The best things to do in Miami this week

Back for its sixth season, The Horrorland unveils an 18-acre park with multiple scare zones, five all-new haunted houses, creepy carnival games and DJs spinning spine-tingling tunes all night. There are also Cirque-style horror shows and fire performances, the Coffin Bar and Ghostly Beer garden with themed libations, a Cemetery Food Village and much more. Basically, monsters, ghosts, zombies and all kinds of frightening creatures will jump up when you least expect it as you make your way through every themed passage, house and photo op.  The Horrorland runs Thursday through Sunday nights, from September 13th through October 31st, and takes place at The Scream Park located inside Jungle Island. Tickets start at $34.99, with a fast-pass option for $74.99. It’s a family-friendly attraction but the experience is recommended for children 10 and older, and carrying infants or children through is discouraged. 

Bal Harbour Shops honors Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a vibrant, pink-hued floral installation benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. For a second time, the luxury retail destination has commissioned landscape artist Lily Kwong to create an elaborate, interactive living artwork, building off her celebrated "Moongates" installation. Throughout October, the mall's open-air courtyard makes for an idyllic spot to meander through the arches and snap a few photos among the pink orchids in between shopping and dining.

This huge haunted experience is one of the largest of its kind in South Florida, and this season is stacking up to be the most epic yet, featuring five brand-new haunted attractions and Florida’s only 3D haunted house. Set inside the abandoned Sears at Miami International Mall, House of Horror 2025 spans more than 100,000 square feet of immersive, Florida-inspired nightmares (so you know it's going to be twisted), from cursed swamps and haunted farmlands to post-apocalyptic wastelands and twisted clown funhouses. Outside, two new scare zones—The Harvest and Midway Mayhem—transform the midway into a spooky realm where scare actors and creepy carnival characters lurk. Tickets include unlimited carnival rides (like the Scarecoaster, South Florida’s only haunted roller coaster) and classic midway games. While you're there, explore over 20 food and beverage options, including Halloween-themed treats and liquid courage in the form of beer from Cervecería La Tropical.

Move over, Miracle in Miami. Spooky season is upon us, and its growing legion of devotees has a brand new Halloween-themed haunt in Miami this year. The New Orleans-born Black Lagoon pop-up bar is taking over Better Days throughout October. Brainchild of bar pros Kelsey Ramage and Erin Hayes, the month-long experience transforms the late-night Brickell watering hole into a moody, immersive den of cobwebbed décor and boozy potions. Born in 2019 and officially launched in 2021, Black Lagoon has since grown into a North American phenomenon. For 2025, it returns bigger than ever with 39 locations across the U.S. and Canada—including Miami for the first time. Expect theatrical Halloween vibes, eerie attention to detail and a cocktail menu as imaginative as it is sinister. Dress to kill—there will be plenty of spooky photo ops. Admission to the pop-up is free.

The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) returns from October 29th to November 2nd, marking another edition of the world’s largest in-water boat show. Spanning seven locations and nearly 90 acres, the five-day event beckons more than 100,000 attendees and 1,000 global exhibitors, all there to flex on the water and gawk at the 1,300 boats on display—from superyachts and sportfishers to tenders, water toys and even luxury cars. Highlights include the Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six, boasting some of the grandest vessels at the show, plus activations from top yacht builders and a collection of exotic vehicles. General admission grants access to all seven show locations (connected by water shuttles and buses), with food and drink available throughout, from satellite bars to floating barges. Expect everything from vegan and gluten-free bites to a Dark ’n’ Stormy at the Goslings Island Bar or a cold one at the Stella Artois Barge. The show's highest rollers will be found at the Windward VIP Club at Hall of Fame Marina, complete with premium open bars, gourmet dining, luxury activations and private lounge space.

Tinez Farms' Pinterest-perfect pumpkin patch provides the ideal fallscape for all your seasonal photos. Aside from the multi-sized and colored gourds and hay bales, there's an animal barnyard and petting zoo, pumpkin patch, Tinez yard games, climbing, swings, zip lines, a bounce house, animal interactions and a tubing slide to help get you into the autumnal spirit. You can also opt to add on a train, pony, donkey or horse ride to your experience, or even bottle feed a baby goat. While you're there, peruse the farm's Home & Garden Market, where you'll find things like indoor and outdoor plants and pots, accessories and seasonal decor.

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.

The James Beard Foundation’s annual Taste America culinary tour stops in Miami this October for another epic night, this time at the newly resurrected Sra. Martinez in Coral Gables. Hosted by James Beard Award winner Michelle Bernstein in collaboration with chef Aaron Brooks of Sunny's, the pop-up dinner event ($185 per person) includes an original one-off menu plus wine and cocktail pairings with each course. Though the menu is still T.B.A., guests can expect a combination of Bernstein's Spanish-inspired dishes and Brooks' creative American steakhouse fare, imbued with local ingredients and each restaurant's unique sensibilities.

Art, sexuality and cultural taboos converge at the Museum of Sex with the debut of its latest exhibition, Hard Art: Unruly Selections from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection. Explore decades of boundary-pushing works spanning the 1930s to today, pulled from the private collection of one of the world’s most dynamic collectors. From playful to profound and, at times, deemed too provocative for public display, the featured works include a wide range of media that challenges convention and invites conversation. Curated with the goal of amplifying underrepresented voices and celebrating uncensored expression, artists on view include Marco Brambilla, Jimmy DeSana, Bunny Yeager, John Kayser and others.

Open year-round for fruit picking, field trips and produce shopping, this picturesque farm in the Redlands hosts its sixth annual harvest festival this season. Tumble through the pumpkin patch, get lost in the massive, five-acre corn maze, wander through the sunflower fields and take a breezy hayride, all while snapping those quintessential "fall vibes" pics. Other activities include an obstacle course, three shaded bounce floors, a shaded lumber playground and live music on the weekends. While you're there, peep the adorable Scottish Highland cows and fuel up with smoked BBQ. Throughout weekends in October, shop from the local vendor market. On Octber 25th, dress up for the farm's first-ever haunted hoedown, Wicked Country, an all-ages Halloween line dancing party.