Interesting Things To Visit In Miami Florida

An Overview of Miami

Famous for it’s stunning beaches, pristine tropical climates, protected Everglade swamps and strong Cuban cultural influences, Miami is one of the most active and beautiful regions in Florida. The large, flat city is home to various islands, marine diving sites and an excellent night life. It remains a popular destination for festivals and Spring Break trips. Though Miami is an excellent place to visit, it’s grid-like street patterns extending into the drained swamplands causes considerable traffic during rush hour. However, with a robust outdoor culture, gorgeous coastlines and unique diving sites, there are many interesting things to visit in Miami.

Interesting Things To Visit In Miami Florida

Neptune Memorial Reef 

One of the most interesting things to visit in Miami can only be accessed by diving. The Neptune Memorial Reef is an entirely underwater columbarium and man-made reef. The haunting underwater city is filled with sea-encrusted statues, standing lions and other underwater structures. The unique attraction is often visited by tourists and native marine life alike.

Venetian Pool

The Venetian Pool is a massive, freshwater pool emptied and filled everyday through the use of a freshwater spring from an underground aquifer. The historic public swimming venue was originally built in an abandoned coral rock quarry, gradually modified to create swimming areas, a pair of waterfalls and cave-like swimming grottos.

Miami Marine Stadium

The Miami Marine Stadium was once a major water-sport venue for powerboat racing, but it suffered catastrophic damage during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The stadium has since been shut down and visitors are no longer allowed to enter. However, that hasn’t stopped the decaying landmark from being targeted by dozens of graffiti artists over the years.

The Kampong, National Tropical Botanical Garden

The Kampong is a beautiful garden designed as a cultivation center and laboratory for tropical flora. The garden contains flowering trees, tropical fruit and over 50 different kinds of mangos. Entry requires an admission fee as well as advanced booking from Tuesday to Friday.

Ferdinand Magellan Presidential Railcar

Located inside the Gold Coast Railroad Museum of Miami, the Ferdinand Magellan was used as a bullet-proof train for United States presidents, most notably FDR. The car was named after the famed Portuguese explorer who achieved the first European navigation from the Atlantic to Asia.

The Everglades

No mention of Miami would be complete without noting the numerous and fantastic features of the Everglades. A totally unique tropical biosphere, the Everglades are home to wetlands preserves, slow-moving rivers, vast sawgrass marshes, numerous coastal mangrove regions, towering pine flatwoods, thousands of islands and abundant, endangered wildlife. The Everglades can be driven through, but most of it’s deeply impressive regions are best visited by boat, kayak or canoe. This is one of the most interesting things to visit in Miami.

Shark Valley

Often considered the heart of the “true Everglades,” this area contains a vibrant river of grass and a unique freshwater ecosystem. Visitors can easily spot wild alligators, deer, turtles and birds thriving in the area.  Shark Valley includes the Bobcat Boardwalk in the area, which loops through the tropical hardwood forests on a walking-or-bicycling loop.

Chokoloskee Bay and Island

While Chokoloskee is an unincorporated community on a small island accessing the vast network of the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, there are many interesting features throughout the interior bay. Visitors can spot lots of saltwater fish, sheltered mangroves while embarking on kayaking explorations through the region. Chokoloskee Island itself is considered one of the last great frontiers in the Everglades, home to boat rentals, lodging options, small eateries and a musuem.

Anhinga Trail

This is an excellent, paved walking area which provides up-close views of wildlife in Everglades. Visitors can easily sight numerous animal species in the area, including bird life, dragonflies, running lizards, lounging alligators, large fish and paddling turtles. The small trail area primarily uses a series of well-maintained boardwalks rising over sawgrass marshlands.

Flamingo Visitor Center

The Flamingo Visitor Center can be found near the end of the Main Park Road leading into the Everglades. The route to the center is worthy all on its own, with glinting insects, mammals, unique flora and flocks of egrets, kites and other birds found along the route. The center itself provides educational displays, information regarding camping and hiking trails as well as backcountry travel permits.

Gumbo Limbo Trail

The Gumbo Limbo Trail is a self guided hardwood-forest trail, following lines of trees alongside a sea of grass. The short walking path is flanked with ferns and the native red-brown gumbo limbo trees. Visitors can also easily find fluttering zebra butterflies & many birds.

The Ten Thousand Islands

This is a massive chain of low islands, saltwater pathways, and mangrove islets found off the coast of the Everglades. A vital and fragile ecosystem, many of the islands are semi-submerged sandbanks or mangrove forests growing upon oyster bars. The islands are best experienced during extended kayaking tours, but visitors can also buy shorter tour tickets through various agencies throughout Miami or online.

