Miami has quietly become one of the great art cities in the world, and not just for one week in December. Between world-class museums, immersive experiences, and entire neighborhoods built around art, there is something here year-round.
Some of Miami’s best art is outdoors. The Design District blends luxury shopping with public art and galleries, and Wynwood and its famous Wynwood Walls are an open-air museum of murals.
Every December, Art Basel Miami Beach turns the whole city into a global art capital, with fairs, installations, and parties everywhere. It is spectacular, and it books up, but the beauty of Miami is that the galleries, museums, and street art are here all year. For where to stay and play, see my Miami staycation guide.
Art Basel week is a different animal. Hotels can run three to five times their normal rate and sell out by late summer, and the satellite fairs plus the VIP-preview timing need a real plan or you spend the week stuck in traffic missing the best of it. This is my city, and I build the week so you are in the right place at the right hour.
During Art Basel especially, the right hotel and the right list of what to see make all the difference, and it sells out fast. I plan it, in English or Español.
Air and Space, Natural History, African American History and Culture, and how to prioritize.
Read the guide →The Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, the Field Museum, and the lakefront Museum Campus.
Read the guide →The Isabella Stewart Gardner, the MFA, the Museum of Science, and the aquarium.
Read the guide →