WHERE TO STAY IN MIAMI BEACH

If you are interested in where to stay in Miami Beach, you may also be interested in where to stay in Key West, where to stay in Orlando and where to stay in Fort Lauderdale.

South Beach, the best area to stay in Miami Beach 

The South Beach area has the most things to see and do throughout the entire island with excellent architecture to gaze and take photos of and the Art Deco area has the world’s largest collection of modern Art Deco. However, the most photographed landmark in the area is the Casa Casuarina, which today is a private hotel but was once owned by the Italian fashion designer, Gianni Versace, who was tragically killed in the late 1990s.The village of Espalona Way is located in the area and this small and charming pedestrian area has Spanish colonial architecture and is wonderfully modelled on Mediterranean villages in France and Spain.

There are many museums in South Beach and one of the most celebrated is the Bass Museum of Art, which is home to many pieces of European art that were done from the 15th to the 20th century. Another fabulous museum is the Jewish Museum of Florida, which hosted the first Jew congregation in Miami and has exhibitions on Florida’s Jews and their history in the area. If you are a fan of art, then the ArtCentre is definitely worth a visit as for one it is free to the public, which houses around 40 art studios and feature some of Florida’s most talented artists. Other places of interest include the Botanical Gardens, where there are Japanese gardens as well as an extensive collection of exotic plants and flowers.

The Holocaust Memorial is located close to the gardens and is an exceptionally moving reminder of this tragic time, which the Miami Beach Holocaust survivors helped create. The memorial consists of sculptures to do with iconic images of the Holocaust, a garden of meditation and a stone dedicated to the victims that lost their lives.

Of course you are going to head to the glorious sandy beach, where you can rent out chairs and play lots of different kinds of sports like volleyball, football and even just stroll down the beach. There are also many different water sports to try out from surfing and swimming to parasailing and jet skiing.

There is also a decent selection of parks that offer sport facilities like tennis courts, football pitches and basketball courts as well as big green spaces to relax and watch the world go by. There are many chances to do your shopping as there are many shopping malls and stores to check out like Collins Avenue Fashion District, Lincoln Road Mall and Ocean Drive, where you will find all the top brands.

At night, try out one of the numerous spas where you can get an all over massage or if you don’t fancy that then go to one of the theatres that showcase comedy stand-ups, musicians, opera and films. The area is known for being a crowd-puller due to the excellent range of restaurants with many places lining the beachfront, which offer various cuisines like American, Italian, French, Japanese and Mediterranean. There is also a very wide range of bars and clubs, which open throughout the night and into the late hours of the morning with places offering live music, where you can dance on the huge floors and there are even pool bars that serve the most desirable cocktails. The South Beach area has lots of hotels too with most of them being very famous for their Art Deco style, which provide luxurious establishments and en suite rooms with fantastic views over the water front.

Mid and North Beach, the other side of Miami Beach

This area is generally quieter and is more popular with the older crowd but there are a range of things to do. A visit to the Collins Waterfront area is a must, which displays many buildings that were built in various styles and from as early as the 1940s. This area is also home to numerous excellent golf courses, which are set in beautiful surroundings, and there are incredibly scenic board walks all along the beach and can be very popular at sunset.

This part of the beach is superb with superb water for swimming and surfing as well as other sports. There are also markets and a few shopping centres that sell everything that you could possibly need from electronics to food. Restaurants are in abundance with all international cuisines covered and this area has some five-star hotels with some places behind the water front being much cheaper.