MIAMI - THE MAGIC CITY

Miami is one of the youngest cities in the U.S., having been founded in 1896. In the intervening century it has become one the biggest tourist destinations in the country, as well as home to a large Cuban population that has come here to escape oppression that is just 90 miles away. Now, Miami is as culturally diverse as any other big American city and offers much to see and do in some of the finest weather around (assuming you avoid the hurricanes!).

Miami is best known for Miami Beach, but it should be noted that these are separate municipalities that are completely different. Miami's downtown has skyscrapers and two elevated train lines, while Miami Beach seems unchanged since the 1950s with its pastel-coloured Art Deco hotels and white-sand beaches. But there is more to this area than just the beach - several neighborhoods are famous on their own merits - Little Havana, Coral Gables, and Coconut Grove, to name just a few. Just southwest of Miami lies the Florida Keys, the best scuba diving spot on the mainland.  

Downtown and palm trees

In the last 15 years, Miami has become one of a growing number of cities with four pro sports teams - although the Dolphins have been members of the NFL for years (the only team to ever go undefeated for a season in 1972), the other teams are all relative newcomers. The Miami Heat joined the NBA in 1988, while the Florida Panthers became the NHL's southernmost team in 1993, the same year the Marlins made their MLB debut. This shows just how important Miami has become in the last 20 years. Now considered the new Ellis Island of America, Miami is the first big city that many immigrants see. Not surprisingly, many of them don't bother to go anywhere else - Miami has it all.

Our impressions: Miami is hot and humid, which makes it a perfect place to relax and enjoy yourself. You really can't see more than one thing in one day; after a few minutes walking you want to sit down and enjoy a drink in one of the bars. After driving across the south in just over a week, we needed a place like Miami, where there is a lot to do, and not much to see.

The Bayside Marketplace is a great place to cool down - seaside eateries combine with shops and a few tourist traps, as well as Bayfront Park so that you can wander around and see a number of different things without having to walk far.

View from Bayside

Tourist attractions here are spread out, and a car is necessary to get to most of them. Miami does have a number of transit systems, of particular interest is the Metromover, a downtown elevated train that only costs 25 cents and scoots you to a number of different stops. But getting to the suburbs can be painful, so we suggest keeping an air-conditioned car handy.

Miami Beach is great for a day or two, but beyond that would seem to be a bit boring. Ocean Drive is not as big or as lively as we expected, although this is no doubt due to our visiting in August. There are some clothing-optional beaches for those of you who dislike tan lines, but the swimming wasn't as good as we had hoped.

Freedom tower

Traffic in Miami seemed fine, we had no problems - Miami is the starting point for I-95 which will take you all the way to the Canadian border and is probably the busiest highway in the U.S. 

We expected to see a lot more tension in the air, given what we had heard about the ethnic relations here, but there wasn't anything along those lines. Of course, we spent most of our time in the tourist spots, but still found the people here to be very friendly and easygoing.

Overall, Miami is a lot of fun, and a perfect place to relax. We would like to come back in the winter to see some of the other sporting events, as well as to enjoy more of the beach without the humidity. But we recommend Miami as a great place to visit, but seeing a game at Pro Player is probably something that can be safely avoided.