We had one full day to explore South Beach and the nearby Miami area. Not a lot of time within a large geographical area. We bypassed a morning walk in Little Havana and, instead, drove over to Vizcaya, the former home of James Deering, an industrialist in the early 1900s. You might recall the name of Deering's McCormick International Harvester.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
With 1,000 workers and 180 acres (now just 50 acres), Deering built a large villa with Italian and French Renaissance features, formal gardens, recreational areas, lagoon gardens, agricultural fields and a service village. Deering resided at Vizcaya during winter season, from 1916 to 1925. Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan used this location for the First Summit of the Americas and a meeting with Pope John Paul II, respectively.
As we toured the interior of the house, we learned that many of the rooms were specifically designed for large wall and ceiling panels imported from European castles, monasteries and homes.
Being childless, after James Deering passed away, the house and gardens were inherited by family members. In the early 1950s, the cost of maintaining the house and gardens became too large a challenge and Miami-Dade County took ownership of Vizcaya.
South Beach and Art Deco Historical Area
In the afternoon, we walked through the Art Deco historical area of South Beach. There are guided tours as well as free online walking tours available. We chose the latter via freetoursbyfoot. We reconfigured out walking itinerary to start from one end of Ocean Drive (Delano, 1685 Collins Avenue) to the other end (Celino Hotel, 641 Ocean Drive). This path allowed us to end our walking tour closer to our hotel.
If you're in Miami, we recommend viewing these visually striking buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. After a while, you start to identify the Art Deco building characteristics, such as sharp horizontal and vertical exterior lines, smooth walls and geometric and symetrical shapes.
Dining in South Beach
Many of the restaurants along Ocean Drive presented a touristy vibe to us. Leaving this busy area, we looked for restaurants a block or two away from heavy foot-traffic.
Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant: We weren't familiar with Stone Crabs but received a recommendation to visit Joe's. This restaurant was founded in 1913 and continues under family management today. The menu has many offerings but many guests focus on Stone Crabs. These crabs are caught in the waters surrounding Florida. Interestingly, one claw is harvested from a caught stone crab and the crab is returned to the sea so that the missed claw can regrow.
Joe's doesn't accept reservations and the wait line grows quickly (we heard the wait could be as much as three hours later in the evening). Almost all 450 seats were filled within minutes of the 5pm opening. That said, we were seated almost immediately at 5:05pm. A dinner of four jumbo Stone Crabs, a small order of hash browns (more than enough for two), creamed spinach, a key lime pie slice and two glasses of wine ran about $200.
If you visit Joe’s and find the wait too long for a restaurant table, there is a take-out counter next door. This counter area has a bar and some seating.
Rossella’s Kitchen: This Italian restaurant is at the corner of 2nd and Washington Streets. We ordered a swordfish entree and branzino entree, both were excellent. This is a much more moderately priced restaurant with excellent food offerings, terrific service staff and a quiet setting for dinner.
Where Did We Stay in South Beach?
We stayed at the Marriott Stanton Beach Hotel for two nights in South Beach. This beach front hotel is at the end of Ocean Drive. This location is generally known for less street noise - though the weekends may take on a party atmosphere. The hotel lobby and public areas have been recently refreshed. The rooms were last updated in 2013 and already seem ready for additional attention.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
As we toured the interior of the house, we learned that many of the rooms were specifically designed for large wall and ceiling panels imported from European castles, monasteries and homes.
Being childless, after James Deering passed away, the house and gardens were inherited by family members. In the early 1950s, the cost of maintaining the house and gardens became too large a challenge and Miami-Dade County took ownership of Vizcaya.
South Beach and Art Deco Historical AreaIn the afternoon, we walked through the Art Deco historical area of South Beach. There are guided tours as well as free online walking tours available. We chose the latter via freetoursbyfoot. We reconfigured out walking itinerary to start from one end of Ocean Drive (Delano, 1685 Collins Avenue) to the other end (Celino Hotel, 641 Ocean Drive). This path allowed us to end our walking tour closer to our hotel.
If you're in Miami, we recommend viewing these visually striking buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. After a while, you start to identify the Art Deco building characteristics, such as sharp horizontal and vertical exterior lines, smooth walls and geometric and symetrical shapes.
Dining in South Beach
Many of the restaurants along Ocean Drive presented a touristy vibe to us. Leaving this busy area, we looked for restaurants a block or two away from heavy foot-traffic.
Joe’s Stone Crab Restaurant: We weren't familiar with Stone Crabs but received a recommendation to visit Joe's. This restaurant was founded in 1913 and continues under family management today. The menu has many offerings but many guests focus on Stone Crabs. These crabs are caught in the waters surrounding Florida. Interestingly, one claw is harvested from a caught stone crab and the crab is returned to the sea so that the missed claw can regrow.
Joe's doesn't accept reservations and the wait line grows quickly (we heard the wait could be as much as three hours later in the evening). Almost all 450 seats were filled within minutes of the 5pm opening. That said, we were seated almost immediately at 5:05pm. A dinner of four jumbo Stone Crabs, a small order of hash browns (more than enough for two), creamed spinach, a key lime pie slice and two glasses of wine ran about $200.
If you visit Joe’s and find the wait too long for a restaurant table, there is a take-out counter next door. This counter area has a bar and some seating.
Where Did We Stay in South Beach?
We stayed at the Marriott Stanton Beach Hotel for two nights in South Beach. This beach front hotel is at the end of Ocean Drive. This location is generally known for less street noise - though the weekends may take on a party atmosphere. The hotel lobby and public areas have been recently refreshed. The rooms were last updated in 2013 and already seem ready for additional attention.
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