Culture in Miami

Miami is a hot, Latin city of sun, surf and sand, well known for its modern architecture and year-round entertainment. There’s always lots happening, whether it’s on the seven mile long Atlantic coast beach, or in the boutique shops, restaurants and glitzy nightclubs.

Yet Miami’s reputation for beach and bars conceals its hidden depths: the city is also home to many theatres, museums, parks, and venues, and it hosts several cultural festivals throughout the year.

USA Car Hire and Fly Drive Holidays

We were  surprised not to see Miami featured in this blog post about USA Fly Drives which featured other popular locations, Orlando and California being top choices for UK visitors in search of year round sunshine and everything else the USA has to offer.

Here we give another suggestion for car hire USA – fly to Miami and explore the far reaches of Florida.

January’s Miami Beach Festival of the Arts

Coming up soon is the annual Miami Beach Festival of the Arts, which in 2010 takes place on 30-31 January at Ocean Terrace. This has evolved from a local street fair into one of the most prestigious cultural festivals on the East Coast, featuring the work of some 150 artists from across the US, spanning sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics and other crafts. The event’s location, Ocean Terrace, is sandwiched between the sea, the commercial district, and the Community Center. Alongside the art exhibits there is also international cuisine, live music, dance, theatre, storytelling and street entertainment.

South Beach Wine & Food Festival

If you arrive too late for the Miami Beach Festival of the Arts, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is hot on its heels in late February. This is a ticketed festival, with prices ranging from around $15-$300 depending on the event, which features local and celebrity chefs at South Beach giving cooking demonstrations. There’s plenty of food-, wine- and spirit-tasting, and evening foodie parties. Find out more at the official website.

Other Miami tourist attractions

Once you’ve had your fill of festivals, Miami has many permanent attractions that are well worth a visit. Top of the list are the Jewish Museum of Florida, the Holocaust Memorial, Frost Art Museum, Bass Museum of Art, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Bayfront Park, and the Ancient Spanish Monastery.

For shopping, head to Collins Avenue (between 15th and 3rd Streets) which is lined with shops catering for most tastes and pockets, or to Lincoln Road, where alongside the shops there is a Sunday farmers’ market.

For families, MetroZoo, the Seaquarium, Oleta River State Recreation Park, and the tropical garden at Jungle Island are some of the best attractions.

To get out and about to these attractions car hire Miami is a smart option with a range of comfortable vehicles available to rent and fuel still much cheaper than in the UK

Dining out

Despite all the super-skinny model types wandering around Miami, this is a city that loves to dine out. With more than 6,000 restaurants, there’s no shortage of choice, from cosy cafés to Über chic restaurants that turn into clubs in the early hours. South Beach is one of the most fashionable areas to eat, usually after about 9pm but sometimes as late as midnight. You might not get the best value or the best service in South Beach, but you can’t beat it for people-watching. And if you’re still not ready to hit the sack after supper, there are plenty of nightclubs in the area where you can knock back a few Mojitos.

The wave of airports in the US building centralised rental car centres continues to grow.  For the past decade airlines across the United States have merged car hire zones into a single facility. Instead of individual car hire USA companies are running seperate buses to and from the airport and each hire company having its own car parking areas. Busing is shared, car rental counters and cars are side-by-side and valuable space around airports is freed up.  Still to take up the schene is the worlds biggest car hire market – Orlando.

Commenters were quick to voice their opinion

This is more efficient; but each car hire company loses its competitive advantage. No more dropping you off at the actual rental car. Why not just have one agency then – or better yet, the airport have its own hire car system?

Cleveland and San Francisco both opened consolidated rental car facilities in 1998 and since then they have opened in many other  major airports in the USA .

More are planned, such as pooled car hire Orlando, rental firms in Miami, San Jose, Memphis and deeper south in New Orleans.

Though emissions from one car are nothing compared with those from even the best airplane, they add up. So instead of renting a car to get around the city you’re visiting, try researching public-transit options. Public transit is often cheaper and faster, offers a great way to sightsee, and is almost always more earth-friendly