Living it up in Miami: your essential travel guide

The pastel-hued Art Deco architecture and dazzling sand of South Beach. The vibrant street art of Wynwood. The thrumming flavours of Latin and Caribbean cuisine on street corners in Little Havana. Miami is a city of gloriously diverse neighbourhoods, natural beauty and easy access – and you can fly here direct with British Airways.

This globally minded tropical hub is everything you imagine it to be, and more. Here’s your essential introduction…

When it comes to mood, Miami doesn’t have just one, but many. The city’s jigsaw of diverse districts, stretching inland from the sun-warmed Atlantic coast, hosts a cornucopia of distinct sights, smells and sounds.

Latin and Caribbean influence is a common thread, running from the exclusive design hotels of Miami Beach to buzzing Little Havana, which is bursting with cigar shops, rum bars, Cuban restaurants and Hispanic cultural centres.

Every visit to Miami should include a visit to South Beach, pictured above; the flagship stretch along Ocean Drive and Collins Ave that’s hemmed in candy-coloured Art Deco buildings transformed into hotels, restaurants and shops. For a trendy waterfront stay, the Kimpton Hotel Palomar South Beach is well placed to explore the vibrant neighbourhood. Just a short walk away, the nearby Bass Museum of Art, set in a 1930s structure, has an impressive contemporary collection from creators around the world.

Miami has gained global recognition for its arts and design scene, and other neighbourhoods put this on show, too. Head to Wynwood for street art dotted between industrialist warehouses, or the Miami Design District next door for public art nestled among luxury shops and wellness venues. Or visit during December’s famous Art Basel, North America’s most important art fair, hosted in cool Miami Beach.

When you’re ready to slip from sightseeing into downtime, Miami has plenty to offer. Spend your day under the Florida sun on the beach: there are more than a dozen stretches of sand to choose from, whether you want the quiet calm of Surfside or the family-friendly shores of Crandon Park Beach.

Arrive early enough and you might catch one of the east coast’s epic sunrises, with joggers and dog walkers all traversing the glowing shoreline.

Once the day presses on, it’s time to get stuck into Miami’s thriving culinary scene. From top-notch food trucks to romantic gourmet restaurants, cool craft breweries and beachside stalwarts, there’s serious range here – in terms of style, price point and cuisine.

There are now 14 Michelin starred restaurants in the city plus all kinds of rooftop bars, where you can cheers with a lime-laden mojito while overlooking the twinkling skyline.

The nightlife in Miami might keep you up late, but you’ve every reason to set the alarm when you know there’s so much to explore – both within the city boundaries and beyond.

For a dose of nature, you have two major hotspots on your doorstep: Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park. The former is home to wild American alligators and rare birds, while the latter boasts the third longest coral reef system on the planet.

Miami is a port city (PortMiami is recognized as the Cruise Capital of the World), with sailings departing for the Caribbean, South America and elsewhere around the United States. You might already be visiting Miami as part of a cruise, wondering how you’ll tick off everything in such a quick visit. The answer? You can’t, you’ll just have to come back again.

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