What's a good 3-day itinerary for Miami?
Day 1 covers South Beach and downtown Miami, from the Art Deco district on Ocean Drive to the Pérez Art Museum on Biscayne Bay. Day 2 heads south to Vizcaya's 1914 estate in Coconut Grove and the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. Day 3 splits between Wynwood Walls and Little Havana's Calle Ocho. About 18 km of walking total.
Day 1 stays on the beach and the bayfront. Walk south on Ocean Drive from 5th Street at 8 AM, before the humidity climbs past 80%. Breakfast at Front Porch Cafe on 14th Street runs about $16 for eggs and a cortadito, and you eat under ceiling fans with a view of Lummus Park's palm line. The Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive opens at 10 AM and runs 90-minute guided walks for $30 per person through the pastel blocks between 5th and 15th Streets. Walk 5 blocks west to Lincoln Road Mall afterward, a 7-block pedestrian strip where the iced coffee costs $7 and the people-watching is free. By noon, the sidewalk radiates enough heat to feel through your sandals. Lyft 15 minutes north to the Pérez Art Museum Miami, which opened its current Museum Park building in 2013. The terrace hangs over Biscayne Bay, and the breeze off the water drops the felt temperature by 3 or 4 degrees. Walk south through Bayfront Park to Brickell for dinner at La Mar by Gastón Acurio, where the ceviche mixto costs $24 and the pisco sour runs $18.
Day 2 heads south to Coconut Grove and west to Coral Gables. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens opens at 9:30 AM. Get there by 9:15. The estate dates to 1914, and the formal gardens cover 10 acres facing Biscayne Bay, with a stone barge breakwater you can walk onto. Inside the main house, the rooms smell of old wood and limestone, and 15th-century tiles line some of the floors. Tickets cost $25 for adults. Budget 2 hours. Walk 10 minutes north on South Miami Avenue to GreenStreet Cafe in Coconut Grove for a cubano and café con leche, about $19 together. After lunch, Lyft 10 minutes west to the Venetian Pool at 2701 De Soto Boulevard in Coral Gables. It's a spring-fed pool carved from a coral rock quarry in 1924. Admission is $20. The water holds around 23°C year-round, which feels cold after the 32°C afternoon air. Walk 5 minutes to the Biltmore Hotel for a free look at the 1926 tower. Dinner on Giralda Avenue, where 15 restaurants line a single pedestrianized block, runs $35-50 per person.
Day 3 splits between Wynwood in the morning and Little Havana after lunch. The Wynwood Walls outdoor gallery at NW 2nd Avenue opens at 10:30 AM. Free entry on weekdays. The murals cover roughly 80,000 square feet of warehouse walls, and they rotate every few months. The paint smell still hangs in the narrower passages. Walk to Salty Donut in Wynwood for a guava and cheese doughnut, $6.50. By 1 PM, Lyft 20 minutes southwest to Calle Ocho in Little Havana. Start at Maximo Gomez Park on SW 8th Street and 15th Avenue, where older Cuban men still play dominoes most afternoons. The clack of tiles on the concrete tables carries across the street. Walk east to Azucar Ice Cream at 1503 SW 8th Street for Abuela Maria, $5.50, a guava-and-cream-cheese flavor that tastes like cold pastelitos. Drinks at Ball & Chain, 1513 SW 8th Street, where live salsa bands play from 5 PM. A mojito costs $15. Dinner at Versailles, 3555 SW 8th Street, the city's best-known Cuban restaurant since 1971. Order the vaca frita, $22.
Miami is a driving city, but this itinerary keeps the car-free option open. Days 1 and 3 work on foot plus Lyft rides that run $8-15 each. Day 2 needs 3 Lyfts at roughly $10-12 per ride. The free Metromover loop downtown is air-conditioned, which matters when June temperatures sit at 25°C before dawn and climb to 32°C by 2 PM. Humidity tends to hover near 80%. Afternoon thunderstorms roll in most days between 3 and 5 PM, dropping hard rain for 20 minutes before clearing. Carry a packable rain jacket, not an umbrella. The wind makes umbrellas useless. Total walking across the three days comes to about 18 kilometres, with another 37 kilometres by Lyft or Metromover.
Walking + transit across the three-day route.
Day one
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8 AM South BeachWalk Ocean Drive south from 5th Street. Breakfast at Front Porch Cafe on 14th Street, $16 for eggs and a cortadito under ceiling fans with a view of Lummus Park.
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10 AM South BeachArt Deco Welcome Center guided walking tour from 1001 Ocean Drive. 90 minutes, $30, through the pastel blocks between 5th and 15th Streets.
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11:45 AM South BeachWalk 5 blocks west to Lincoln Road Mall. Iced coffee and window shopping along the 7-block pedestrian promenade.
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1 PM DowntownLyft 15 minutes north to Pérez Art Museum Miami in Museum Park. Spend 90 minutes inside. The terrace hangs over Biscayne Bay.
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3 PM DowntownWalk south through Bayfront Park, public green space since 1925, along the waterfront toward Brickell.
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7 PM BrickellDinner at La Mar by Gastón Acurio at the Mandarin Oriental. Ceviche mixto $24, pisco sour $18.
Day two
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9:15 AM Coconut GroveVizcaya Museum and Gardens. Arrive 15 minutes before the 9:30 opening. $25 adult ticket. Budget 2 hours for the 1914 estate and 10-acre bayfront gardens.
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11:45 AM Coconut GroveWalk 10 minutes north on South Miami Avenue into Coconut Grove village.
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12 PM Coconut GroveLunch at GreenStreet Cafe. Cubano and café con leche, about $19 together.
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1:30 PM Coral GablesLyft 10 minutes west to the Venetian Pool at 2701 De Soto Boulevard. Spring-fed, carved from coral rock in 1924. $20 admission. Water around 23°C year-round.
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3:30 PM Coral GablesWalk 5 minutes to the Biltmore Hotel for a free look at the 1926 tower and Mediterranean Revival lobby.
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4:30 PM Coral GablesWalk Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue. Window shopping and scouting dinner options.
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7 PM Coral GablesDinner on Giralda Avenue, a single pedestrianized block lined with 15+ restaurants. $35-50 per person.
Day three
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10:30 AM WynwoodWynwood Walls outdoor mural gallery at NW 2nd Avenue. Free entry on weekdays. About 80,000 square feet of rotating murals on warehouse walls.
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12 PM WynwoodSalty Donut in Wynwood for a guava and cheese doughnut, $6.50, and an iced latte.
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1 PM Little HavanaLyft 20 minutes southwest to Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
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1:30 PM Little HavanaMaximo Gomez Park at SW 8th Street and 15th Avenue. Watch the domino games under the pavilion.
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2:30 PM Little HavanaWalk east along Calle Ocho. Azucar Ice Cream at 1503 SW 8th Street, scoop of Abuela Maria $5.50.
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5 PM Little HavanaBall & Chain at 1513 SW 8th Street for live salsa and a $15 mojito.
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7:30 PM Little HavanaDinner at Versailles, 3555 SW 8th Street. Vaca frita $22. The city's best-known Cuban restaurant since 1971.
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