The five coolest things visitors to Miami should do right now

You probably come from a city with a highly evolved mass transit system, but that’s not us. Miami’s leaves lots to be desired with the exception of the Brightline. The country’s only eco-friendly, inter-city high-speed rail resumes service on November 8, and it’s introducing a brand-new food hall in its MiamiCentral station for its grand return. Citizens opens with 11 of its 16 stalls, featuring well-known favorites like Umami Burger, Krispy Rice and Cindy Lou’s Cookies. Grab a bite before or after hopping the modern, upscale train to explore nearby Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, where last-mile service (free rides to your final destination) will be available in early December.

One of the most exciting cultural openings in Miami happened while our borders were closed, but its inaugural program, "Every Wall Is a Door," is still up to enjoy for months to come. Superblue Miami is a massive 50,000-square-foot space dedicated to the production of experiential mediums. For this first go, the Allapattah space features a new immersive environment by stage designer Es Devlin, a transcendent digital experience by Japanese art collective teamLab and an extrasensory light-based work by American artist James Turrell. Meadow, a kinetic installation by Amsterdam-based artist studio DRIFT, is also on view in Superblue’s main lobby area. It’s highly Instagrammable but unlike other photo opportunities, this one’s got substance.

One of the best things to come out of Art Basel 2018 was a video of Kanye West talking to a tree. It wasn’t another psychotic break, thankfully. The rapper was spitting it back to Archimedes, the creepily captivating talking tree at NightGarden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s psychedelic neon playground. The pop-up exhibit returns for its second year, taking over a portion of the 80-acre property and turning it into an illuminated wonderland. Think technicolor mazes, scavenger hunts led by virtual fairies, an enchanting snowfall experience, glowing dandelion fields and, yes, the infamous talking tree. Sounds fun, huh? We agree. 

Miami’s world-premiere productions are few and far between, which makes this new show debuting at the Colony Theatre extra special. Penned by Miami-born playwright Aurin Squire, A Wonderful World looks back at Louis Armstrong’s remarkable life, his contributions to the world of jazz and his rise to stardom. The show is set to music by the musical great and will likely have you swaying in your seat.

It’s true that a lot of what goes on during Miami Art Week is for the wealthy and well-connected, but that’s just skimming the surface of all that’s in store during the jam-packed few days. This year, Miami Art Week brims with NFT exhibitions, dozens of satellite art fairs and public art installations designed for everyone to enjoy. Some of what you’ll see includes a colorful geometric playground in the Miami Design District, a collaborative art project of site-specific presentations at the Standard Spa Miami Beach and a forest more than 1,000 plants shrubs, and trees, surrounding a sculptural labyrinth that will be animated by light, color and sound—plus what’s yet to be announced.