Time Out Miami contributors

January 2023: New year, same city! 2023 kicks off as it usually does with a packed schedule of annual events (For starters, there are two major art festivals this month!) and incredibly enviable weather (Beach day, anyone?). Snag tickets to the new theater productions debuting in January, including the 20th anniversary of Pullitzer-winning Anna in the Tropics, book reservations for Miami's best restaurants and get your head in the game—it's high season in Miami and there's no stopping this train now. Below, check out our picks for the best things to do in Miami right now.  Locals and tourists can agree that the best things to do in Miami extend beyond lounging on the sand—though it goes without saying that spending some time on the best Miami beaches is fundamental to life in the 305. In the wintertime particularly, Miami is better known for its thriving cultural scene led by events like Art Basel and neighborhoods such as Wynwood, which every year turns over a brand new facade with the spate of fresh murals that debut during Miami Art Week. And lest we miss out on one of the most important aspects of life in the Magic City—eating!—it’s worth mentioning the booming culinary scene and the host of award-winning Miami restaurants that abound, many of whom we’ve invited to join us at Time Out Market Miami. In between sunbathing, swimming and sipping cocktails, check off these essential Miami experiences. By the way, this list is curated, as always, but isn’t ranked—we just couldn

For a snowbird, winter in Miami typically includes lots of basking on the beach and eating out at as many of the best Miami restaurants as possible. But, whether you live here or not, our warm weather does not preclude us from partaking in all the yuletide cheer each holiday season. Make no mistake: what we lack in snow-covered rooftops, cozy fireplaces and hot toddy cocktails we more than compensate for with sparkling palm tree-lined streets and a bevy of festive events that kick off pretty much as soon as the last plate of turkey is cleared from the table. Whether you’re in the mood for an off-kilter take on a classic holiday show, a boozy pop-up full of Instagram-worthy photo opps or a massive, family-friendly holiday market under the stars, Miami has it this year. Below, find our guide to the best Christmas events in Miami for 2022. RECOMMENDED: Where to find the best holiday lights displays in Miami

December is arguably one of the most glorious months to be in Miami. Yes, it’s the busiest month of the year, but it’s also when the city truly comes alive. The weather cools, the festive decor comes out and people can’t help but be nice to each other as we all take some time to be grateful for this winter paradise that surrounds us. It all starts with Art Basel Miami Beach, a massive international art fair that’s become a cultural beacon for the city each year. After that, it’s off to the races with plenty of festive holiday events and over-the-top Miami Christmas lights to help get you in the spirit. Make sure to get some R&R time at a luxe spa or on our famed beaches before finishing the year off with a bang at an epic New Year’s Eve party. RECOMMENDED: Miami events calendar

In a town with a nightlife scene that doesn’t end even when the sun comes up, the first meal of the day isn’t always an early morning affair. Many Miamians define the start of a Sunday as more like mid-afternoon, with a leisurely Miami brunch that bleeds right into one of the best happy hours in Miami. But when an early schedule calls for it—that client from Minnesota who just has to meet at 9-freaking-o’clock—we must do breakfast. Luckily, this brunch-obsessed city also has New York-worthy bagels, reimagined diners, towering egg sandwiches and been-there-forever haunts serving just the kind of platters that’ll shake out those cobwebs. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Miami

November 2019: Early this decade it seemed that restaurants would no longer exist in non-mobile form. Food trucks were sweeping the nation, bringing everything from burritos to Bahn mi to street corners everywhere. That craze seems to have died down to some degree, with the most successful trucks branching out to brick-and-mortars, including Ms. Cheezious, which recently opened at Time Out Market Miami, and El Bagel, which soon opens its first shop in the Upper Eastside. La Pollita followed a similar trajectory, with its owners closing the truck to focus on their first restaurant, Boia De. Though you can still find some fantastic options on wheels in Miami, like newcomer Chifa Streets located at Veza Sur’s courtyard for optimal hangover prevention. Food trucks? Miami has plenty of them. It’s one dining trend this city can’t get enough of (along with, of course, the brunches in Miami). Roving restaurants are the barometer of a city’s food scene. Big name chefs might open concepts in trendy neighborhoods, but skyrocketing rents have forced the real culinary creatives to turn to food trucks, where they create everything from the best desserts in Miami to tacos that rival those from the best Mexican restaurants in Miami. These days, hitting a Miami food truck rally on a Saturday night gives you more inventive options than an entire season of restaurant dining—for half the price.

