South Beach / Art Deco Historic District
South Beach / Miami Beach Architectural District
Colorful lifeguard towers, white sand beaches and more than 800 pastel Art Deco hotels along Ocean Drive make this Miami's most recognizable scene.
South Beach (SoBe) is the area between 5th and 23rd Streets at the southern tip of Miami Beach. To the east lies a wide white-sand beach. To the west is the world's largest cluster of Art Deco architecture, with about 800 pastel-colored hotels and apartments built in the 1920s and 1940s. The entire district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The heart of the area is Ocean Drive. Hotels such as the Park Central, The Colony and The Carlyle have neon façades that look their best after sunset. The Gianni Versace residence at 1114 Ocean Drive, now a restaurant and hotel, is where the designer was shot. The parallel Collins Avenue has more hotels. Lincoln Road, a pedestrian mall, is the center for shopping and cafés, and Española Way is a small street with a Spanish flavor. The more than 30 colorful lifeguard towers, each with a different design, are an iconic photo spot. You can rent a beach chair with umbrella (about 30–40 USD per day) to relax in the sun. South Pointe Park, at the southern tip, offers views of cruise ships leaving port and the city skyline. The Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) visitor center at 1001 Ocean Drive offers a 90-minute Art Deco walking tour daily (about 30 USD for adults). You can also explore on your own with a map. Getting there: take Metrobus 120 or 150 from downtown, or an Uber, which takes about 20 minutes. The free Trolley loop connects the neighborhoods within South Beach. Parking is scarce and expensive, so it's best not to drive. Notes: lifeguards leave at 5 p.m. Do not go into the water when red or purple flags (jellyfish) are up. Restaurants on Ocean Drive often have aggressive touts and high-priced traps, so check prices and whether the tip is already included before ordering. Nightclubs don't get busy until after midnight on weekends.
Opening hours
Beach 05:00-24:00; MDPL Visitor Centre 09:30-17:00
Nearby sights
- Española Way
- Lincoln Road
- The Wolfsonian–FIU
- Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
- South Pointe Park
- Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
- Bayside Marketplace / Downtown Miami
- Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science