New arrivals to Miami will have a great time finding their way around and discovering the many attractions in the city, from sunkissed beaches to trendy shopping malls. Here's a selection of the city's must-see attractions.
Popular attractions in Miami
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
This magnificent villa houses original Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical furniture throughout its more than 70 rooms. The manicured perfection of its gardens is simply breathtaking to stroll through – not to mention the opulent grandeur of the villa itself.
Ancient Spanish Monastery
Dating back to 1133 AD, the Monastery of St Bernard de Clairvaux is one of Miami’s most popular tourist attractions. The monastery, which originally came from Segovia in Spain, was brought over to Miami by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in 1925 and rebuilt brick by brick.
Coral Castle
According to legend, a Latvian immigrant carved the Coral Castle by hand over the course of 25 years as a bid to impress a lost lover. It has been dubbed ‘America's Stonehenge’ and continues to draw flocks of tourists to view this magnificent creation that was made using techniques that some say cannot definitively be explained.
Wolfsonian Museum
The Wolfsonian Museum is a museum, library and research centre that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. It houses a wonderfully eclectic collection of more than 180,000 pieces of art and design and is a must for all art aficionados.
Lincoln Road Mall
This pedestrianised promenade is overflowing with boutiques and designer stores as well as fascinating Art Deco buildings and has been dubbed the ‘Fifth Avenue of the South’. Shopping enthusiasts will have a great time exploring stores where big-name American labels can be found in abundance.
Biscayne National Park
The Biscayne National Park is home to some fascinating coral reefs, magnificent wildlife and even a few eerie pirate shipwrecks. It's known as one of the best scuba-diving sites in the United States, and visitors have the opportunity to see local wildlife in their natural habitat.