Holiday rentals in Miami Beach

Home to the most famous Art Deco architectural district in the world and a thriving LGBTQ community, Miami Beach is as colourful and stylish as it gets. During the day, the 1940s facades that dominate the skyline pop almost cartoonishly against the blue Floridian sky. At night, their smooth curved lines light up with neon, the perfect backdrop to the city’s long nights.

The South Beach boardwalk and Ocean Drive are famous for their joggers and posers, while Lincoln Road (once called the Fifth Avenue of the South) is an ideal people-watching spot. But the beaches and neighbourhoods become quieter and less exhibitionist the further north you venture, from the relaxed hangouts of North Beach and its increasingly popular Ocean Terrace to the tiny local community of Surfside.

If you’re looking for pleasant temperatures, then spring — between March and May — is an excellent time to visit, when it’s always warm but never too hot. Summer can be humid, and includes the perennial threat of hurricanes. Visitors flock here in the winter to escape the cold, prompting many major events, including the world-renowned five-day art fair Art Basel Miami Beach, in December. The International Boat Show in February offers the spectacular sight of 1,400 vessels lining the glittering bay. The South Beach Food and Wine Festival (February), the Winter Party Festival (March), and the World Polo League (April) are other notable draws.

Española Way

With its pavement cafes and rustic villas, this pedestrianized side street, tucked away from the bustle of South Beach’s major thoroughfares, has the feel of an antique Spanish village. Look closer, and the architecture sports a wide range of influences — Moroccan, Italian, French — as do the restaurants that have made it so popular. From trattorias to tapas bars, Brazilian steakhouses to izakaya restaurants — you could eat out on this block every day and never get bored.

1111 Lincoln Road

Meet the coolest parking garage in the world. Designed by renowned Swiss architects, the open-ended multi-storey structure looks a little like an accordion in the process of being squeezed. Even if you don’t have a car of your own, you’ll want to pause and gawp on your way up Lincoln Road’s famous stretch of shops. Note: It looks even better lit up at night.

North Beach Bandshell

Hosting open-air performances from folk to classical, jazz to rock, this 1961 amphitheater in North Beach is a venue of which the local community is rightly proud. A piece of mid-century modern perfection, it has been recently updated with a swooping canopy, and is a wonderfully romantic place to get in some dancing under the open sky.