The best things to do in Miami this week

In tandem with the holiday season, Jungle Island's enchanting festival of lights returns for a fourth year with a new production featuring more than 37 monumental, handcrafted silk lantern scenes created by a global team of artisans, graphic designers, seamstresses and more. This year, Luminosa takes visitors on a vibrant trail of themed vignettes representing different ecosystems, from the Amazon rainforest to African savannahs, complete with cutting-edge animatronics, holograms and interactive storytelling. The popular Holiday Village also makes a return this year (through January 4), featuring Christmas trees, holiday treats like churro donut holes and coquito, a seasonal bazaar and a 30-foot Christmas tree centerpiece.  When is Luminosa 2025? Luminosa runs from Friday, November 14 through March 7, 2026. The hours of operation are 5:30 to 9:30pm Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30pm on Friday and Saturday. The Holiday Village will also open on November 14 and run through January 4, 2026. This outdoor experience operates rain or shine, with covered areas available throughout the venue.  How much are tickets? Adult tickets range from $30.78 on weekdays to $46.88 on weekends. Child tickets (ages four to 12) range from $21.58 to $33.08. Family bundles and group rates are available, with discounts for seniors, students and military personnel.

Get your festive carnival fix at Tropical Park during Christmas Wonderland, a local holiday production that's grown into the largest of its kind in the U.S. Now in its third year, this 14-acre spectacle features six immersive holiday worlds, 50-plus rides, dazzling light shows and nightly entertainment like fireworks shows, acrobatic acts and even Santa as a human cannonball. Of course, the grounds are lined with photo-worthy moments, starting with the Wonder Portal, an LED archway that leads into Tinsel Trail, a half-mile of synchronized lighting displays, installations and whimsical backdrops. At the heart of the midway, the IG’loo 360-Dome surrounds guests in a 3D-mapped immersive visual experience. The midway is also where you'll find the fair's main food and drink offerings, including plenty of local food trucks and seasonal brews from Cervecería La Tropical.

The Miami Book Fair celebrates its 42nd edition this year, making it the longest-running literary festival in the United States. Expect the regular mix of riveting author presentations, mind-expanding conversations and even more innovative ways to honor the written word. The annual street festival is slated to take place from November 16 through 23 along the Miami-Dade College downtown campus, featuring over 550 authors from 35-plus countries across six continents. Luminaries like Daniel Silva, Kenny Chesney, Padma Lakshmi, Larry Charles, Art Spiegelman and Edwidge Danticat are slated to headline. Individual readings and events are ticketed, but the festivities kick off with a free, high-energy block party under the stars (November 16), complete with live music, food from local vendors and hundreds of books for sale. There's also tons of family-friendly programming to look forward to, including the Children's Alley, a wonderland of storytelling, crafts, puppetry, theater and roving performers, plus creative and science workshops, live music and budget-friendly fun (kids 12 and under get in free).

A much-anticipated precursor to the holiday season in Miami, NightGarden returns in November for its seventh season at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, promising even more psychedelic scenery, family-friendly activities and interactive artwork than ever before. Running from November 7 through January 11, NightGarden invites guests to frolic around a neon-lit wonderland of tropical trails lined with holographic sculptures, secret sunken ponds and hidden fairy worlds. Expect several enticing new activations this year, including the Tree of Life, a monumental centerpiece with lights and projections activated by guest touch. You'll also find new immersive domes with themed photo backdrops, a Secret Garden Laser Light Show, movie nights and more. How much are tickets? Tickets start at $28 and vary based on date and time, with discounts for Fairchild members and seniors. Children three and under are free.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more festive bar year-round than JohnMartin's in Coral Gables. The Irish-style pub strikes just the right balance of cozy and contemporary with its penny tile mosaic flooring, black steel frame windows and moody lighting, ideal for sipping something dark and sudsy. For the holidays, JohnMartin's goes the extra mile, decking its halls with twinkling lights, festive décor and a lineup of boozy cocktails that channel the cheer of the season. The pop-up runs from November 14 through December 28, with DJs and other festive programming sprinkled in along the way.

