What’s your favorite Miami spot to take a visitor? Wynwood, South Beach, Coral Gables?
Now is the time to see South Florida like a tourist.
Whether you are planning a staycation or guiding a visitor around town around the holidays, you’ll likely hit a few of the most popular places in the Miami area.
What’s your favorite?
Let us know in the informal survey below and we’ll spread the word.
Under the poll, you’ll find a bucket-list guide on South Beach, Coral Gables, Wynwood and other popular areas in South Florida.
Here are some places to visit in South Florida:
Wynwood
▪ Wynwood Walls: Outdoor museum dedicated to street art in an area going through major transformation.
▪ Museum of Graffiti: Offers a look at the history of the street mural and art movement.
▪ Zak the Baker: One of Miami’s most famous and honored bakeries.
▪ Salt & Straw: Trendy ice cream shop known for charging and imaginative flavors.
▪ Panther Coffee: Locally roasted by company that has become one of Miami’s most famous coffee makers.
Coral Gables
▪ Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden: Considered one of the best public gardens in the country, featuring trails, tours and special events like mango and chocolate festivals.
▪ Cafe Abbracci: Landmark family-owned Italian restaurant is celebrating 35 years in business,
▪ Books & Books: The independent bookstore helped put Miami on the world’s cultural map, and the owner helped found the Miami Book Fair.
▪ Venetian Pool: Landmark with waterfalls, grottoes and caves. The pool is fed by spring water from an aquifer and refilled daily.
▪ Miracle Theatre: The home of Actors’ Playhouse and musicals and drama on stage. It’s a former movie theater on famous Miracle Mile.
▪ Miracle Mile: Historic central business district with boutiques and restaurants.
Coconut Grove
▪ Vizcaya: Lavish museum and gardens inspired by the Italian renaissance
▪ The Barnacle: Historic state park on the shore of Biscayne Bay, and once the 1891 home of a Grove pioneer.
South Beach
▪ South Pointe Park: At the tip of Miami Beach, take in the view of the bay and the ocean, as cruise ships head out to sea.
▪ Joe’s Stone Crab: Open since 1913, Joe’s is a Miami Beach institution, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant known across the world.
▪ Art Deco District: See the pastel-colored historic architecture on Ocean Drive in South Beach, walk along the beachfront, visit a cafe.
▪ Lincoln Road: Pedestrian mall from Washington Avenue to Alton Road in South Beach, featuring shops, cafes and theaters.
Little Haiti
▪ Libreri Mapou Bookstore: A landmark community center for books, connection, politics, poetry.
▪ Little Haiti Cultural Complex: Cultural center and marketplace are the heart of Little Haiti, hosting concerts, classes, workshops and artisans.
South Miami-Dade
▪ Coral Castle: A sculpture garden carved of coral rock. Latvian immigrant Ed Leedskalnin spent 28 years excavating and carving 1,100 tons of coral rock to prove his eternal devotion to a love who spurned him.
▪ Fruit & Spice Park: Botanical garden with 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, nuts. It’s a showcase of subtropical fruit grown around the world. And you’re allowed to eat them, but not pick them.
▪ Knaus Berry Farm: The seasonal store sells bread, shakes, fruit and, of course, those famous cinnamon rolls that people line up in the street to buy.
▪ Schnebly Redland’s Winery: Homestead-area farm, winery and craft brewery. You can find a selection of exotic tropical fruit wines among waterfalls, along with tastings, farm-to-table food and live music.
North Miami Dade / Aventura
▪ Aventura Mall: Two-story collection of shops, restaurants, movie theaters, a food hall, even a giant slide.
▪ Greynolds Park: Green space in dense North Miami-Dade, with limestone rock structures, special events and observation tower.
▪ Aventura Mall: Two-story collection of shops, restaurants, movie theaters, a food hall, even a giant slide.
▪ Tidal Cove: Water park at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa features a 60-foot tower with seven water slides. There’s also a 4,000-square-foot kids’ pool with a big play structure and a FlowRider Triple surf simulation pool. For a tamer experience, guests can also float down a Lazy River through tropical Florida foliage.
Little Havana
▪ Calle Ocho: Main street of Cuban life, culture and business along Southwest Eighth Street. Stop to play dominoes at the park and look over the rooster sculptures.
▪ Versailles: Famous Cuban restaurant draws politicians, tourists, even locals for full meals, and pastelitos and cafe con leche at the bakery next door.
The Everglades
▪ Everglades National Park: Walk or bike the trails, take a tram tour, see birds and alligators, take an airboat ride, stay in a lodge.
Broward
▪ Sawgrass Mills: One of the largest malls in the country features outlet stores, restaurants, a luxury retail wing. Some tourists often come to the Sunrise mall with an empty suitcase and fill it up for the trip home.
▪ Gulfstream Park: It’s a horse race track, a casino, a sports betting room and a “village” of boutiques and restaurants. The landmark at the entrance in Hallandale Beach is a giant Pegasus.
▪ Elbo Room: The most famous bar on the Fort Lauderdale beach strip, made famous during spring break and most recently where Florida Panthers players took the Stanley Cup after their championship win.
▪ Yellow Green Market: The giant indoor-outdoor market, which opened in 2010, is kid- and pet-friendly. Hundreds of booths at the Hollywood market feature merchandise from local artisans and food, food, food, including barbecue.
▪ Swap Shop: Sprawling Fort Lauderdale-area flea market has hundreds of vendors and a multi-screen drive-in movie theater. Inside the two-story complex, hawkers sell everything from glamour to junk.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 7:45 AM.