Miami Science MuseumNothing is staid or boring in Miami, least of all its museums. The Miami Science Museum north of Coconut Grove, contains more than 140 exhibits, all designed to be hands-on and interactive, coupled with live demonstrations and collections of rare natural history specimens that make discovering and learning a great deal of fun. The Wildlife Center boasts more than 175 live reptiles and birds of prey, and the adjacent Space Transit Planetarium provides more thrills with projected astronomy and laser light shows.
Address: 3280 South Miami
Avenue
Phone Number: (305) 646 4200
Website: www.miamisci.org
Hours: Daily 10am to 6pm; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
Admission: $20 (adults), $13 (children 3-12), free for under 3s. Other concessions available. Prices include museum galleries, planetarium shows and wildlife center
Miami SeaquariumAt least a half a day is required to fully enjoy south Florida's premier attraction. The Seaquarium is world-renowned for its marine life shows and attractions, including performing killer whales and television aquatic star and dolphin, Flipper. Another favorite star is the sea lion Salty and his colleagues, who amuse and amaze with their antics.
Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway
Phone Number: (305) 361 5705
Website: www.miamiseaquarium.com
Hours: Daily 9.30am to 6pm
Admission: $27.95 (adults), $21.95 (children 3-9)
Miami-Dade Cultural CenterThe outwardly unattractive complex of the Miami-Dade Cultural Center, in the rather unsavory area of West Flagler Street, is worth a visit because it houses a plethora of interesting artistic and historic exhibits. The Center contains the Miami Art Museum (www.miamiartmuseum.org), featuring a collection of modern and contemporary works by American, Latin American and Caribbean artists. There are also themed exhibits, which bring art and artists to life, as do the twice-monthly 'happy hour' parties, organized to highlight a particular exhibit. The Cultural Center also contains the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (www.historical-museum.org) with exhibits that relate to the fascinating history of the area and the culture, folklore and archaeology of South Florida and the Caribbean.
Address: 101 West Flagler Street
Phone Number: Art Museum: (305) 375 3000; Historical Museum: (305) 375 1492
Email Address: info@hmsf.org (Historical Museum)
Transport: Government Center metrorail station
Hours: Art Museum: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm, third Thursdays until 9pm. Historical Museum: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday from 12pm, third Thursdays until 9pm
Admission: $5 (adults) to each museum. Children under 12 are free at the Art Museum and $2 at the Historical Museum (Saturdays are free for Historical Museum)
Vizcaya VillaLovers of antiques revel in visiting the magnificent 34-room Vizcaya bayfront villa, built in the Italian Renaissance style in 1916 as a winter retreat for wealthy industrialist, James Deering. The grand mansion took hundreds of artisans five years to complete, and the formal gardens, which surround the villa fronting on Biscayne Bay, took even longer to lay out. Today visitors can tour the villa and grounds, enjoying the original furnishings and décor in a variety of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococco and Neoclassical styles.
Address: 3251 South Miami Avenue
Phone Number: (305) 250 9133
Website: www.vizcayamuseum.com
Transport: Metrorail to Vizcaya station
Hours: Daily 9.30am to 4.30pm; closed 25 December
Admission: $12 (adults), $5 (children 6-12). Under 5s free
Spanish MonasteryMiami boasts the oldest building in the Western Hemisphere. Dating from 1133 the Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux in North Miami Beach is a hugely popular tourist attraction, although not quite indigenous to the area. The monastery stood originally in Segovia in Spain, but in the early 1950s the medieval building was bought by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, disassembled, shipped to Miami and rebuilt on its present site.
Address: 16711 West Dixie Highway
Phone Number: (305) 945 1461
Website: www.spanishmonastery.com
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm; Sunday 1.30pm to 5pm
Admission: $5 (adults), $2 (children), other concessions available
Coral CastleLegend has it that unrequited love led a Latvian immigrant to spend 25 years single-handedly carving a castle out of rock between the Florida Keys and Miami, on the South Dixie Highway. The amazing monument to the man's determination has been called America's Stonehenge and has been featured in numerous magazine and newspaper articles. Visitors are awed by the castle, which also contains affidavits from neighbors testifying to the fact that the builder had no assistance with his mammoth task.
Address: 28655 South Dixie Highway
Phone Number: (305) 248 6345
Website: www.coralcastle.com
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 8am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday until 9pm
Admission: $9.75 (adults), $5 (children); other concessions available
Everglades National ParkThe vast Everglades National Park that spans the tip of the Florida peninsula, 35 miles (56km) southwest of Miami, has been described as a 40-mile-wide (64km) slow-moving river of grass, interspersed with shallow wetlands. It is the only subtropical preserve in North America, containing temperate and tropical plants. It also boasts dozens of endangered species that find a home in this natural habitat, like the swallowtail butterfly, American crocodile, leatherback turtle, southern bald eagle and West Indian manatee. The best way to explore the Park is by canoe; private operators however run rapid air-boat tours, which are popular with thrill-seeking visitors. The Park has been accorded several honors including its designation as a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve and a Wetland of International Importance.
Phone Number: Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center: (305) 242 7700
Website: www.nps.gov/ever
Transport: Greyhound buses service Homestead, but no public transport is available from there to the park entrance. There is no public transportation within the park, but canoes and kayaks can be rented in the park
Hours: Open year round; the main park entrance (near Homestead and Florida City) is open 24 hours a day
Admission: $10 per vehicle, or $5 per pedestrian or cyclist, valid for seven days
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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