Miami Beach walking tour & town guide

Ocean Drive and the Art Deco district

The Miami Beach Architectural District holds hundreds of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne buildings from the 1920s to the 1940s, painted in pastel colors with porthole windows, neon signs and rounded corners. The best-known stretch is Ocean Drive, where hotels and sidewalk terraces face Lummus Park and the beach, and the neon lights make it just as striking at night.

Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue, a block or two inland, have more Deco hotels and shops, and the Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive runs walking tours of the district.

Lincoln Road and Española Way

Lincoln Road is a long pedestrian mall crossing the island from the bay toward the ocean, lined with shops, cafés and modernist pavilions, and busy late into the evening. A few blocks south, Española Way is a short, Mediterranean-style street of arches, balconies and outdoor tables.

South Pointe and the beach

At the southern tip of the island, South Pointe Park has lawns, palms and a pier looking out over Government Cut, the channel where cruise ships sail out of the Port of Miami. From here a paved beachwalk runs north behind the dunes for miles, past Lummus Park and the lifeguard towers painted in bright colors.

A classic walk: South Pointe to Lincoln Road

Start at South Pointe Park and walk out on the pier, then follow the beachwalk north to Lummus Park. Cross to Ocean Drive and walk its length past the Art Deco hotels, detour inland along Española Way, and finish on Lincoln Road for the evening. The route is about five kilometers, flat and easy, but bring water and shade in the midday heat.