CONNECT WITH SOBE LIFE

As the one of the world's elite playgrounds, Miami Beach promises something for everyone, whether an arts enthusiast, foodie, shopaholic, socialite or sun worshipper, there are plenty of options for living, business and fun. Here's a taste of what life in South Beach has to offer...

Entertainment

Local & International Cuisine

South Beach is the engine that drives tourism and entertainment in South Florida, with celebrities, hip hoppers and supermodels all bumping shoulders with visitors from the Midwest. One of the favorite past times is to people watch while sipping a latte at Starbucks on Lincoln Road or drinking a caipirinha at The Tides on Ocean Drive. Some prowl the nightclubs, parties and hotel scenes.

The Lincoln Road Mall, a pedestrian outdoor esplanade, is lined with funky shops, art galleries, sidewalk cafes, bars and restaurants. It should not be missed, especially on weekends and cool evenings when the locals come out and the suburbanites flock to the Beach. Step In to the Art Center on the corner of Meridian to enjoy local art and galleries, jump over to Lucky Strike Lanes on Michigan to roll a few balls, or go upstairs to hear live jazz or R&B at the Van Dyke Café seven nights a week.

Another favorite tourist and local hangout is the eclectic Historic Espanola Way. Visit this outdoor Spanish themed street to check out the coolest hostel in the nation and enjoy classic Italian food, Spanish tapas, the Miami Cinematique or an authentic crepe at A La Folie.

We do have several other major venues for entertainment in South Beach, including the New World Symphony, Carlyle Theater, the Fillmore at The Jackie Gleason Theater, just too mention a few. The best suggestion we can make to any traveler or new resident of Miami Beach is to just ask around. Locals are very friendly and open.

SITES OF INTEREST

Arts & Culture

The Bass Museum

With the tremendous growth and success of Art Basel Miami Beach, local artists and new galleries have enjoyed a meteoric rise in the past few years. Our art scene has blossomed from a sleepy resort town to an improbable cultural oasis. There are many areas to view Miami's art scene, which is primarily centered just north of downtown in the Design District and the once abandoned Wynwood Art District. With over seventy local and international galleries, from Fredric Snitzer, Kevin Bruk and Emmanuel Perrotin, to small galleries such as Twenty Twenty Project or private collections at the Sagamore Hotel, there is much to offer at this non-stop art party.

Even if you missed the special exhibitions, parties and crossover events during Art Basel, you will find that art and happenings are everywhere in this city. If you're on South Beach, check out the Bass Museum of Art, Holocaust Memorial, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, an opera at the Colony Theater, or take a stroll down Espanola Way to check some contemporary art.

SITES OF INTEREST

Recreation

Lifeguard Station South Beach

South Beach is famous for its wide sandy beaches, warm tropical water, year round sunshine, and non-stop action. Whether you are a Miami native playing in your city's backyard, a snowbird, or a sun-seeking adventurer, our beaches are guaranteed to stimulate you. If you wish to bare it all, visit the beach at Haulover Park between Sunny Isles Beach and Bal Harbour. Love to play Brazilian footvolley, hang with the locals or surf? Check out the area between First and Fourth streets.

We have plenty of local recreational activities from paddle surfing the waves of South Beach, kite-surfing on Biscayne Bay, wind surfing off Virginia Key, playing a round of golf at the Miami Beach Golf Club, yoga on the beach, or simply go on a fishing charter to catch dolphin, billfish or tarpon. Alternatively, if you wish to hang with some of the locals, then visit Flamingo Park (11^th to 14^th Streets and Meridian Ave) on the weekend to catch a game of soccer, softball, tennis or enjoy our swimming pool facility.

When you visit our beaches, be open and prepared to have fun, as here you will see parties, people, voyeurs, and thrill seekers like nowhere else in the American Riviera.

SITES OF INTEREST

History of Miami Beach

Ocean Drive Hotel

Miami Beach started out as a plantation tract for coconuts when two entrepreneurs Henry and Charles Lum purchased 160 acres of what is now South Beach. Their little agricultural scheme, however, failed and the land passed on to the hands of John Collins, the New Jersey Quaker who planted the first groves in Florida. With the city of Miami across the Biscayne Bay already bustling with life, many entrepreneurs recognized the potential of Miami Beach as a residential boomtown. In the year 1912, the Lumnus brothers found the Ocean Beach Realty Company in Miami Beach and the first wave of construction began.

The following years saw rapid development on Miami Beach with the "longest wagon bridge in the world" - the Collins Bridge being constructed and the opening of various restaurants on the oceanfront, which included the infamous Joe's Stone Crab. The first hotel in Miami Beach, the W. J. Brown, opened its doors to customers in 1914 and with it Miami Beach has definitively arrived on the traveling scene in the United States.

In the 1996, the city of Miami Beach celebrated one hundred years of existence as an independent, self-sustaining tropical paradise. It its existence, the city has seen two world wars, the elegance and extravagance of the nations golden age - the 1920's, and the tragedy of the Great Economic Depression. Places such as the Art Deco National Historic District, the Cauley Square Village and the St Bernard de Clairvaux Church are just a few reminder of its rich and varied heritage. The real history of Miami Beach is filled in the souls of its people.

SITES OF INTEREST

Schools

The Lincoln Center

According to Sperling's Best Places, Miami Beach schools spend $5,755 per student. There are 19 pupils per teacher, 623 students per librarian, and 370 children per counselor. If you're looking for an outstanding elementary school, consider South Pointe Elementary School, where parents rate it five out of five stars and rave about the teachers, arts, music and after school programs. Are you thinking about other educational opportunities in the arts or languages? Check out the Miami Ad School in Miami Beach for graphic design, fashion photography, copywriting or art direction, or, the EF International Language School at 24^th Street and Collins Avenue for excellent language learning or cultural exchange programs.