Miami Beach guide: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to sunbathe. The best things to do in Miami Beach: fresh reviews and photos, places to see, branded entertainment and beaches.
According to toppharmacyschools, Miami Beach is a world-famous seaside resort in the United States. It is on one of the many islands in the suburbs of Grand Miami, Florida. Miami Beach is often confused with Miami itself, but it is a separate municipality, separated from the “big Miami” by Biscayne Bay. The population of Miami Beach is about 417,650 people (as of 2018).
Miami Beach is popular primarily among wealthy people. This is one of the largest luxury resorts in the world, and its appearance is formed in accordance with the demands of the demanding public. As a result, the city has become a must-see on countless cruise itineraries. However, it is quite possible to find options for an economical vacation here (this will depend on where to live, eat and have fun) – while the service will be provided at the level of the most luxurious villas.
Locals call Miami Beach the Island of Billionaires. This is the favorite resort of Madonna, Julio Iglesias and other stars.
How to get there
The nearest airports to Miami Beach are Miami Airport (6 km) and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (21 km). From other states and cities in the US, you can get here by car. There has been no rail service to Miami and Miami Beach since 1935, when a hurricane destroyed the local railroad.
From the airport to Miami you can take one of the many buses, from there to Miami Beach on buses number 79, 101 or 103. And the 110th route will take you from the airport directly to the beach suburb. Other ways to get around the city are the same as in Miami : bicycles, taxis, rented cars.
Neighborhoods of Miami Beach
In Miami Beach, there is a division into areas of business activity, respectable recreation and noisy parties.
- The central part of Miami Beachlives in a business rhythm. Slightly to the north of skyscrapers and business centers is the district of fashionable villas: luxurious mansions of the richest residents of the city and golf clubs are built here. The central street of the area is Collins Avenue, on both sides of which you can see the villas of celebrities and billionaires. And further north, Miami Beach almost imperceptibly passes into the equally famous US resorts: Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfrild Beach, Boca Rayton and Palm Beach.
- The southern district of the cityis what is commonly associated with Miami Beach: restaurants, hotels, clubs, resort attractions. The so-called South Beach is the most crowded place in Miami Beach. Its calling card is pastel-colored buildings, elite restaurants for social events and more democratic cafes and cabarets, trendy nightclubs and shops that attract millions of tourists all year round.
A kind of hallmark of the South District is a chain of hotels lined up along the ocean between 5th and 15th streets. Now nothing reminds of the scandalous history of these quarters associated with the production of liquor and gambling, where such criminal authorities as Al Capone ruled. Today, all the historic neighborhoods have been restored, and the SoBe area is one of the chicest places in Miami and Miami Beach. Now it is often called the American Riviera.
The Art Deco District deserves special attention – entire blocks of houses built in the 1920s. in the Art Deco style, this is a whole open-air architectural museum. Plenty of cabarets, theaters and casinos, this is one of the most colorful nightlife centers in Miami Beach with a touch of retro.
The heart of Miami Beach is the Ocean Drive area, on the eastern side of which stretches a multi-kilometer ribbon of the city beach. From the west, Ocean Drive is separated from the city by a strip of numerous cafes and restaurants. The embankment of the district is the epicenter of all the events of the resort. Day and night, everything is in motion here: the dazzling lights of storefronts and chic hotels sparkle, trendy al fresco restaurants and jazz and rock and roll bars invite visitors.
According to Playboy magazine, up to 1,500 fashion models gather on Ocean Drive all year round. In the last decade, when several well-known photo artists chose the roof of the Marlin Hotel for shooting. There were so many people wishing to settle nearby that hotels in the “beauty quarter” instantly became 30-50% more expensive than outside it. In addition, the late Gianni Versace lived in this area, and to this day his fans gather at the house where the famous Italian fashion designer was killed.
Miami Beach Beaches
The strip of beaches in Miami Beach stretches for 45 km along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It was the beaches that initially provided the resort with such significant fame. The sun shines here all year round, in winter the temperature rarely drops below +20 °C, and in summer it sometimes exceeds +35 °C.
Haulover Beach is considered to be a piquant attraction – the only legal beach for nudists in the city.
Tourists are attracted here by clean sand, crystal waters of the Atlantic, as well as a lot of opportunities for fun and unforgettable pastime. Moreover, it was the bustling nightlife and the daytime life that was in no way inferior to it that made Miami Beach a resort with international fame.
Restaurants
The restaurant business in Miami Beach is worth a special mention. First of all, these are establishments that offer tourists dishes of Cuban cuisine – Versailles (Florida, Miami, 3555 Southwest 8th Street) is recognized as the best Cuban restaurant. Richly decorated and reputed to be quite noisy, it attracts tourists from all over the world. However, it is so large that you can always find a quiet place inside.
The most expensive dessert in Versailles costs only 5.50 USD.
The Art Deco area is home to a variety of restaurants, including frog legs and dumplings. Prices on the page are for July 2021.
Especially popular in the resort are open cafes and restaurants, especially on Ocean Drive, which the Americans called the “universal street of looking at girls.” Considering that many people move here on roller skates (rental is literally on every corner), beauties flicker past connoisseurs quite often.
Entertainment and attractions in Miami Beach
First of all, this is the already mentioned Art Deco Historic District : in 1979 it was officially included in the National Register of Historic Places as the world’s largest collection of Art Deco architecture, built between 1923 and 1943.
Of equal interest is the Bass Museum of Art , an Art Deco building with Mayan elements built in 1930. Originally a library and arts center, it became a museum in 1964 when collectors John and Joanna Bass donated their own collection to it. paintings by European artists, sculptures and fabrics of the 15th-17th centuries.
Shopping center “Bayside Marketplace”
is the most popular place among tourists. It is located in a picturesque location on the shores of Biscayne Bay right on the water. It is difficult to call it only a shopping center – everything is here: restaurants, bars, many boutiques and all kinds of attractions and entertainment. As the locals say, a million roads converge to the Bayside Marketplace.
From Miami Beach, you can walk along the bridges connecting 28 small islands to Key West. It is the famous town of the same name of writers and artists. Ernest Hemingway once bought an abandoned villa here, initiating the settlement of the bohemian public, and now his museum is located in this house.
