11 Best Things to Do in Miami Beach

Lummus Park, on Ocean Drive, can give you a first taste of Miami Beach’s urban-seaside vibes. Its Copacabana-inspired promenade leads you down a boardwalk lined with tall palms and sea grape trees. This neat and meandering pathway meets a series of grassy lawn sections where you can sit down and play, or from where you can hit the sand for volleyball or beach soccer. Lummus Park and most of Ocean Drive are frequently depicted in movies and TV, such as the Miami Vice franchise.

Although many locals consider Miami Beach and South Beach as separate neighbourhoods, they’re so closely-knitted that their borders are hard to define. South Beach’s South Pointe offers a good mix between oceanfront scenery and recreational activities. It has a fishing pier and a vast urban green space where you can bike, skate, and head down to an observation deck to take in the view. Bring your board and paddle out into the beach break right off South Pointe Beach, just before the pier.

This green oasis is around only 4 acres in size, and is sandwiched between the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Holocaust Memorial. Despite its modest size, The Miami Beach Botanical Garden is a great spot to head to for a relaxing retreat among nature’s artistry. Its collection ranges from palms and orchids to native Floridian species. Pathways will lead you on soothing walks through a beautiful Japanese and bamboo garden with a red bridge, as well as water gardens with stone fountains.

Overseen by the Miami Design Preservation League, this square-mile area adjacent Lummus Park is where you can enjoy one of Miami’ Beach’s most popular walking tours. Within the district, you can stroll along and around Ocean Drive, and find hundreds of pastel-coloured Art Deco buildings in varying styles and sizes. Most of these buildings, which include old hotels, restaurants and bars, date back to the early days of Miami Beach in 1915, and have been restored and repainted to their former glory.

Ocean Drive is a thoroughfare in Miami that’s home to stunning art deco architecture for photographs. The road stretches from South Pointe near 1st Street to the end of the barrier island of Miami Beach. Many of the art deco hotels and restaurants on Ocean Drive have been featured in films and television, including the iconic 1939 Colony Hotel. Other highlights along the drive include the Carlyle Hotel, which was used in “The Birdcage”, and Sunray Apartments, which were used in the film “Scarface.

This sports and recreational park in the hub of South Beach features a tennis centre, an 8-lane running track and a field with artificial turf where you can have a game of soccer. Some tracks allow for biking and rollerblade fun. Some baseball players from the big leagues train on Flamingo Park’s well-maintained baseball field during off season. There’s also an aquatic centre and a playground onsite where younger kids can have a blast while staying active and keeping fit.

For shopping walks in Miami Beach, hit Lincoln Road. This road is not only home to the namesake mall, but its whole length is lined with boutiques, restaurants, and nightspots. Well-preserved classical architecture and Art Deco buildings add to the scene, which harks back to the early Miami days. Some landmark venues include the Lincoln Theatre as well as the Colony Theatre. Among the prominent shops here are a GAP outlet, an Urban Outfitters, as well as a Diesel Store and an H&M.

The Bass is a fascinating contemporary art museum that focuses on international works that celebrate the character of Miami Beach. The museum has fine arts, such as paintings and sculpture, as well as other disciplines in contemporary art, like fashion, design, and architecture. The Bass has both permanent and rotating exhibitions. The permanent collection has European paintings and sculptures from the 15th century to the present, centuries-old textiles and tapestries, religious iconography, and art from the 20th and 21st centuries from North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. The Bass is just about 6 miles from the centre of city centre Miami.

This beautifully landscaped park features pathways that are adorned with sculpted pipes that blend with the bougainvillea. They’re exceptionally colourful when in full bloom. The main highlight of Soundscape Park, however, is its outdoor events venue, which regularly hosts concerts and movie events accompanied by high-tech audio and visual effects. The park serves as the front grounds of the New World Center, which itself is home to the New World Symphony. You can also sit on the lawn here and enjoy the otherwise sold-out performances for free.

This beach club at One Ocean Drive is a landmark venue for chic parties. Nikki Beach Miami features a large oceanfront complex with an onsite restaurant serving seafood and sushi, as well as a club. There are cabanas and lounge beds on the sands of South Beach where you can soak up some rays by day, and which provide a respite from all the dancing during the party nights. A “beach chic” dress code applies.

Hop aboard a high-powered boat and explore the South Beach area and Miami’s downtown skyline from the water. One of the popular operators providing such tours is Ocean Force Adventures, which sets off from the Miami Beach Marina. The tour takes you into Biscayne Bay, with various historical sites and city landmarks to see along the waterfront. You’ll also get the chance to see some of the homes of the rich and famous, as well as dolphins and the Florida Manatee in the wild.