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MIAMI TOURISM GUIDE

Architectural Highlights

On a tiny street in South Beach, there's a piece of Spain that's so vibrant, you almost feel as if you're in Madonna's La Isla Bonita video. In 1925, Miami Beach developer NBT Roney hired architect Robert Taylor to design a Spanish village on the property he just purchased on a street called Española Way. Today, the historic Mediterranean-revival-style Spanish Village -- or Plaza De España -- envisioned by Roney and complete with fountain, stretches from Washington Avenue to Drexel Avenue and features charming boutiques cafes and a weekend market.

The Art Deco District

Simply put, Art Deco is a style of architecture that, in its heyday of the 1920s and '30s, used to be considered ultramodern. Today, fans of the style think it's retro-fabulous. And while some people may not consider the style fabulous, it's undoubtedly retro. According to the experts, Art Deco made its debut in 1925 in an exposition in Paris in which it set a stylistic tone, with buildings based on early neoclassical styles with the application of exotic motifs like flora, fauna, and fountains based on geometric patterns. In Miami, Art Deco is marked by the pastel-hued buildings that line South Beach and Miami Beach. But it's a lot more than just colour. If you look carefully, you will see the intricacies and impressive craftsmanship that went into each building back in the day -- which, in Miami's case, was the '20s, '30s, and '40s, and now, thanks to intensive restoration, today.

Most of the finest examples of the whimsical Art Deco style are concentrated along three parallel streets -- Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, and Washington Avenue -- from about 6th to 23rd streets.

After years of neglect and calls for the wholesale demolition of its buildings, South Beach got a new lease on life in 1979. Under the leadership of Barbara Baer Capitman, a dedicated crusader for the Art Deco region, and the Miami Design Preservation League, founded by Baer Capitman and five friends, an area made up of an estimated 800 buildings was granted a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Designers then began highlighting long-lost architectural details with soft sherbet shades of peach, periwinkle, turquoise, and purple. Developers soon moved in, and the full-scale refurbishment of the area's hotels was under way.

Today, hundreds of new establishments -- hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs -- have renovated, or are in the process of renovating, these older, historical buildings and are moving in, making South Beach on the cutting edge of Miami's cultural and nightlife scene.

Exploring the Area
If you're touring this unique neighbourhood on your own, start at the Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr. (tel. 305/531-3484), which is run by the Miami Design Preservation League. The only beachside building across from the Clevelander Hotel and bar, the centre gives away lots of informational material, including maps and pamphlets, and runs guided tours around the neighbourhood. Art Deco books (including The Art Deco Guide, an informative compendium of all the buildings here), T-shirts, postcards, mugs, and other paraphernalia are for sale. It's open daily from 10am to 7:30pm.

Take a stroll along Ocean Drive for the best view of sidewalk cafes, bars, colourful hotels, and even more colourful people. Another great place for a walk is Lincoln Road, which is lined with boutiques, large chain stores, cafes, and funky art and antiques stores. The Community Church, at the corner of Lincoln Road and Drexel Avenue, was the neighbourhood's first church and is one of its oldest surviving buildings, dating from 1921.

Animal Parks

For a tropical climate, Miami's got a lot of nontropical animals to see. Everything from dolphins and alligators to lions, tigers, and bears call Miami home (most in parks, some in nature).

Miami Metrozoo
This 290-acre, sparsely landscaped complex (it was devastated by Hurricane Andrew) is quite a distance from Miami proper and the beaches -- about 45 minutes -- but worth the trip. Isolated and never really crowded, it's also completely cageless -- animals are kept at bay by cleverly designed moats. This is a fantastic spot to take younger kids (the older ones seem bored and uninspired here); there's a wonderful petting zoo and play area, and the zoo offers several daily programs designed to educate and entertain. Mufasa and Simba (of Disney fame) were modelled on a couple of Metrozoo's lions. Other residents include two rare white Bengal tigers, a Komodo dragon, rare koala bears, a number of kangaroos and an African meerkat. The air-conditioned Zoofari Monorail tour offers visitors a nice overview of the park. One of the zoo's newer and more fun exhibits is the interactive Wild Earth Jeep Simulator in which you climb aboard an actual jeep and go on a virtual, simulated safari. Rides cost $5 per person. The zoo is always upgrading its facilities, including the impressive aviary.

