Miami - The Magic City

In Florida, the so called "Sunshine State", visitors can find one of the most vibrant cities in the USA. Miami is called "The Magic City" thanks to its extremely fast growth. With its extraordinary beauty and nice weather year-round, it's no wonder that millions of tourists are attracted there every year. Many even decide to make it their new home.

If this wonderful city is on your bucket list, here are some tips of the best places to see and the best things to do while visiting it.

Miami Beach

Even though it's called "Miami Beach", this World-famous destination is not only a beach. In fact, it is an island which is part of the Miami-Dade county - so it is part of Miami, but it is not located in mainland Miami.

Being known as a major beach resort, it is in fact one of the most important in the whole country. Tourists looking for nice weather and pristine beaches flock there all year-round from all over the World.

The island has a huge beach composing its whole eastern side, which is one of the main attractions in the island. With turquoise waters, dreamy white sand and the iconic Miami Beach lifeguards, the many sections of the beach are a mandatory visit for those traveling to Miami.

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Occupying more than 1 hectare at the heart of Miami Beach, the Miami Beach Botican Garden was founded in the 1960s. In later renovations to the garden it was designed to exhibit plant species which are nature to the state of Florida, such as palms, bromeliads and orchids. The place where avocados and mangoes used to grow at the beginning of last century is nowadays a green oasis in Miami Beach, with the goal of promoting the enjoyment of Nature, as well as raising awareness about sustainability.

A must-see in the Botanical Garden is the Japanese Garden, where visitors can find a charming red bridge allowing them to cross a peaceful pond decorated with water lilies. This wonderful corner of the garden abides by the principles of Feng Shui, which is why visitors can find stone lanterns among the plants.

The Japanese Garden at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden

Other areas of the Botanical Garden include water features and even a tropical edible garden, providing exotic food such as tropical fruits and even coffee.

Apart from that, the garden also contains the Holocaust Memorial. The idea of it came from a small group of Holocaust survivors who gathered to build a memorial to the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis. It was to be built in Miami Beach because South Florida has one of the USA's highest populations of Holocaust survivors. After much criticism from third-parties who claimed the memorial would ruin the city's good-vibe-only style, the memorial was eventually built in order to remind people of the cruel History the Jews have endured during the War.

Ocean Drive

What this iconic street in Miami Beach is most famous for is its Art Deco buildings. Dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, Ocean Drive is the core of the famous Miami Art Deco District, where visitors can find around 900 buildings in Art Deco style.

The street and its buildings have been featured in many movies and TV-series such as Dexter, The Birdcage and Miami Vice. Some of its buildings which have been extensively used in filmings are the Colony Hotel, the Clevelander Hotel and the Carlyle Hotel.

Also located at the Ocean Drive is the famous Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace Mansion. Built in the 1930s, this building is mostly known thanks to his famous owner: Gianni Versace. The fashion icon lived in the mansion for some years in the 1990s and eventually got murdered at its entrance.

Nowadays the building houses a boutique Hotel and it is one of the most photographed houses in the US.

Ocean Drive in Miami Beach

Bayside Marina

If you are looking to see Miami's skyline from a privileged lookout point, head to Bayside Marina.

Straight next to Bayside Marketplace, a big shopping center where you can dine with a view, the marina is full of cool yachts which perfectly frame the modern buildings behind, making for a great photo spot to capture the city of Miami in the background.

It is also from there that many of the tour boats departure, so if you are looking to go on a Miami boat tour you are at the right place.

Miami skyline seen from the Bayside Marina

Sunset Boat Ride

An activity not to be missed while in Miami is to take a sunset boat tour. These extremely popular boat tours take its guests out to the water where it is possible to admire the lavish mansions that plenty of famous celebrities own in Miami. Among them are Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Ricky Martin. Don't expect to get a glimpse at them because that's very unlikely, but that is not the point either: the point is to see mansions that are so luxurious that you probably wouldn't even be able to afford their front doors.

Apart from the mansions owned the rich and famous, it is also a very unique experience to see the Miami skyline from the water as the sun sets behind its buildings.

Miami's skyline seen from a boat tour

Freedom Tower

This building that nowadays houses a contemporary art museum used to be the place where Cubans saw their refugee processes handled in order to flee from Cuba to Florida. That is the reason why the building is sometimes called the "Ellis Island of the South”, in comparison to "Ellis Island" in New York where the immigrants were received at their arrival in the US.

In the building there is the Cuban American Museum as well, for visitors looking to learn more about the stories of those who had to flee to America.

Freedom Tower in Miami

Mirador Brickell

This viewpoint located in a very modern part of the city of Miami is surprisingly quite unknown. Located by the water, behind a quite discreet but very charming residential area, you will be blown-away when you find this hidden secret. If you are looking for the perfect place to admire the city's skyline, this is the place to go to.

Especially by night, this viewpoint offers its visitors the most amazing view of Miami's modern buildings and the city's constant movement. And the best part: you will most likely be the only tourist there.

The amazing view from Mirador Brickell

Day-trip to the Everglades

Last but not least, a trip to Miami can never be complete without seeing the iconic Everglades National Park.

Seen countless times on screens all over the World, in TV-series like CSI Miami, the Everglades is considered the largest tropical wilderness in the USA. It has been called "a river of grass flowing imperceptibly from the hinterland into the sea", which is a perfect description of that outstanding place.

In its 610,670 hectares of tropical and subtropical habitats, the Everglades National Park is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the whole World. This huge network of forests and wetlands is home to 36 protected or even threatened animal species such as the manatee, as well as 300 fish species, 50 reptile species, 40 mammal species and around 350 bird species.

Thanks to its extraordinary diversity the Everglades National Park was included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site list.

While visiting the Park, one of the best and most popular things to do is to go on an airboat tour in order to see the World-famous alligators that live there.

Airboat ride in the Everglades