Two key elements of any bonkers vacation: a culture-rich city and a beach. Miami, at your service. As the infamous Art Basel rages on this weekend, we took some time to round up the essential things you should do in the sexiest city in America--any time of year.
21 Things You Must Do When Visiting Miami
Give us all the palm trees
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Published Dec 4, 2015
1. Rent a convertible and cruise up and down Ocean Drive as much as possible.
2. Swing by La Sandwicherie, also in South Beach, for the greatest French sammies outside…well, France.
3. Rent a lounge chair on Miami Beach and people-watch to your heart’s content.
4. Get a cold-pressed juice at The Standard and hipster-watch to your heart’s content.
5. Feel virtuous and then reward yourself with the greatest coffee of your life--a Cuban colada.
6. Work off the espresso buzz by gallery hopping in Wynwood, the city’s renowned arts district.
7. Go one step further and take a tandem-bike tour around the neighborhood. Because what better way to see street art and graffiti by some of the world's most prominent artists than cruising on two wheels?
8. Find air conditioning. Play mah-jongg.
9. Hop aboard a boat tour to creep on celebrity mansions.
10. Make a dinner reservation at Gianni’s, the restaurant at the new boutique hotel…inside the Versace Mansion.
11. Or eat your weight in shellfish at Joe’s Stone Crab. (No relation to Joe’s Crab Shack.)
12. Go shopping--both at quaint indie spots like Books and Books on Lincoln Road and at luxury malls like the Bal Harbour Shops.
13. Wear the miniskirt you just had to refinance your mortage for.
14. Ogle at all things Art Deco. And neon.
15. Go dancing at Wall Lounge at the W Hotel. Everyone will tell you to hit up the mega clubs (LIV, Story, etc.) but we far prefer this fun--but way more manageable--spot.
16. Book a post-dancing luxury foot massage (and pedicure) at The Mandarin Oriental.
17. Remember you haven’t had enough coladas and plan to stroll through Little Havana.
18. Wash your coffees down with sweet plantain sundaes at Azucar Ice Cream Company on Calle Ocho.
19. Go on orchid overload at the Fairchild Botanical Garden.
20. Swing back by La Sandwicherie for a roadie bite. Buy a bottle of dressing to stowaway in your luggage.
21. Take your convertible and spend a day driving through the Keys. Pretend you’ll run into (and subsequently) marry Kyle Chandler.
