The best things to do in South Beach, Miami's iconic oceanfront

One of the country’s first pedestrian malls, Lincoln Road is continuously overrun with tourists in search of the quintessential South Beach shopping experience. To wit, it makes for fantastic people-watching if you’re a local. Expect a ton of sidewalk cafes and restaurants, public art installations, big brand stores and a Sunday sidewalk market stocked with fresh produce, vintage furnishings and more.

South Beach’s southernmost tip includes a spectacular waterfront park with plenty of green space for picnics or lounging as you watch the cruise ships sail by. It boasts ample metered parking, plus the park features access to both the beach and a walkable pier.

Time Out tip: It’s walking distance from Joe’s Take Away, Joe’s market-style counterpart, where you’ll get Miami’s freshest crabs to go for the ultimate beach picnic.

Whether it’s browsing modern-age artifacts or perusing midcentury propaganda, visitors exploring Wolfsonian-FIU’s permanent and traveling exhibitions learn about the myriad ways art and design have helped shape the contemporary world. The Art-Deco–era building also houses youth programs and admission is free every Friday from 6 to 9pm.

Time Out tip: Across the street, the Wolfsonian also hosts member-discounted movie nights at O Cinema, an indie theater housed in the historic city hall.

Don’t discount the bitty museum for its size—The Bass is a renowned contemporary art institution that packs incredible collections and traveling exhibitions into its diminutive edifice. Patrons should also keep an eye out for the colorful public art that constantly moves through the museum lawn.

Time Out tip: Time it right and you can hit up Sweet Liberty’s happy hour (4–8pm, daily) after having yourself a cultured afternoon. Who’s in for .95 cent oysters?

The 50-year-old, 2.6-acre urban garden had a facelift in 2011 and is back to being a popular spot to spend time away from the bustle of the city for visitors and locals alike. It hosts a variety of yoga and meditation classes, orchid exchanges, horticultural seminars and live music events on the weekends. Native Florida plants include bromeliads, palms and cycads, but there's also a Japanese garden and wetland with mangrove and pond apple trees.

Music mogul Pharrell Williams and nightlife entrepreneur David Grutman (of LIV fame) joined forces to birth the Goodtime Hotel, a pastel-hued, real-life riff on a quirky Wes Anderson film where every nook is an iconic Instagram moment and the potential for lowkey celeb sightings abound.

Time Out tip: Inside to poolside, Strawberry Moon is the place to be. The spunky Mediterranean restaurant and club hosts summer pool parties and daily happy hours where locals and visitors bring their fashion A-game.

This charming pedestrian boulevard is home to one of our favorite South Beach cafes, A La Folie. A bohemian hideaway for nearly 20 years, it serves homey, locally hard-to-find French classics like tartiflette, a gooey potato-and-onion gratin dotted with cubes of fatty bacon and layered with pungent Reblochon cheese.

Time Out tip: Newer spots have revived the promenade, including Andalusian hotspot Tropezón and the buzzy Roof at the Esmé Hotel. Longstanding dive Kill Your Idol is a solid late-night proposition, especially for karaoke on Thursdays.

A favorite of the late celebrity chef and travel journalist Anthony Bourdain, this smoke-filled spot is charmingly out of character for South Beach, and "eclectic" doesn’t begin to describe the mix of denizens who gather here nightly. The Deuce attracts the motliest, coolest, scariest crowd of any bar in Miami. And for good reason: Its pool table, jukebox and vintage neon wall art are the ideal complements to a legendary daily two-for-one happy hour that goes from 8am to 5pm.

New World is home to America’s only full-time orchestral academy, so fellows from around the world regularly put on concerts here. Looking to keep it casual? The adjacent SoundScape park hosts free outdoor Wallcast concerts and movies throughout the season, perfect for packing a picnic and enjoying a screening under the stars. New World’s concerts are often fun collaborations with local DJs, famous composers and more, so things don’t feel as stuffy as normal orchestras.

