Sightsee and Sunbathe in Style.
Miami Beach
"The Magic City:" It's Miami's most enduring nickname, coined around 1900 after a fire destroyed much of the downtown business district. The very young city (little more than a pioneer settlement when it incorporated in 1896) rebuilt, and grew, so fast it seemed like magic. Hence the moniker. Over the years, though, Miami has picked up many other nicknames. Today the city is the fourth most densely populated in the USA (after New York, Chicago, and San Francisco), but second to none in number of "appellations" attempting to describe it. Miami is actually way too complex and contradictory for that. But adding all the nicknames together does give visitors a fair idea of the dizzingly varied range of experiences they can expect to find in even a short vacation here.
It's called "The 305," because that's Miami's original area code. It's "Da Bottom," because of Miami's position as the country's southernmost major urban area. It's "The Sixth Borough" because of the vast number of New Yorkers who have relocated here (permanently, or, as seasonal "snowbirds") since Miami was first promoted, in the 1920s and 1930s, as the USA's premier tropical winter playground. It's "North Havana," "Little Cuba," or, more broadly, "The Gateway to the Americas" because of later hispanic immigrants who have made Miami "The Northernmost City in Latin America." It's sometimes called "The American Riviera," though recently, recession-era hardships that have played havoc with tourism and condo building/buying have transformed that nickname into "The Repo Riviera." But there's an upside: There are currently surprisingly bargain-priced hotels and meal deals to be found. There's "The Million Dollar Sand Bar," too, but that's more a nickname for Miami Beach. Actually a separate city, across Biscayne Bay from mainland Miami, Miami Beach is the place with the extensive ocean frontage that has always been a lure for most tourists. Hence it's where you'll find the historic Art Deco hotels of South Beach (or "Sobe"); the greatest concentration of glam nightspots; and, of course, the beach. Even today, there's a large category of purely relaxation-seeking visitors -- beach potatoes -- who never leave the sands during their stay.
But for active travelers, there are many more unique attractions a short drive away, including the Everglades' incomparable natural wonders. And the exciting new restaurants and hotels that have sprung up since the new millennium along mainland Miami's Biscayne/Brickell corridor (now the town's hottest dining destination) also make it worthwhile to rent a car, and brave Miami's notoriously awful drivers.
Where action-minded visitors will doubtless want to stay is in party-central South Beach. Ian Schrager's cutting-edge sister hotels, The Delano and The Shore Club, are located within blocks of each other in Sobe, and properties such as The Setai, the Sagamore Hotel and The National Hotel all offer equally posh, Art Deco accommodations. The Ritz-Carlton South Beach takes a fresher, hipper approach than its traditional Ritz siblings; no fox-and-hounds hunt club paintings here. And newer boutique venues such as the sumptuous Hotel Victor on Ocean Drive and the secluded Sanctuary South Beach offer different views of the hot beach lifestyle. And those wishing to stay in a calmer, but still oceanfront locale, can find solace a few miles north along Collins Avenue at the new The Regent Bal Harbour, or a bit farther uptown, in Sunny Isles Beach, at Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach. Both resorts have noted in-house restaurants (1 Bleu and Il Mulino, respectively) plus world class spas. For those seeking proximity to mainland Miami's many new attractions (like the Performing Arts Center, as well as the city's hottest new dining destinations, along the Biscayne/Brickell corridor: the Design District, the Upper East Side, the Mary Brickell Village area and, as of this past year, Miami's formerly near-dead downtown), top choices include the Four Seaons Miami and Conrad hotels on Brickell Avenue, and the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental Miami, a bay-surrounded sanctuary a block east of the avenue on Brickell Key.
DAY 1
Kick off the day, as many Miamians do, with a Cuban-American breakfast -- perhaps a plantain or shrimp tortilla (omelet), or a lighter repast of café con leche with tostada (buttered, pressed, and toasted Cuban bread) -- under the Scull sisters' eye-openingly bizarre 3-D paintings of Old Havana at old-time favorite Puerto Sagua. It's one of the only authentic home-style Cuban eateries on South Beach, rather than the more ethnically rich mainland.
Ocean Drive
Miami weather is pretty much beautiful all year round, but one never knows how much sun will appear during any given three-day stretch -- if there are blue skies when you arrive, unpack and head straight to the beach. Use plenty of sunscreen and don't overdo it the first day -- an hour at most, as the rays here can be ruthless on pale first-timers. By now you'll be hungry for a decent lunch. For those who want to dine within walking distance of the beach, try SushiSamba dromo, a sleek Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian fusion spot with unparalled "new style" (flash-marinated) ceviches and tiraditos as well as sushi and stylish cooked Latin/Asian small plates. From an umbrella-sheltered sidewalk table (or, for diners who prefer air-conditioned comfort, through the restolounge's panoramic windows) there's also a great view of Lincoln Road pedestrian mall's perennial people parade. Then join the Road parade yourself, perhaps stopping to shop at Books & Books, a newly-expanded indie with a sizeable stock of coffee table books about Miami -- perfect for inducing further envy among friends stuck back home. More active travelers can head downtown for lunch at Garcia's Seafood Grill & Fish Market. Take a seat on the outdoor patio overlooking a weathered old stretch of the Miami River and enjoy an inexpensive, freshly grilled mahi mahi sandwich with a priceless view of cargo docks straight out of "Miami Vice."