Miami Seaquarium
If you've been to Orlando's SeaWorld, you may be disappointed with Miami's version, which is considerably smaller and not as well maintained. It's hardly a sprawling seaquarium, but you will want to arrive early to enjoy the effects of its mild splash. You'll need at least 3 hours to tour the 35-acre oceanarium and see all four daily shows starring a number of showy ocean mammals. You can cut your visit to 2 hours if you limit your shows to the better, albeit corny, Flipper Show and Killer Whale Show. The highly regarded Water and Dolphin Exploration Program (WADE) allows visitors to touch and swim with dolphins in the Flipper Lagoon. The program costs $140 per person participating, $32 per observer, and is offered twice daily, at noon and 3:30pm, 7 days a week. Children must be at least 52 inches tall to participate. Reservations are necessary for this program. Call tel. 305/365-2501 in advance for reservations.

Monkey Jungle
If primates are your thing and you'd rather pass on the zoo, you'll be in paradise. You'll see rare Brazilian golden lion tamarins and Asian macaques. There are no cages to restrain the antics of the monkeys as they swing, chatter and play their way into your heart. Screened-in trails wind through acres of "jungle," and daily shows feature the talents of the park's most progressive pupils. People who go here are not monkeying around -- many of the park's frequent visitors are scientists and anthropologists. In fact, an interesting archaeological exhibition excavated from a Monkey Jungle sinkhole displays 10,000 year old artifacts including human teeth and animal bones. A somewhat amusing attraction here, if you can call it that, is the Wild Monkey Swimming Pool, a show in which you get to watch Sea Monkeys diving for food. If you can stand the humidity, the smell, and the bugs (flies, mosquitoes, and so on), expect to spend about 2 hours here.

Parrot Jungle Island
This Miami institution took flight from its lush, natural South Miami environment and headed north in the winter of 2003 to a new, overly fabricated, disappointing $46-million home on Watson Island, along the MacArthur Causeway near Miami Beach. While the island doubles as a protected bird sanctuary, the jungle's former digs (in a coral rock structure built around 1900 in the heart of South Miami) had a lot more charm and kitsch. The new, overpriced 19-acre park features an Everglades exhibit, a petting zoo, and several theatres, jungle trails and aviaries. Watch your heads because flying above are hundreds of parrots, macaws, peacocks, cockatoos, and flamingos. But it's not all a loss. Be sure to check out the Crocosaurus, a 20-foot long saltwater crocodile who hangs out in the park's Serpentarium, which also houses the park's reptile and amphibian collection. Also a pleasant surprise here is the Ichimura Miami Japan Garden. Continuous shows star roller-skating cockatoos, card-playing macaws, and numerous stunt-happy parrots. There are also tortoises, iguanas and a rare albino alligator on exhibit. If you do get your money's worth and see all the shows and exhibits, expect to spend upwards of 4 hours here.

Sea Grass Adventures
Even better than the Seaquarium is Sea Grass Adventures, in which a naturalist from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center will introduce kids and adults to an amazing variety of creatures that live in the sea grass beds of the Bear Cut Nature Preserve near Crandon Beach on Key Biscayne. Not just a walking tour, you will be able to wade in the water with your guide and catch an assortment of sea life in nets provided by the guides. At the end of the program, participants gather on the beach while the guide explains what everyone's just caught, passing the creatures around in miniature viewing tanks.

The Museum and Art Scene

Miami has never been known as a cultural mecca as far as museums are concerned. Though several exhibition spaces have made forays into collecting nationally acclaimed work, limited support and political infighting have made it a difficult proposition. Recently, however, things have changed as museums such as the Wolfsonian, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bass Museum of Art, and the Miami Art Museum have gotten on the bandwagon, boasting collections and exhibitions high on the list of art aficionados. It's now safe to say that world-class exhibitions start here. These are the most lauded museums that have become a part of the city's cultural heritage, and as such, are as diverse as the city itself.

