Although Miami is often considered as a small city, it is actually the largest city within the metropolitan area of South Florida; and the largest in the Southeastern United States. Over 5.5 million people live here and the city has been named as the Financial Capital of the Americas. This global city has much to offer when it comes to arts, entertainment and media. Lately, Miami was ranked as America’s cleanest city for its city wide recycling programs, clean drinking water, clean streets, vast green spaces and its year round good air quality. For out-of-city travelers and overseas tourists, this fact alone is one great reason to visit the city.
If you intend to visit Miami, we suggest you time your arrival after the summer season – after the tourist season has peaked and most beach revelers have gone their way. The city has wonderful beaches that can become so overcrowded during this time that it is impossible to really enjoy oneself – let alone, find a spot at the beach or boardwalk. To many people, Miami means simply that: a place to bask in the sun during the hottest period of the year. Fortunately, the city has much, much more to offer, and there are year round attractions that can cater to anyone’s interest. One recommendation we have is for you to visit the city during the fall season. During this time, the city becomes the home of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami and the Miami Fashion Week – and there are a lot of parties, and after-party parties you can go to.
If you do visit the city, you will have no problem finding a place to stay. As of this year, Miami seems to be on a massive building boom. You can be assured that you will find a convenient place to stay at a price you can afford. There are numerous hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns in the city, but we greatly recommend trying to find a hostel room or a small guest house. If you compare these to most hotel room rates, the hostel room or guest house rate are cheaper by a huge score; and some of them are far away enough to let you escape the incessant noise of the city, but are still within convenient traveling distance to the city’s attractions. If you want to stay in one of the city’s main tourist attraction, you can book yourself a room at the Four Seasons Hotel and Tower: the tallest skyscraper in the entire Florida state.
For the artistically and culturally inclined, we recommend you hit the number of museums in the city. This is a great way to spend the afternoons with your family and friends. You should include in your itinerary one or more of these: the Frost Art Museum, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Lowe Art Museum, Miami Art Museum, the Miami Children’s Museum, Miami Cultural Center and the Vizcaya Museum and Garden. For recreation, you should take the afternoons off in the gardens and parks of the city, namely: Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace, the Bicentennial Park, Jungle Island, Miami Seaquarium, Morningside Park, Tropical Park and Watson Island.