Art Deco Style in South Beach
Or you could take a drive to Calle Ocho (8th Street), which cuts through Little Havana. There is no centralized tourist area here, just a neighborhood packed with Cuban-born residents and their businesses. Versailles restaurant is a must. Here you can sip potent little cups of café cubano at the outdoor counter, and listen in as island expatriates and local political power players engage in animated discussions of politics and life. This is the one-stop-shopping stop for all of Miami's TV and newspaper reporters whenever something newsworthy happens in Cuba. While Versailles' food merely coasted for years, recent meals suggest an attitude adjustment; it's now also a good place to experience a literal taste of Cuba, via a generous combo plate of classic preparations or perhaps a Cuban sandwich -- especially good when the lechon asado (succulent roast pork) is fresh from the oven. All in all, the Cuban culture is so pervasive you'll swear you're in Havana. Artsy travelers might want to keep the day going with a visit to the Miami Design District, also in mainland Miami (but a straight shot across the Julia Tuttle Causeway to Miami Beach). Here in the compact neighborhood long nicknamed "the square mile of style," you'll find dozens of showrooms (all deliberately open to the public as well as to the trade) and many more shops showcasing textiles, antique furniture, ceramics, Murano glass, Warhol prints and all manner of design ware. There are also numerous fine arts galleries and a few cool designer clothing stores.
Michael's Genuine Food and Drink
Chef Michael Schwartz's nationally acclaimed Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, which most credit with catalyzing the easily-walkable little district's recent boom, tops the list. But celeb chef Michelle Bernstein's Sra. Martinez (inventive tapas in the historic renovated Buena Vista Post Office building), Jonathan Eismann's award-winning Pacific Time (transplanted, with a much-expanded Pan-Asian/Mediterranean menu, from its original South Beach location), and fellow Sobe veteran Ken Lyon's casually stylish Fratelli Lyon café (located within Driade's design showroom) are also among the hottest restaurant picks in all Miami. A $3 comprehensive valet parking deal (drop your car at any of the above, pick it up at any) makes it possible to enjoy a progressive dinner, with Design District window-shopping in between courses. If you'd rather cap off the day with sushi (a specialty in fashion/figure-conscious Miami), this year's hottest insider pick is tiny NAOE, where, for just $26, young perfectionist chef Kevin Cory serves a multi-course omakase Japanese bento box meal, followed by impeccably fresh à la carte sushi till diners drop. For Asian food that encompasses almost everything but sushi, there's no better choice than the exclusive The Restaurant at the Setai, where chef Jonathan Wright (who totally re-vamped the menu, including, happily, somewhat lowered prices, in the spring of 2008) serves exquisite Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Singaporean, and Malaysian dishes -- on authentic tableware imported from each nation. For those who don't want to hit the sack after dinner, check out the Shore Club's Skybar, the Setai's Beach Bar, the Sagamore's Art Video Lounge or Pool Bar, the Conrad's The Bar at Level 25, or several Hotel Victor venues (V Bar, poolside Passage Bar, and Vue terrace) are among Miami's most enjoyable nightspots.
DAY 2
Start your second day with an early morning swim. The beach is loveliest this time of day, before last night's hardcore partiers crowd the white sands.
Visitors converge for breakfast on the outside patio of Ocean Drive's The News Café, the 24/7 eatery that, in the early days of Sobe's revival, was a supermodel magnet. It's still of historical, if not culinary interest. But if you'd rather breakfast where locals do, hit one of the two charmingly -- and genuinely -- Art Deco-era retro S&S Diner locations in mainland Miami, for great hotcakes or other homey All American breakfast food, plus some motherly advice (on anything) from the veteran waitresses.
Biscayne National Park
Miami is the only city in America that can boast two national parks: Biscayne National Park and the Everglades. Biscayne Park contains the only living tropical reef in the country and sprawls over 180,000 acres -- 95 percent of which are underwater, making this a scuba/snorkel paradise. The Everglades wetlands cover 1 1/3 million acres, and are arguably the most fascinating ecosystem in the United States. There are numerous tours that take you through this "River of Grass." The terrain here is unlike any other you've experienced-you'll get to see live gators, too. For the best chance of the latter, hit the fifteen-mile trail at Shark Valley, which you can walk, bike or ride via tram. If scuba diving and seeing alligators doesn't grab your fancy, you can enjoy water in just about any other way imaginable. Rental companies are more than eager to set you up with the goods needed for water skiing, jet skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and so on. There are also regularly departing party boats, casino boats and tour boats. The classiest, and most exciting is Ocean Force Adventures, whose comfortable yet lightening-fast Zodiacs combine a comprehensive tour and an amusement park thrill ride; the low-draft inflatable boats are able to get up-close-and-personal to celebrity mansions and other exciting sights.
