Miami

Art Deco beaches, Cuban food, tropical vibes and world-class nightclubs.

Miami is one of the world's great sensory cities — a flat subtropical metropolis at the tip of Florida where Latin America meets North America in an explosion of colour, music, food, beach culture and nightlife. The city is bilingual (Spanish dominates in many neighbourhoods), beautiful and intense, and has developed into a global arts and culture hub alongside its long-established beach and entertainment identity. Miami Beach (technically a separate city) is the Art Deco district — the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings in the world, the Ocean Drive strip facing the South Beach is magnificent when lit at night. Art Basel Miami Beach (December) is the Americas' most important contemporary art fair, transforming the entire city for a week. Wynwood Arts District, a former warehouse neighbourhood transformed by street art murals (the Wynwood Walls are the catalyst) and galleries, is one of America's most vibrant creative districts. The Design District is the luxury retail counterpart. Little Havana, particularly Calle Ocho, retains a genuine Cuban exile culture — cafecito from walk-through windows, domino games in Máximo Gómez Park, excellent Cuban-American restaurants. The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and the Institute of Contemporary Art are both excellent. The Everglades National Park is 45 minutes from downtown — alligators, manatees and extraordinary birdlife. Miami's beaches are excellent for swimming October–May; summer is very hot and humid. The nightclub scene, particularly in South Beach, is internationally famous.