Tour the Art Deco District

If you're touring this unique neighborhood on your own, start at the Art Deco Welcome Center ( 1001 Ocean Dr - tel. 305/531-3484 ). The center gives away lots of informational material, including maps and pamphlets, and runs guided tours about the neighborhood. Art Deco books (including The Art Deco Guide, an informative compendium of all the buildings here), T-shirts, postcards, mugs, and other paraphernalia are for sale.

A two-hour bike tour of the Art Deco District in SoBe leaves from the Miami Beach Bicycle Center (601 5th St., Miami Beach  305/674-0150) at 10:30 AM on the third Sunday of each month. This tour costs $20 with a rental bike and $10 with your own bike. Call ahead to confirm.

Attractions of the Art Deco District & South Beach Florida

Take a stroll through South Beach's Art Deco District and explore Lincoln Road-lined with boutiques, large stores, cafes, and antiques stores. Or discover Ocean Drive's sidewalk cafes, bars and colorful hotels. South Beach is also home to wonderful museums such as the Bass Museum of Art and the Wolfsonian Museum.

The Art Deco District is marked by the pastel-hued buildings that line South Beach and Miami Beach. If you look carefully, you will see the intricacies and impressive craftsmanship that went into each building back in the day-which, in Miami's case, was the 1920s-1940s. Today, hundreds of new establishments-hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs-have renovated these older, historical buildings, making South Beach on the cutting edge of Miami's cultural and nightlife scene.

Other South Beach Points of Interest

Bass Museum of Art  ( 2121 Park Ave -1 block west of Collins Ave. - 305/673-7530) offers an overview of major European paintings, sculptures and textiles. The collection includes European art and decorative arts, as well as American, Asian and contemporary art. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary and historical art from throughout the world are also presented.

The Holocaust Memorial (starting at 1933 Meridian Avenue - 305/538-1663) is heart-wrenching and a "must see".  The powerful centerpiece, Kenneth Triester's Sculpture of Love & Anguish, depicts victims of the concentration camps crawling up a giant, yearning hand, stretching up to the sky, marked with an Auschwitz number tattoo. Along the reflecting pool is the story of the Holocaust, told in cut marble slabs.

Island Queen Cruises (401 Biscayne Boulevard 305/379-5119) Take a cruise around the scenic Biscayne Bay on this classic sightseeing tour boat. This popular South Beach attraction has been in operation for more than 35 years with daily narrated tours and nightly dance cruises.

Miami Beach Golf Club ( 2301 Alton Road - 305/532-3350) This beautiful green golf course sits in the middle of the contrasting city offering golfers first class golfing. Great turf and challenging courses bring visitors back again and again.

Sanford L. Ziff Jewish Museum (301 Washington Ave - 305/672-5044) presents a fascinating look at religion and culture through films, lectures, and exhibits such as "Passages: An Immigrant's Journey," featuring memorabilia, photos, and documents tracing the immigration to the United States of 24 families of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. The museum is housed in a former synagogue.

Wolfsonian ( 1001 Washington Ave - 305/531-1001) is the collection of Mitchell Wolfson Jr., containing propaganda and advertising art.  More than 70,000 of his items are on display-including unusual World's Fair findings. Thrown in the eclectic mix are also eccentric works from great modernists such as Charles Eames and Marcel Duchamp.

See all the attractions South Beach has to offer.Book your reservation at The Loft Hotel or Villa Paradiso - affordable, chic accommodations in South Beach.

Source: Frommer's South Florida including Miami and Keys, 3rd Edition