The Biltmore in Coral Gables
Towards evening you might want to visit Coral Gables, whose original Spanish-Mediterranean architecture has been well preserved since being dubbed "The City Beautiful" when founded in the 1920s. Bunyanesque banyan trees form canopies over European-style boulevards, parks and plazas, and there are more fine restaurants per square mile than in any other neighborhood in Dade County. Not surprisingly, since the Gables has long been the residential choice of upscale Cubans, there's plenty of interesting Latin fare, including the simple but succulent Argentine steaks and 1000-bottle wine list at the exuberant Graziano's. For those who prefer their Hispanic food to be European-style, the menu at Por Fin was created by a chef trained at ultra-experimental elBulli, but features surprisingly accessible Basque and Catalan-influenced creative comfort food-bacalao fritters with romesco sauce, clams with garlic/parsley sauce, fried eggs with Serrano ham, homemade potato crisps, and truffle oil, etc. For a supremely civilized cap to the evening, go for after-dinner drinks at The Biltmore Hotel, a majestic and historic property modeled after the Giralda Tower in Seville. The man-made swimming pool here is the largest in Florida.
DAY 3
Commence with an opulent all-you-can-eat brunch at one of The Ritz-Carlton's three idyllic locations: in South Beach, Key Biscayne (more convenient for those staying downtown), or Coconut Grove (close to Coral Gables). All feature lavish, bountiful buffets, plus custom cooking stations that run the lengths of the dining rooms and terraces.
Key Biscayne
If brunch has you feeling fortified enough to brave Miami's manic drivers, head east across the Rickenbacker Causeway (just south of downtown), and in minutes you'll be at Miami Seaquarium, where Sally the sea lion and a chorus line of dolphins perform for the family. Further down the same road you'll come to Key Biscayne, a picturesque community with the feel of a tropical resort. White sandy beaches extend from Crandon Park (which also includes picnic tables, grills, cabanas, bicycle paths, and the Crandon Park Golf Course) to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area. This region features some of South Florida's finest snorkeling venues. For those desiring another (mostly) beach day, slather on the sun screen for a safe sunbathing stint, then retreat just a few steps west to one of Ocean Drive's many casual-chic establishments for a mojito (a refreshing drink made from fresh mint leaves, simple syrup and rum). Gay men have long favored the sassy Palace Café, on the corner of 10th Street. But there's a better beach view from the elevated steps of The Tides South Beach, a block-and-a-half uptown, where loungers can also enjoy sophisticated shrimp fritters (tempura batter-coated whole huge prawns) with yuzu pepper/crème fraiche dip, crab cakes with sweet/tangy corn salsa, and other nibbles from the Tides' La Marea restaurant. Afterwards, walk off your buzz with a leisurely stroll along Collins Avenue where, particularly between 6th and 12th Streets, prestigious shops like Armani and Barney's line up with chains such as Banana Republic and the Gap. For more devoted shoppers, further opportunities abound on Miami-Dade County's northern border in Aventura, which has one of Florida 's most comprehensive shopping centers: some 250 prime shops and boutiques anchored by Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Sears. Bayside Marketplace downtown, and Cocowalk in Coconut Grove are both outdoor promenades with smaller shops and cafés. Particularly opulent shopping's to be found south in Coral Gables' Village of Merrick Park mall, and, just north of Miami Beach, The Shoppes At Bal Harbour showcase a who's who of haute retailers -- Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci and Cartier, to name but a few.
Guerlain Spa
The latter upscale mall is especially handy for couples in a mixed marriage -- one a shop-till-you-drop fiend, the other a veg-out vacationer -- since the city's Guerlain Spa, North America's first outpost of the French company, is practically across the street, in the Regent Bal Harbour. Treatments run the gamut from make-up to massage. But having specialized in skin care since 1828, Guerlain produces especially gratifying instantly-visible results with its individually customized facials. It's always nice to close out a trip with a memorable dinner. Clay Conley devises pristine cuisine at Azul, a divine gem set in the glittering Mandarin Oriental, Miami, surrounded by Biscayne Bay on Brickell Key. In the same Brickell neighborhood, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, though landlocked, offers the greatest variety of fresh local and flown-in fish in town, whether you opt for the upscale chain's tempting All American core menu or local chef Sean Bernal's own Latin/Asian-influenced dishes.
Cap your last evening with cocktails under the stars, quaffed in a romantic poolside cabana at The Raleigh Hotel. For over half a century, the historic hotel's gracefully scalloped body of water, often called the most beautiful pool in America, has attracted some of the country's most attractive bodies, and its outdoor bar is still one of the most alluring celebrity magnets in all of MIA.
"MIA", by the way, is another of those nicknames -- both an acronym for Miami, and the official code for Miami's airport. It is also, of course, the wartime abbreviation for "Missing In Action"... Which is appropriate considering how many vacationers to MIA go AWOL and stay to become residents. But if you must go, no worries. You'll be back.
By Pamela Robin Brandt for Gayot.com
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