Miami has some of the most popular multicultural neighborhoods, similar to New York City, L.A. and New Orleans. Its neighborhoods are known for their artsy communities and diversity of music, food, and culture. Each area offers a different look into the environment and the culture in hot Miami.
The city is so much more than Ocean Drive and its vibrant nightlife. From the luxurious South Beach to the crevasses of Little Havana, these are the best neighborhoods to visit on your next trip to Miami.
Wynwood District
Love art and graffiti? Wynwood is an essential neighborhood to any Miami experience. Scattered throughout the neighborhood are galleries, walls, and signs of beautiful graffiti and urban art.
The Wynwood Walls, a mural project, became an ode to art visionary Tony Goldman and his commitment to street art and graffiti. Artists from all over the world including Brazil, Belgium, Greece and more have come to be a part of this project. Once a month, the art galleries open at night for a huge Art Walk, including food trucks, drinks, DJs, dancing and pure fun in the Miami nightlife.
The Rubell Family Collection is a famous gallery drawing in over 40,000 visitors a year. They were the first art gallery in Wynwood, opening in 1993. The collection has featured pieces from iconic Jean-Michael Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama and other contemporary artists from all over the world.
Start or end your day at Wynwood Diner. Its outdoor/indoor open space make for the perfect hangout spot with handcrafted cocktails and modernized American food.
Little Havana
Miami has always had an attachment to the Latin culture. After the 1960s, a flood of Cuban refugees fled to town and headed to a community that has become the heart of Cuban culture in South Florida.
The sizeable Cuban presence in Miami is like a blast back to the past with chic art, brick homes. A favorite leisure is Domino Park, where older Cuban men meet to talk past memories, play dominos and smoke cigars, probably from the Cigar Factory.
The Viernes Culturales street festival encompasses the whole of Cuban culture into one night on the last Friday of every month. Visitors will see salsa dancing, authentic Cuban food, mojitos made with white rum and more. Finish in ice cream heaven at Azucar Ice Cream Company. Made from natural ingredients and exotic fruits from Latin America, its plethora of flavors include guava, dulce de leche, sugar cane and more.
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is not your typical downtown. It’s a great place to learn about the history of the city and art but also to experience the other side of the nightlife. Walk along Bayfront Park for live music shows, shops, and restaurants right along the water for the perfect view.
Sit amongst a sold-out crowd watching the Miami Heat play at the American Airlines Arena, or explore the biology of humans and the solar system through interactive exhibits and shows at the Frost Museum. Miami’s historic performing arts center is home to a plethora of events, concerts, and performances such as The Moth, a live monologue storytelling showcase.
Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove is one of Miami’s oldest and luxurious neighborhoods. It is also is home to the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a national landmark built in the early 1900s, known for its Italian-styled architecture and cultural and environmental resources used to build the estate.
Take an intimate walk through Miami’s upscale community near the CoCo Walk, which is lined with incredible restaurants, cafes, unique shopping boutiques, a movie theatre and more. Some would say it acts as an outdoor club. The CoCo Walk was recently renovated to accommodate a modernized, open-air look.
Design District
The Miami Design District is the perfect blend of luxury and creativity. Perfect for designers, rebuilt warehouses and contemporary architecture, the Design District offers some of the city’s best amenities. This vibrant neighborhood embodies fashion, art, and design for the ultimate innovative experience.
One of the district’s newest attractions, the Institute for Contemporary Arts opened last year. It houses exhibits and public programs that encourages contemporary creators to develop critical thinking skills.
The annual Design Miami exhibit is a connecting space of influential designers, critics, collectors, and artists from all over the world.
Love tacos and food trucks? La Pollita dishes an essence of authentic Mexican food, with fresh tortillas, and various toppings like roasted tomato salsa and charred scallions.
South Beach
South Beach is more than just Ocean Drive. Stroll through the streets and feast on the beautiful art deco style of South Beach Miami. Take a 90-min tour through the neighborhood with historians and architects to learn the history of nearby buildings and hotels. Take in a wall cast concert or symphony at the New World Center.
Where’s one place you can get a beer and a dog at the same time? It’s called “Yappy Hour.” In dog-friendly South Florida, a string of hotels have begun a new trend to help dogs get adopted. The Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel has an internal pet adoption program called “Bleau Adopts.” It pairs employees with dogs from nearby local shelters, which means one less homeless dog on the streets.
Stay at the 1 Hotel South Beach on Collins Ave and enjoy the best amenities without having to leave. Nurture your mind, body, and spirit at the first U.S. Bamford Haybarn Spa. They create individual treatments for each guest with natural and organic ingredients for facials, massages in one of their 12 treatment rooms.
Float over the sea while dining at Watr At The 1 Rooftop restaurant for South American inspired cuisines with seafood medleys.
Top off the night with a distinctive, yet fun cocktail. Upscale Juvia Miami serves a bold cocktail with a little-added accessory, a little rubber duckie, served in a plastic pouch rather than a glass.
