attractions · Miami
Skip the filler. These are the sights that make Miami worth the flight, ranked by what millions of travelers actually rate highest.
Coconut Grove · $
Industrialist James Deering's 1916 Gilded Age villa on Biscayne Bay brims with European antiques and is ringed by 10 acres of formal gardens and a carved stone barge breakwater. It's Miami's grandest cultural landmark.
Insider tip: Buy timed tickets online and go at opening — the gardens get brutal by midday and morning light on the stone barge is best.
Wynwood · $
Tony Goldman's 2009 open-air museum of building-sized murals by Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, and a rotating global roster turned a warehouse district into a street-art capital. The surrounding blocks double as a free outdoor gallery.
Insider tip: The Walls now charge admission — book online, then wander the free murals along NW 2nd Avenue and the side streets after.
South Beach · $
The world's largest concentration of Art Deco architecture — about 800 pastel buildings from the 1920s–40s along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, neon-lit after dark. The Miami Design Preservation League saved them from demolition in the 1970s.
Insider tip: Take the Design Preservation League's morning walking tour from the Art Deco Welcome Center, then return to Ocean Drive at night for the neon.
South Beach (South of Fifth) · $
Seventeen waterfront acres at Miami Beach's southern tip, where a pier and cutwalk watch cruise ships thread Government Cut and locals picnic on serpentine lawns. The beach here is wider and calmer than mid-South Beach.
Insider tip: Come at sunset with takeout from Joe's Take Away nearby, and watch the cruise ships parade out on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Downtown (Museum Park) · $
Herzog & de Meuron's breezy pavilion hangs columns of vertical gardens over Biscayne Bay, with collections strong in Latin American and Caribbean contemporary art. The bayfront terrace doubles as one of Miami's best hangouts.
Insider tip: Check the museum's free-admission days before booking, and stay for lunch at Verde on the waterfront terrace.
Downtown · $
A bayfront open-air marketplace where skyline boat tours depart hourly, live bands play the waterfront amphitheater, and shops and stalls churn beneath downtown's towers. It's among the most-visited spots in Florida.
Insider tip: Treat it as your dock rather than your dinner spot — the 90-minute skyline and 'millionaire's row' cruises are best about an hour before sunset.
December–April
US Dollar (USD)
English & Spanish
How this list is made: we only feature places rated 4.5 stars or higher with 1,000+ reviews from real travelers. Ratings and review counts are approximate and move over time — always check current numbers before booking. Photos are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses (credits in each gallery).
Same city, more lists
Good to know
Three to four days works well: one for South Beach and the Art Deco district, one for Wynwood and the Design District, one for Little Havana plus Vizcaya or Coconut Grove, and a beach or Everglades day. Add more if you want to run down the Keys.