Miami Beach is located on a series of man-made and natural barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay in South Florida and has long been the top beach destination in the United States. In 1979, Miami Beach’s now infamous Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the entire world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments, condominiums, and other buildings that were erected between the 1920’s and 1940’s.  If you’d like to see how amazing these buildings are, I have an album of Miami Beach Art Deco Photos that I update regularly as I explore the district.

Ever since the first high-style designer hotels began to rise from the sands of Miami Beach, the forecast in South Florida has called for lots of sunshine with a strong chance of glitz and glamour.Even at night, the wattage of wealthy snowbirds and celebrity hotel guests seemed to produce enough star power to rival the daylight; and for nearly a century, this corner of the Sunshine State has basked in a perpetual glow.

Today that light is brighter than ever, as a steady parade of luxury hotels continues its march into Miami Beach. But don’t pack that tiara just yet. Despite the new and upgraded properties, celebrity-chef restaurants, world-class museums and cutting-edge nightclubs, Miami Beach remains what it always has been — a place where people can kick off their shoes and relax by the ocean.

Miami Sightseeing

Automotive and real estate pioneer Carl Fisher got the ball rolling in Miami Beach in the early 1900s, helping build the first bridge from mainland Miami and buying up land on the resort island.

By the 1930s, the southern end of Miami Beach was covered with the tropical jewel boxes that would come to be known as Art Deco hotels.These architectural gems — sporting the rounded corners and geometric ornamentation of the era — are part of what is now the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world.

Today, South Beach has turned into a multifaceted destination that includes elegant residences and five-star hotels, critically acclaimed restaurants, casual outdoor cafes, exquisite lounges and extreme clubs and an entire universe of entertainment options, from art galleries to live theater to trekking through history.

But the Art Deco District — on the National Register of Historic Places — is still going strong as one of Miami’s most popular attractions. You can explore it on guided walking tours offered by the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL), a nonprofit organization recognized as the oldest Art Deco Society in the world and devoted to preserving the area’s architectural heritage.

In addition to the 90-minute walking tours that depart daily from the Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive, the MDPL also offers private guided tours — or visitors may go out on their own with a self-guided audio tour.

For a unique perspective on Miami Beach, the MDPL’s Gay & Lesbian Walking Tour combines Local architecture with an exploration of how gays and lesbians have contributed to Miami Beach’s development, and the role they continue to play in shaping the city’s future. Other facets of the area are explored on the Jewish Miami Beach Tour, which looks at the rise (and fall) of the Jewish population on Miami Beach over the past 100 years.

The MDPL also explores Miami Beach’s other architectural styles, including Miami Modern (MiMo), which is defined by asymmetry, cheese-hole cutouts and futuristic forms, a style associated with the 1950s and most common in Mid-Beach and points north.

Not in the mood to walk? Get rolling with DecoBike, a bicycle sharing and rental program featuring a thousand custom bikes accessible at dozens of rental and sharing stations across Miami Beach, 24 hours a day. Bikes are checked out on an hourly basis and may be returned to any bike station.

Many of the striking buildings in Miami Beach house fascinating museums, including the Bass Museum of Art in South Beach, set within a beautiful coral rock Art Deco structure. The museum boasts a stunning permanent collection of Antiquities, Renaissance and Baroque art, and boasts Florida’s only Egyptian gallery, whose 16 objects include a sarcophagus and mummy.

For something intriguing and provocative, South Beach’s World Erotic Art Museum is home to the largest collection of erotic art in the country — more than 4,000 works of international art in a private collection that spans the centuries from 300 B.C. to the present day.

Also in South Beach, a dramatic Spanish Baroque building is home to the Wolfsonian- Florida International University, whose works are themed around American and European decorative and fine arts produced between 1885 and 1945, from the height of the Industrial Revolution to the end of the Second World War.More than 120,000 objects represent a variety of media, including furniture, works in glass, ceramics, metal, paintings and textiles.

