Glitzy, Glamorous Miami 🇺🇸

Part of my Real Florida Guide

When you think of Miami, the first things that might spring to mind are palm trees, glitz, glamour, nightlife and Will Smith (or perhaps the latter is a generational thing).

When the beach beckons….

I’m guessing that your first port of call might well be the world-famous beaches. Predictable? Yes. Perfectly understandable? Of course. The short drive across the MacArthur Causeway from mainland Miami to Watson Island where the beach life begins is a sight in itself, with crystal blue waters to either side and huge high rise buildings dominating the Miami skyline.

Once on the island, you might want to park up at South Pointe, a large city park just off Washington Avenue, set at the waters edge. A pretty green shaded space, it’s the perfect spot to park your wheels and witness the huge cruise ships passing too. From here, it’s only a short 10 minute walk to South Beach (SoBe) via the waterfront promenade – and it will save you masses of time looking for spaces along the busy strip.

South Beach first became the ‘fashionable place to be’ in the 1980s (thanks to Miami Vice) and is still the same today with 14 million visitors annually – and rising (hence it’s nickname ‘the Magic City’). Miami has also featured in many a Hollywood blockbuster including Scarface, Bad Boys and There’s Something About Mary. Over the years, South Beach has become more widely known as SoBe by the cool kids, who copied the term from New York’s SoHo.

If you’re bronzed and you’re beautiful, this is the place to go to hang out in the sun and show off your tan. Anyone identifying as pasty is also welcome – Miami is very modern–minded!

The really surprising thing about South Beach is that it is so incredibly clean – more so than any beach I’ve visited. Could be something to do with the fact that it’s man-made and well manicured, but nonetheless, it’s pristine! It quite possibly has the best lifeguard towers on the planet too! Check these beauties out….

The Art Deco Scene

The South Beach area has the largest collection of Art Deco buildings – bold pastel colours, no two buildings the same. But it wasn’t always this way; up until the 1980s, the buildings were predominantly boring, plain and white. It’s surprising to learn that back then, South Beach was something of a danger zone with high crime rates, especially when you see it now. The change came about in an effort to draw attention away from the poverty and towards the architecture. Nowadays, the strip is fun, inviting and vibrant!

South Beach has a similar vibe to that of New York, but only in as much as you feel like you have been before, even when you haven’t. This is probably with thanks to its staring role in many TV shows and films (for example, Park Central – above left – featured in ‘Scarface’). All in all, it just feels very familiar.

Ocean Drive is the main strip in the South Beach area. Alfresco cafes serving coffee and gelato, restaurants and bars offering happy hour specials and a host of nightclubs line this famous street, along with the many palm trees.

To sum up South Beach in one sentence, it would be this: VIP lifestyle, oozing colour and beautiful people!

If you have more time than we had, there is so much to explore on Watson Island. Further North you will find plenty of places to shop, arty museums, even more famous hotels (such as Gloria Estefan’s ‘Cordozo’) and the mansion once home to Gianni Versace. The latter has become something of a tourist attraction in itself after he was gunned down there by a crazed ‘fan’ in 1997. One for the macabre, maybe?

Sadly, we didn’t have time for any shopping during our trip, but I believe that Lincoln Road Mall is amazing.

Downtown Brickell – the Financial District

Brickell is Miami’s bustling financial district and known as the ‘Wall Street of the South’ as it’s the second largest financial hub after New York.

Unlike the Art Deco found on South Beach, the properties here primarily consist of high rise condos and business-owned skyscrapers. Less fun, more serious. Equally glam.

Based at the lower end of Downtown, Brickell is just a mere 15 minutes in the car from South Beach (traffic permitting!). If you don’t have a car, it’s easily reachable by Miami’s public transport, notably the ‘Metro Mover’ which rides over the city. If I’m not mistaken, it may even be free to use it!

Brickell is something of a relatively new hive of activity within Miami, having recently taken off as the place where the hipsters want to live. It’s a busy business district during the day and a hive of bars, restaurants, fast cars and nightlife after dark.

We stayed at Fortune House Suites on South 14th Street in Brickell, whilst in Miami. Our suite oozed exuberance, with two bedrooms and two balconies overlooking the waters of Biscayne Bay and the bright lights of the city below. I can’t recommend this hotel more highly if you’re visiting Miami; the best places aren’t always in the known tourist spots.

Little Havana

Did you know that Miami is considered the Capital of Latin America? Nor did I. Until now. In fact, Little Havana has the largest settlement of Cuban immigrants and 70% of its population speak Spanish.

Calle Ocho (meaning ‘8th Street’) is the main district in Little Havana where you can experience a taste of Cuban life and culture – and a hell of a lot of art in one small space. Every March it hosts ‘Miami Carnival’ and has been doing so since 1978, when it was established to bring the Hispanic community together.

Calle Ocho is also recognised for its ‘Walk of Fame’, paying tribute to Cuban and Latin cultural figures – much in the same way that Hollywood has its Walk of Fame too – only on a much smaller scale.

When in the area, you should indulge in a Cuban brunch of pizza or croquettes at one of the many eateries (I can recommend the Havana Market). Compared to the rest of Miami, Calle Ocho is relatively inexpensive to eat and drink.

It quickly became apparent that in addition to cigars, coffee and salsa, the rooster is a big part of the Cuban culture (they live in most parts of the country), so it hardly came as a surprise that there is a ‘rooster hunt’.

And the colourfulness doesn’t stop there – there’s street art at every corner. I love murals, so for a self-confessed ‘graffiti geek’, this made my day! Had I have had an extra day or two in Miami, I’d have paid a visit to Wynwood Walls (an ‘outdoor art museum‘ of street art) and Coral Gables (the millionaire playground)…..but I’m happy to leave that until next time.

Flying into/ out of Miami can be cheaper than Orlando.

Miami can become a nice addition to your central Florida holiday, if you want it to be. My advice would be to always take time to price up flying into Miami instead of Orlando. We have found it to be considerably cheaper in the past. Of course, this depends on which airport you are flying in from, which airline you’re choosing and at what time of the year you’re travelling.

You can pick up a hire car in exactly the same way you would at Orlando International Airport, spend a few days exploring all that Miami offers and then travel north to Orlando in three or four hours (220 miles approximately).

Even the airport is colourful!

Have you been to Miami? Any tips? Drop them below 👇🏻