The focal point of December's enormously popular Art Basel is Collins Park Cultural Center, which comprises a trio of arts buildings on Collins Park and Park Avenue (off Collins Ave.), bounded by 21st to 23rd streets -- the newly expanded Bass Museum of Art , the new Arquitectonica-designed home of the Miami City Ballet, and the Miami Beach Regional Library, an ultra modern building designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern, with a special focus on the arts. The Library Café is on the library's first floor, serving coffee and pastries and exuding that cafe society ambience. Collins Park, the former site of the Miami Beach Library, returned to its original incarnation as an open space extending to the Atlantic, but it is also now the site of large sculpture installations and cultural activities planned jointly by the organisations that share the space.

Historic Homes & Sites

Barnacle State Historic Site
The former home of naval architect and early settler Ralph Middleton Munroe is now a museum in the heart of Coconut Grove. It's the oldest house in Miami and it rests on its original foundation, which sits on 5 acres of hardwood and landscaped lawns. The house's quiet surroundings, wide porches and period furnishings illustrate how Miami's first snowbird lived in the days before condo-mania and luxury hotels. Enthusiastic and knowledgeable state park employees offer a wealth of historical information to those interested in quiet, low-tech attractions like this one.

Coral Castle
There's plenty of competition, but Coral Castle is probably the strangest attraction in Florida. In 1923, the story goes, a 26-year-old crazed Latvian, suffering from unrequited love of a 16-year-old who left him at the altar, immigrated to South Miami and spent the next 25 years of his life carving huge boulders into a prehistoric-looking roofless "castle." It seems impossible that one rather short man could have done all this, but there are scores of affidavits on display from neighbours who swear it happened. Apparently, experts have studied this phenomenon to help figure out how the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge were built. An interesting 25-minute audio tour guides you through the spot, now in the National Register of Historic Places. Although Coral Castle is overpriced and undermaintained, it's worth a visit when in the area, which is about 37 miles from Miami.

Spanish Monastery Cloisters
The Spanish Monastery Cloisters were first erected in Segovia, Spain for St. Bernard de Clairvaux, an influential church figure. Centuries later, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst purchased and brought them to America in pieces. The carefully numbered stones were quarantined for years until they were finally reassembled on the present site in 1954. It has often been used as a backdrop for weddings, movies and commercials and is a very popular tourist attraction.

The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Sometimes referred to as the "Hearst Castle of the East," this magnificent villa is more Gatsby-esque than anything else you'll find in Miami. It was built in 1916 as a winter retreat for James Deering, co-founder and former vice president of International Harvester. The industrialist was fascinated by 16th-century art and architecture and his ornate mansion, which took 1,000 artisans 5 years to build, became a celebration of that period. If you love antiques, this place is a dream come true, packed with European relics and works of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Most of the original furnishings, including dishes and paintings, are still intact. You will see very early versions of a telephone switchboard, central vacuum-cleaning system, elevators and fire sprinklers. A free guided tour of the 34 furnished rooms on the first floor takes about 45 minutes. The second floor, which consists mostly of bedrooms, is open to tour on your own. The spectacularly opulent villa wraps itself around a central courtyard. Outside, lush formal gardens, accented with statuary, balustrades, and decorative urns, front an enormous swath of Biscayne Bay. Definitely take the tour of the rooms, but immediately thereafter, you will want to wander and get lost in the resplendent gardens.

Venetian Pool
Miami's most beautiful and unusual swimming pool, dating from 1924, is hidden behind pastel stucco walls and is honoured with a listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Underground artesian wells feed the free-form lagoon, which is shaded by three-story Spanish porticos and features both fountains and waterfalls. It can be cold in the winter months. During summer, the pool's 800,000 gallons of water are drained and refilled nightly thanks to an underground aquifer, ensuring a cool, clean swim. Visitors are free to swim and sunbathe here, just as Esther Williams and Johnny Weissmuller did decades ago. For a modest fee, you or your children can learn to swim during special summer programs.


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