Meanwhile, South Beach’s Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU is housed in two beautifully restored, side-by-side synagogues, while the Holocaust Memorial is identified by the visually stunning image of a giant sculpted hand, reaching toward the skies.

In addition to such noteworthy museums, South Beach is distinguished by its many art galleries, which can be found nearly everywhere but tend to concentrate around the Lincoln Road area, home of Britto Central — headquarters of Brazilian pop artist superstar Romero Britto — as well as Art Center/South Florida, providing subsidized studio space to artists in all stages of career development.

If the great outdoors beckon, feel free to answer at the seashore that lines Miami Beach.

Stop in at one of many parks, where activities like kite-making, tennis and picnicking will complement your day in the sun. Find all three at Haulover Park just north of Bal Harbour, home to six lighted tennis courts, a lovely stretch of sand with picnic tables and a biannual kite festival.

Farther south, Normandy Isle Park offers basketball courts, a soccer field and a lap pool.In South Beach, South Pointe Park welcomes bicycling and skateboarding, while a tot lot keeps the little ones happy.

Miami Shopping

Hip shoppers looking for cool retail head directly to Greater Miami’s hottest address — South Beach.Lincoln Road is one of the nation’s first pedestrianonly malls, a brisk hub of window-shoppers, dog-walkers, baby-toting parents and rollerbladers, all streaming past national retailers, one-of-a-kind boutiques and art galleries.

Originally planned as the “Fifth Avenue of the South,” Lincoln Road has surpassed that designation with its only-in-Miami style — sandals and bathing suits are OK. Year-round balmy weather allows shoppers to enjoy a pit stop at one of many outdoor cafes, where the people-watching is as good as the food.

Blocks away, in the heart of the Art Deco District, big-name boutiques are tucked beside the restaurants and clubs along Collins Avenue, South Beach’s designer district. The height of cool is waiting in the shops of Ocean Drive, where models and mere mortals browse for the latest looks and accessories, while Europeanflavored Española Way offers a respite from the action with laid-back cafes, a weekend craft market and charming stores selling hand-made jewelry and one-of-a-kind clothing. Nearby Washington Avenue celebrates the SoBe vibe with the latest club wear as well as designer and vintage fashions. To learn more about the exciting shopping options in South Beach, visit DiscoverMiamiBeach.com.

Miami Dining & Nightlife

Between the beaches, the attractions and the shopping, visitors to Miami Beach have a full plate.But there’s much more on the menu here, found in local restaurants whose cuisine reflects the many influences that converge in Miami — the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Asia and even the Everglades.

Dining is an event in South Beach, where outdoor cafes combine people watching with ocean breezes and creative cuisine that includes everything from light sushi rolls to a full-on, fourcourse French masterpiece.

You might linger over French/Mediterranean cuisine at Bâoli Miami, set on the north end of South Beach and offering an intimate, quiet atmosphere. Nearby, Mr. Chow in the W Hotel serves authentic and aromatic Asian specialties in a signature interior of screens, black lacquer furniture and striking artwork.

On South Beach’s southern end, two acclaimed steakhouses continue to draw hungry crowds:

Smith & Wollensky, serving up the juiciest prime steaks along with a variety of seafood favorites; and Red, the Steakhouse, whose eclectic menu includes a range of steaks — all aged, certified Angus beef — as well as savory chops and mouthwatering seafood and pasta dishes.

For something on the lighter side, Sushi SoBe in the Loews Miami Beach Hotel boasts traditional sushi favorites combined with a full menu of cooked items, all created with a signature South Beach flair.

If you can’t decide on just one spot, try a tasting tour of South Beach with Miami Food Tours. The three-hour “Tour Des Forks” walk spotlights five of the area’s best restaurants and cafes — including a Kosher ice cream factory — With samplings and sips at every stop.

Similarly, Miami Culinary Tours offers a South Beach Food Tour that introduces a “melting pot of cultures,” including Colombian, Argentinean, Cuban, Italian and Peruvian cuisine. Both tour companies also highlight the history and architectural importance of the Art Deco District, with unique insights into how Miami Beach became the food capital it is today.

