Miami Beach

Miami Beach is a barrier island, a narrow ribbon of reclaimed sand and coral rock separated from the Florida mainland by the shallow, island-dotted expanse of Biscayne Bay and facing the open Atlantic on its eastern shore. A short causeway ride from downtown Miami, it manages to be both a genuine city and a beach at once, with a continuous run of wide public sand and warm water on one side and a dense, walkable grid of hotels, restaurants and apartments on the other.

Its signature is South Beach, home to the largest concentration of 1930s Art Deco architecture anywhere, several hundred pastel buildings with rounded corners, porthole windows and neon signage clustered around Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue and the pedestrian promenade of Lincoln Road. North of there the island shifts character: the mid-century towers of Mid-Beach, the quieter residential streets and oceanfront estates of the North Beach and Bal Harbour end, and, out across the bay, the palm-lined man-made enclaves of the Venetian and Star Island neighbourhoods. The culture is emphatically bilingual, with Spanish heard as often as English and a strong Cuban and wider Latin American influence in the food, music and nightlife.

Winter is the reason so many people come. The dry season from roughly December to April brings warm, sunny days, low humidity and the year’s most reliable weather, and it forms the clear high season for both visitors and the events calendar, from the December art fairs to the spring boat and music festivals. Summer runs hot and humid with afternoon storms and the Atlantic hurricane season to keep in view, though it is also warmer in the water and quieter on the sand. Beyond the beach itself the island offers the design shops and galleries of the Deco district, the marinas and cruise berths of the bay, and easy water access for boating and fishing.

Groups drawn to Miami Beach usually want space and a private pool within reach of both the ocean and the nightlife. Luxury villa rentals in Miami Beach concentrate on the bayfront islands and the leafier northern streets, where a walled garden and a dock can sit a few minutes from the Art Deco core.

Planning a stay? Read our guides to the best neighbourhoods for a luxury stay, the best time to visit and the best things to do in Miami Beach.