The city of
Miami covers a large area but there are not that many places worth visiting. That makes choosing your excursions easier.
One of those places worth seeing is
downtown Miami. Since beginning of 2013 construction has been frantic and almost all of the projects halted because of the financial crisis have been restarted. By 2016 thousands of apartments, office spaces, hotels and shops will be added to this downtown area that's already crowded.
They boast that downtown Miami is going to be
Manhattan-II with lots of high-rise living spaces and office buildings. I wish we had 1/4th of the Manhattan Public Transportation system. Now remember that Miami and, in fact, all of South Florida is flat. Due to the risk of flooding there are no underground parking garages and no subways. The only means of public transportation you have in the downtown area is a picturesque bus decorated as an old tram and an air train. The good news is that both offer free rides for everybody.
Well, if you want a free sighting tour, the best option is the air train called known locally as the
Metromover. You can get on and off any time you like. It has no driver -it's remotely controlled- and at one point goes
as high as a 7 floors when crossing the
Miami River.
Best views are offered by the
Brickell Loop, that goes south to SW 14th Street and then back. Watch out! The signaling system of the stations is the most confusing I've seen in the U.S. and since Miami has plenty of tourists you can at any time observe a bunch of them totally at a loss trying to get on the correct train.
Practical Tips
Distance from Roseaire:
Drive 56 miles -one hour- to Biscayne Boulevard in downtown. Park on the surface public parking lot by the Metromover any point between NE 5th Street and SE 1st Street. For less walking, better if you find a spot between NE 1st and SE 1st Streets.
Map
Alternative: Take the Tri-Rail from Delray Beach, transfer to Metrorail arriving Miami and then to Metromover at Government Station.
Metromover: Aerial Ride Sightseeing Miami Downtown.
Official Map. Notice that both Omni Loop and
Brickell Loop share some stations in the loop and both go
counterclockwise. The Inner Loop has just a few stations and always goes
clockwise -that's across the platform.
Special points of interest:
Nicest scenic view is at its highest point when it crosses the
Miami River between Riverwalk Station and Fifth Street. Also it's scenic around
Bayfront Park Station, overseeing the bay.
Possible Combos:
Two museums are near stations: the
History Miami Museum -near Government Station- and
Perez Art Miami Museum, a contemporary art museum next to Omni Loop Museum Park station. A third museum by this same station, the
Museum of Science will open in 2015.
In the Loop there is a nice
Catholic Church that is the oldest of all South Florida:
Gesu. It is one block west of the Metromover's
Third Street Station. It's usually closed in the afternoons since all Masses are in the morning.
Lunch: There are many restaurants in the area, especially west of Bayfront Park Station, in the Mary Brickell area west of 8th-10th Street Station, and Brickell Ave, north of Financial District Station.
However, my favorite place for lunch is
Bayside, which is by the bay across College/Bayside Station. It's a market full of colorful, small souvenir shops that has a food court on the second floor. Since the tables are shared, you can buy lunch there at one of the over-the-counter restaurants, or take your pack lunch with you. If seating is available, you can also eat at one of the tables on the 2nd floor outdoors gallery and enjoy a beautiful view of the boats in the harbor.
If you get lost. The
street naming system in Miami is very simple and helpful: North-South streets are avenues. East-West streets are streets. Street names are numbers that start at 1 from Flagler Str. with numbers growing to the North and to the South. Avenues are numbered starting at Miami Avenue growing going both East and West. That makes four quadrants that are called NE, NW, SW and SE. Each block has 100 potential addresses, so that 4415 SW 88th Ave is on the 88th Ave, between 44th and 45th Streets, Southwest part.
Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil together with John D. Rockefeller. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida, and founded the city of Palm Beach.
The Overseas Railroad (a.k.a. Florida Overseas Railroad and the Overseas Extension) was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, located 128 miles (206 kilometers) beyond the end of the Florida peninsula. Work on the line started in 1905 and was completed in 1912; the line was in daily passenger and freight service until its destruction by a hurricane in 1935.
When Whitehall, Henry Flagler's Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was completed in 1902, the New York Herald proclaimed that it was "more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world." Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as the Flagler Museum, featuring guided tours, changing exhibits, and special programs. Visiting areas are First Floor, Second Floor and Pavilion.