| Miami has long been a premier tourist destination, acclaimed for its physical beauty and its excellent climate. Year round, the fabled white-sand beaches and clear blue waters lapping Miami Beach have beckoned visitors to America’s ‘Riviera’. Others are lured by Miami’s world-class shopping and cosmopolitan dining, its international culture and legendary nightlife. Miami’s diverse neighbourhoods offer a range of activities, from cultural to sporting. Residential Coral Gables is known for its examples of architectural elegance, including the Biltmore Hotel, Fairchild Tropical Garden and the incomparable Venetian Pool, while the bustling Bayside harbour complex in Downtown Miami offers boat excursions. The distinctly Latin district of Little Havana, home to the city’s huge Cuban population, has cigar-making shops and is the place to be in March for the lively Calle Ocho Festival. Over in Miami Beach, South Beach is one of the most-visited neighbourhoods, famed for its pastel and stainless steel Art Deco buildings, where the legendary Ocean Drive boulevard is fringed by Miami’s trendiest sidewalk boutiques, bars and restaurants – the favourite haunts of such local celebrities as Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Ricky Martin and Donatella Versace. |