Big Cypress National Preserve

Protecting over 729,000 acres of vast swamplands, this is the first National Preserve of the United States. Largely undeveloped and untamed, the preserve can be explored through recreational activities, such as camping, canoeing, kayaking or hiking. Much of the territory is rugged, making it a popular site for conservationists and environmentalists. The area is known to be home to the elusive Florida panther.

Loop Road

Loop Road is a scenic, rustic, one-lane driving route that remains a quiet and splendid way to explore the Everglades. The two-hour driving loop is home to cypress groves, pine trees, large swamps and short hiking trails. Wildlife includes alligators, egrets, herons, vultures, various species of turtles and the tree-snails of the Everglades.

Ed Leedskalnin’s Coral Castle

Located in the southern portion of Miami, the Coral Castle (also known as Rock Gate Park) is a strange, hand-carved stone semi-church made by a Latvian stonemason who got snubbed at the altar. After his heartbreak, Ed Leedskalnin began constructing this immense structure as a great monument to lost love.  The tiny man moved enormous blocks of Oolitic Limestone (fossilized coral) in secret, creating sundials, a stone rocking chair, large heart-shaped tables and a massive gate. Most of Ed Leedskalnin’s work was done at night in secrecy, leading to speculation that the project was completed through magical means.

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand

Robert Is Here Fruit Stand is a beloved, family-owned Florida institution, with lots of exotic, Florida-grown fruits like sapodilla, guanabana, tamarind and sugar apples. While technically considered a street-side fruit stand, the venue has grown over the years to include groceries, a milkshake counter, a specialty jam-and-jelly section and a backyard farm-animal zoo.

Fakahatchee Strand State Park Preserve

This preserve is the largest State Park in Florida, home to numerous plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the continental US. The region follows a series of boardwalk pathways, walking over untouched wetlands where Florida panthers and other predators still stalk prey around the black waters.

Biscayne National Park

Located off the coast of Miami, this National Park includes islands, shoreline mangrove forests and vibrant coral reefs. The area is home to manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, pelican flocks and other marine wildlife. The National Park is a famous diving location as part of the Underwater Maritime Heritage Trail. Visitors can view shipwrecks below, such as the Mandalay Wreck, the Erl King Wreck, the Lugano Wreck and more. There are numerous land-side attractions as well, including the Boca Chita Lighthouse, the Convoy Point Ecological Museum, the waterside ruins of Stiltsville, and narrow walking trails along Elliott Key. The national park area is one of the most interesting things to visit in Miami.

Gator Grill

While Alligators might not be a common food option around the world, the Gator Grill en route to the Everglades happily serves gator-meat nuggets. This is a popular pit-stop on the way into the Everglades.

Pa-Hay-Okee Trail

This is a short, easily-walked 0.2 mile loop trail popular for looking at marsh praries, birdwatching, and exploring strange white skeletal forests and dark clumps of mahogany hammock.

South Pointe Pier

Often called South Pointe, this is a nice waterfront park leading past playgrounds, splash pads, biking trails, beaches and a long pier.

Pegasus and Dragon

These are a pair of enormous 110-foot tall statues depicting Pegasus battling a dragon in Gulfstream Park. The large artwork is further accented with with lighting & water effects.

Miami Design District

This is a popular neighborhood known for it’s sleek modern architecture, classy stores and immersive art galleries. The area has unique cultural experiences, including neighborhood art tours, culinary explorations and upscale boutiques. Some of the famous attractions in the area includes the Fly’s Eye Dome, and The Institute of Contemporary Art.

Peacock Park

This is a quaint, somewhat small urban park where Indian peacocks freely roam around the Coconut Grove of Miami.

Miami Riverwalk

The Miami Riverwalk is a popular pedestrian walking route following the northern bank of the Miami River. It extends in a 1.25-mile loop from Bayfront Park to the Monument Avenue Bridge.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

This is an sizeable Botanic Garden destination offering water features, tram tours, butterfly exhibits and unique artworks. Visitors can wander through tropical gardens containing small streams, waterfalls, palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. The gardens often host exhibitions and other events, including night-lit garden explorations.

Wynwood Walls

This is a free, outdoor mural destination with numerous vivid street murals by artists from around the globe. The compelling artworks surround a small green space with benches and tables as well as other unique lawn-scultures. This is one of the most culturally-potent sites in Miami.

Crandon Park

This is a large urban park located in the northern part of Key Biscayne. The park space hosts long beaches lined with sand dunes and sea oats. The park are is also home to seagrass fields and an unusual fossil root reef (rhizolith) structure.

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