Few brunches in Miami rise to the level of an "event," but the Sunday brunch at Novikov is assuredly one of them. After a brief sabbatical, this buzzing sunlit feast makes a return to its luxurious perch along the Downtown Miami waterfront, featuring two hours of unlimited grazing from an extensive Market Table spread. Choose from a raw bar, endless sushi and sashimi, a salad bar, dim sum and robata-grilled favorites, plus a decadent dessert bar and signature brunch cocktails. Premium add-ons take the party to another level, including a honey truffle king crab leg, wagyu ribeye and roasted peking duck. Of course, it wouldn't be one of Miami's hottest brunch propositions without a live DJ spinning beats that pair perfectly with Novikov's bayfront views and a glass (or two) of bubbles.

South Florida doesn’t do winter. At least, not the frosty, scarf-necessary, hot-cocoa-as-survival-fuel kind. Which is why the return of real-ice skating to downtown West Palm Beach feels like a minor miracle powered by equal parts holiday spirit and serious refrigeration tech. Winter Wonderland is back at The Ben Hotel starting November 1, transforming the waterfront lawn into a glittering holiday playground with twinkling trees, Aspen-style chalets and, of course, a 50-by-66-foot rink made of the real stuff. Yes, ice. In Palm Beach. Again. Last year’s debut drew more than 30,000 skaters, proving locals are more than ready to trade sand for snowflakes, at least in theory. Around the rink, expect plenty of festive distractions: chalet vendors slinging gifts and sweets; a holiday bar for hot chocolate, s’mores, grown-up toddies and the debut of a Holiday Tree Forest created in partnership with local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. There will also be themed events like Live Music Saturdays and Santa Sundays, ornament-making workshops and an opening-day curling exhibition (yes, Palm Beach now has curling athletes and, no, the tropics do not care about your winter stereotypes). When is Winter Wonderland at The Ben Hotel? Skating runs daily from November 1 through January 4 from 10am to 9pm. How much are tickets? Entry is free unless you’re lacing up, in which case tickets start at $25 for adults and $10 for kids 11...

If you’ve ever wanted to live inside a Mariah Carey Christmas special, this is your moment. For the first time ever, Mariah Carey’s Holiday Bar is landing in Miami Beach, promising a “Mariahfied cocktail experience” that’s part pop-up, part wonderland and entirely extra (in the best possible way). Launching on November 20 at Ray’s Hometown Bar, expect wall-to-wall holiday décor dripping with glitter and nostalgia, festive photo ops (including a new “Queen of Christmas” homage and Santa’s Sleigh setup) and recreated backdrops from her most iconic album covers. Every 30 minutes, the unmistakable opening notes of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” will cue the room into collective holiday euphoria. The menu keeps the theme alive with festive small bites and seasonal cocktails made with Carey’s own Black Irish cream liqueur. For fans who want to take the experience home, there’s exclusive merch, vinyl copies of her holiday albums and even her newest LP, Here For It All. You can even write to the star herself at the “Letters to Mariah” station. Tickets will be available exclusively through Bucket Listers, and Miami fans can join the waitlist now for early access once reservations open. 

This bustling vintage market enters its 34th year on South Beach's famed Lincoln Road. Approximately every other Sunday (check their calendar for exact dates), 125 vendors convene along the promenade to showcase their wares and barter with discerning shoppers. Find everything from mid-century furniture to Art Deco decor and more. The long-running weekend social presents a solid mix of 19th and 20th-century memorabilia and unique collectibles. While you're there, stock up on locally grown produce, fresh flowers and artisanal goods from the Lincoln Road Farmer's market, which occurs every Sunday from 9am to 6pm.

Art meets science at "Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius," a sweeping exhibition presented by Frost Science and produced by Grande Experiences in collaboration with Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. On view through April 5th, 2026, the show explores da Vinci's multidisciplinary legacy with interactive displays, rare artifacts and life-size replicas of his machines, alongside immersive projections of iconic works like The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Explore 16 themed sections, from anatomy and flight to engineering and optics, plus hands-on installations like the Vitruvian Man interactive station and the Mona Lisa Revealed exhibit, featuring the world’s only exact 360-degree replica of the painting.