborhood, lies Vizcaya, the Italianate winter residence of industrialist James Deering. In the center, around Main Highway and Grand Avenue, you'll find cafés, restaurants, and the CocoWalk shopping center. At The Barnacle, you can see how pioneers lived in the 19th century, and at Dinner Key, Miami's City Hall is located in a former terminal for Pan-Am seaplanes.If you like plants, visit The Kampong, the tropical garden of plant collector David Fairchild. Otherwise, the Grove is a place for strolling: under banyan trees, past yacht harbors, with a coffee on the terrace.Best Time: Mornings to Vizcaya, before it gets hot; afternoons stroll through the town center and to the bay for sunset.