In Mid-Beach, new and revamped restaurants have energized the dining scene, including Scarpetta, Hakkasan and Gotham Steak at the Fontainebleau and 1500 Degrees at the Eden Roc.Meanwhile, old favorites in Mid-Beach like The Forge continue to draw new generations of diners.Farther north and clustered around 71st Street are Restaurants featuring the cuisine of South America — including Peru, Uruguay and Brazil, with Italian, Chinese and Dominican in the mix.

But don’t expect dinner to end the day in Miami Beach, because after a fabulous meal, the night is still young at scores of clubs, bars and lounges across the area. For many visitors and celebrities South Beach is party central — the velvet rope everyone wants to cross, humming with club action until sunrise. The iconic image of Ocean Drive lit up in neon splendor is still going strong, and the energy is nonstop at places like Mango’s, featuring the famed Cuban Conga Show. West of Ocean Drive, dozens of clubs keep the beat along Collins and Washington; among them, Bamboo Miami Beach, featuring dance shows and a VIP patio, and farther north, Mynt Lounge, a favorite among the famous and fabulous.

Meanwhile, the curtain is rising on concerts, comedy and theater at a number of Miami Beach performance venues, including the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater and the Colony Theatre, an Art Deco Gem dating back to 1934.

Nearby, another venue recently took its place among the great cultural icons of Miami Beach — the New World Center, a Frank Gehry-designed building that is home base to the New World Symphony (NWS). Called America’s Orchestral Academy, the NWS is headed by founder and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas, and has earned international acclaim for launching its graduates into leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles around the world. Symphonic and chamber concerts are performed here on a regular basis.

New Resident Checklist

Cable Television
Atlantic Broadband Telephone: 305-861-1564.
Charter

DIRECTV
Toll- free phone number: 1-855-463-7359

Electricity Florida Power & Light (FP&L)
Apply for service by calling 305-442-8770/(TTY 800-432-6554)
To report a hazardous condition call 800-4OUTAGE (468-8243)

Gas Teco Peoples Gas
Telephone: 305-940-0139 or 1-877 TECO PGS (1-877-832-6747)

Pet Licenses
Telephone: 305-884-1101 ext. 222

Garage Sales
Rules and Permit information

Utility Services
Refuse/sewer/water services
Call City of Miami Beach Utilities Services at 305-673-7440. Homeowners, and possibly renters, need to establish a County utilities account for these services.

Public School Student Registration
Parents should enroll school-age children as soon as they arrive in the City of Miami Beach. For initial entry into Miami-Dade County Public Schools, all students have the option of registering: (1) at a school on the basis of the actual residence of the parent or legal guardian in the attendance area of the school as approved by the Board, or (2) at a New Student Reception Center. Telephone: 305-995-1334

Telephone
AT&T

Vehicle Registration
New Florida residents must register their vehicles within 30 days after becoming a resident in Florida. You may title your vehicle in Florida and register for state license plates at Miami-Dade County Auto Tag Agency, 140 West Flagler Street #1203, Miami, Florida 33130. For complete details, telephone them at 305-375-5678.

There are several Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Office located throughout Miami-Dade County.
15555 Biscayne Blvd. North Dade Justice Building
Telephone: 305-229-6333.

Voter Registration
If you are a new Florida resident, you must register in order to be able to vote in Florida. If you moved to Miami Beach from another State of Florida jurisdiction, you must transfer your voter registration to Miami-Dade County. Both tasks may be accomplished at the Miami-Dade County Office of Elections, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. 1st St., 19th Floor, Miami, Fl., 33128. You must register at least 29 days before an election.

Miami-Dade County Telephone: 305-375-5553

State of Florida Telephone: 850-245-6240

Acceptance of Passport Applications
The City of Miami Beach Finance Office located at 1755 Meridian Avenue, First Floor, accepts passport applications Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM only, excluding holidays.