Miami City Guide

Known for its lavish nightlife, tropical climate, and multicultural makeup, Miami is a dynamic, ever-evolving city that makes good on its “melting pot” distinction in more ways than one. And while visions of a glitzy, neon-soaked South Beach tend to dominate most peoples’ perceptions, it’s the areas surrounding the tourist-laden hub that imbue “The Magic City” with an even more endearing sense of history and charm.

It all starts in Downtown Miami, where scenic waterfront views and lush vegetation mingle with world-class entertainment venues, towering high-rises, and a dense business district to create a distinctly tropical, yet urban energy that bleeds into nearby neighbors.

South of “Greater Downtown” is its more social, up-and-coming other half known as Brickell – the city’s financial district – where the “work hard, play hard” mantra manifests as a mass of sprawling retail promenades, intimate bars, and posh eateries in the shadows of big-time banking HQ’s.

But once the Biscayne Bay shoreline cuts westward, the bustling energy of Downtown quickly dissolves into the coastal calm of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, each with a markedly more residential feel and “Old Miami” vibe. Continue traveling south to the pristinely manicured Pinecrest or sprawling Kendall areas for an even more open, suburban slice of Miami.

Conversely, north of Downtown is where much of “New Miami” resides, with many emergent neighborhoods benefitting from a recent boom in construction, including the famed Wynwood – a former industrial district turned artistic oasis, now the epicenter of Miami’s budding tech scene – and Midtown, a 9-block “mini city” anchored by a massive urban mall.

West of these bayside neighborhoods is where Miami’s ethnic imprints become even more pronounced, with enclaves like Little Havana, Overtown, Allapattah, Liberty City and Little Haiti each supporting its own rich and vibrant communities—and some of the best dishes you’ll ever eat.

And of course, the urban playground that is mainland Miami is only a stone’s throw from its more coastal counterpart, Miami Beach: home to art deco architecture, oceanfront estates, and star-studded sites—pretty much everything pop culture’s primed you to expect.

Equal parts urban metropolis and island paradise, Miami is a city steeped in an intoxicating blend of old history, modern leisure, and more recently, a futuristic, tech-driven ambition.

Lest you get too exuberant about life here, know that the heat and humidity are brutal in summer, climate change is testing the city's resilience due to constant flooding in some areas, and hurricanes are an annual threat.