This quieter pocket of South Beach overlooking the sailboat-dotted Intracoastal Waterway is populated by locals who live in its highrise condos plus in-the-know visitors who come to enjoy the charming scenery and a smattering of excellent restaurants, bars plus outdoorsy activities like paddleboarding, kayaking and scooter rentals.

Time Out tip: For a breezy, seafood-centric brunch, Stiltsville Fish Bar is a great option. Local coffee institution Panther has a home here, along with the popular Pura Vida cafe.

This recently expanded rooftop venue inconspicuously overlooking Lincoln Road has quickly become one of South Beach's trendiest destinations. Upstairs, find a sprawling indoor-outdoor bar and lounge decked out in luxe materials with a central water feature where fire dancers perform throughout the night. Downstairs, an additional 7,900 square feet of space contains a dimly lit members-only cocktail lounge and gorgeous omakase counter, rounding out the chic Mediterr-Asian-themed experience.

A trendy boutique hotel chain—yes—but the Standard is also a hangout for South Beach scenesters. Monthly memberships hover in the hundreds of dollars and access to the pool requires booking a spa service, but neither one keeps the locals from filling its loungers or sipping rosé poolside. The Standard often hosts fun pop-up events and dockside barbecues on Sundays.

Time Out tip: Dine at the Standard’s waterfront restaurant, Lido, to soak in the vibes and scenery. It’s an ideal spot to unwind as the sun melts into the bay.

There’s a lot of history to soak up in South Beach, specifically in the city’s Art Deco district. Start your day in the colorful neighborhood with a stop here and make the most of your visit. The center will send you off armed with maps and suggestions for DIY walking tours.

Time Out tip: Scared to do it on your own? Book a guided excursion and let one of the Miami Design Preservation League’s certified historians guide you through two hours of storied hotels, restaurants and other structures, including a number of interiors.

Miami marks this globally recognized club's ninth location, which includes cinemas in London, New York, Los Angeles and San Diego. Billed as a "social to cinema," the rooftop theater sets out to present more than just flicks. Miami's gorgeous candy-colored sunsets will greet guests (adults only) as they're escorted to their comfy seats (either single Adirondack chairs or loungers) to watch on a giant LED screen. Everyone receives wireless headphones to ensure the sound is crystal clear and the volume is just right. 

Part beach club, part nightclub and part lounge, Nikki Beach ticks off all the boxes of what you want in an over-the-top South Beach spot. If you can afford it, book a cabana, order some rosé and see where the night takes you. The brunch/day party is the best place to party on Sunday mornings.

The 20-year-old museum explores millennia of sex through classical art, ancient artifacts and a trove of naughty toys. In addition to housing numerous exhibits of erotic art from around the world, WEAM features a sizeable collection of antique penises and Instagram-worthy phalluses in all sizes and states of arousal.

Time Out tip: The new George Daniell Museum is also located in the same building. Known for his portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and others, the gay American photographer and artist worked for Time and Life magazines.

This sprawling 74-acre park takes you through some of South Beach's most recognizable territory: along classic Ocean Drive architecture (hello, Versace Mansion), past muscle hunks doing pull-ups on the sand and right up to some prime ocean views. The park contains two outdoor gym areas plus rentals for umbrellas and chairs, bikes and even rollerblades so you can really blend in with the locals.

The Jewish Museum of Florida tells the story of Miami’s large Hebrew community. You can breeze through this small cultural center spanning two interconnected historic synagogues in less than 30 minutes. The museum’s core exhibit, “MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida,” features more than 600 photographs and artifacts that capture the group’s settlement across the peninsula.

Bear with us here: Ocean Drive is fun. The touristy strip gets a bad wrap for its overpriced drinks (hello, $65 margarita) and we wouldn’t really advocate eating or drinking at one of the sidewalk cafes (unless it’s an epic drag brunch at Palace Bar, of course). But Ocean Drive is the absolute best place for weird Miami people-watching.

Time Out tip: While you’re there, check out the Versace Mansion, which is now officially called the Villa Casa Casuarina. It’s a luxury hotel with a public restaurant where you can still gawk at the frozen-in-time decadence of the late designer’s home.