Miami

United States·North America

Currency

USD

Language

English, Spanish

Timezone

New York

Continent

North America

Our guide

Discover Miami

Miami runs on two shores and they need treating separately. On the mainland, Villa Vizcaya is a Venetian palace built by an industrialist in 1916 facing the bay, with its gardens and its stone barge; the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Freedom Tower, which received Cuban refugees in the 1960s, hold the centre. In Wynwood, the Wynwood Walls turned a warehouse district into an open-air museum of murals. Across the causeway, South Beach lines up the 1930s Art Deco façades, pink and turquoise, in front of the sand.

When to go

December to April, the dry season: hot, sunny, low humidity — and also high season, so the most expensive. Summer is scorching, with storms most afternoons, and hurricane season runs June to November with a September peak. May and November are a fair compromise between weather and price.

Getting around

Miami is a car city and public transport covers only part of it; the Metromover, which is free, loops around downtown. Ride-hailing is the simplest way between the mainland and Miami Beach, separated by causeways that jam quickly. Once in South Beach everything is walking or cycling — the Art Deco district crosses in an hour.

Where to eat

Cuban cooking is at home here: the Cuban sandwich, ropa vieja and Cuban coffee, served very short and very sweet, are daily fare. Florida adds the seafood, stone crab in season among it. The city also eats late, on Latin American hours rather than American ones. No halal address is listed in our data.

Good to know

The US dollar is the currency, tax is added at the register and a tip of 18 to 20 % is expected — often already added for groups, so check. Spanish is spoken everywhere and sometimes more than English. Sun and humidity call for water and sunscreen even in winter. And South Beach prices bear no relation to the mainland's: crossing the causeway changes the budget.

Smart Planning