We’ve visited every place on the Time Out EAT List in person (in the case of some of them, several times). We go incognito, and book, pay and tip like everyone else. We get treated like regular diners – sometimes we get the table by the restrooms. Some of these places are established icons of Miami’s dining scene, some are instant classics, some are future stars. We like to let places bed in, revisit them and explore the menu. For a restaurant, café, gastropub or whatever to get on the EAT List, the food has to be amazing, that’s a given. But we’re after more than that. We’re looking for a combination of cooking, atmosphere and experience that makes a place truly memorable: somewhere you’d tell your friends about. Somewhere you can’t wait to go back to. We won’t include a place just because it’s innovative, or expensive, or hard to book: it always has to deliver flavor and value. We rate out of five stars: One star: avoid! Two stars: not that great. Three stars: good. Four stars: really good. Five stars: unmissable. We also give you an idea of how expensive places are. Prices are based on two people, three courses, drinks and service. Dollar-sign designations go as follows: $ for meals $10 or less$$ if you’re spending $10 to $25$$$ for prices between $25 and $50$$$$ when entrées set you back more than $50. The EAT LIST is updated regularly, so you can be sure that it is always a picture of the very best of Miami’s current food scene.

What exactly is a Miami rite of passage? They are the things—both big and small—that we must endure in order to call this city home. You probably underwent a couple on your way to work this morning. You might be powering through one right now. We face them each time we set out for one of the best Miami beaches or decide to spend the night dancing away at one of the best South Beach clubs. They can be good. They are often bad. But if what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, than these 305 rites of passage can only make us more Miami. So, how Miami are you? Fill out the checklist and then do the most Miami thing possible—brag about the results on social media. // function showScore() { $('#seencount').html($(":checkbox:checked").length); $("a[id='shareme']").attr('href', 'http://www.facebook.com/dialog/stream.publish?app_id=110523762296825&client_id=110523762296825&redirect_uri=http://timeout.com/miami&display=page&link=http://www.timeout.com/miami/things-to-do/miami-rites-of-passage/&picture=https://media.timeout.com/images/101853855/image.jpg4&description=Are you a true Miamian?&name=I%27ve completed ' + $(":checkbox:checked").length + ' Miami rites of passage. How about you?'); $("a[id='tweetme']").attr('

GroundUp Music Festival

Hosted and headlined by the jazz-funk collective Snarky Puppy (which founded GroundUP in 2017), this three-day beach fest gives attendees an intimate experience via songwriting workshops with artists, oceanfront masterclasses and hangouts with musicians. The lineup includes Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco), Nai Palm (of Hiatus Kaiyote) Lizs Wright and Bassekou Kouyate, among others. The best part? No overlapping sets so there's plenty of time to catch every event on the schedule.

House of Horror Haunted Carnival

Celebrating 30 years, this huge haunted experience is one of the biggest of its kind in South Florida. This year, four attractions—Silent Mall, Drown Town, Insanitorium and Scare Studios—promise to scare the crap out of you. Tour abandoned houses and explore the supernatural if you’re brave enough. Liquid courage is available for the 21-and-over crowd.

Miami Spice

During the notoriously slow summer months, Miami’s top restaurants offer an irresistibly good deal that gets hungry locals sprinting from their houses to snag a table: three-course, prix-fixe menus at lunch and brunch ($28) and dinner ($45 or $60, depending on the menu). Your swimsuit body never stood a chance. Various locations

O, Miami Poetry Festival

The monthlong poetry festival displays words on every possible surface: painted on rooftops, outlined into the sand, plastered on buses. The mission is to put a poem in front of every Miamian, whether we ask for it or not. Check the festival website for information on activations and unique events, like a sonnets and ceramics workshop, a poetry frisbee party where the winner recites poems a wine tasting where participants write about what they're sampling. At various venues

Flamenco Festival Miami

Miami plays host to the only annual flamenco festival outside of New York City featuring dancers directly from Spain. This year, superstar singer Miguel Poveda kicks off the series on April 10, taking audiences on a tour of the genre with cheerful malagueñas and sorrowful soleás, and everything in between. On April 21, catch three of flamenco's leading dancers—Mercedes Ruíz, María Moreno and Eduardo Guerrero—tear up the Arsht Center stage.

Florida Keys Outlet Marketplace

3 out of 5 stars

There are malls you go to discover new trends and brands and the malls you visit when you simply need something cheap and reasonable to wear. The Florida Keys Outlet Marketplace falls in the latter category, thanks, in part, to an unremarkable lineup of discount stores, including Levi’s, Converse and Aeropostale. Stuff here isn’t unlike what you’d find at your local mall, though prices are generally below regular retail. Its most winning quality: it’s outdoors, so you won’t miss out on good weather spending the day here.