The famous Art Deco District runs along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, facing the Atlantic Ocean from about 15th to 5th Street. The entire district is in the National Register of Historic Places, built between the 1920s and 1943. The Art Deco District has been completely restored, and has become the place to see and be seen in the greater Miami area. At 1001 Ocean Drive is the Art Deco Welcome Center, open every day with a souvenir gift shop. Several Art Deco walking tours are offered here, taking people to the most famous of the Art Deco District hotels.
Miami Beach is easily reached from Downtown Miami, the Port of Miami, or the Airport across the McArthur Causeway or the Julia Tuttle Causeway. It’s easy to combine a cruise with a stopover at Miami.
Many Miami Beach Attractions
Across the street is a public beach which extends well beyond the Art Deco District, southward to the famous South Beach, and northward beyond Ocean Drive along Collins Avenue. A few blocks north of Ocean Drive is the Lincoln Road mall, a pedestrian mall that goes back many years, which extends for about eight blocks from Washington Avenue on the east to Alton Road on the west side. Along Lincoln Road there are several boutiques, shops and fine restaurants.
The South Beach District at the south end of Miami Beach has a youthful party town atmosphere, with several popular night spots open all night every night. The Art Deco District also has a youthful crowd, but many foreign families find this a delightful spot, so many languages can be heard along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue. Some Collins Avenue hotels in the Art Deco District have been converted into condominiums which are offered as weekly rentals to visitors. Many ethnic restaurants are located nearby.
Getting around Collins Avenue
Among the largest and most famous of the Collins Avenue hotels are the Fountainebleau and the Eden Roc. They are much larger than Art Deco District hotels. Collins Avenue is the major north to south traffic artery along Miami Beach, and traffic can get heavy at times. It is easy to visit without a car however, as taxis and public transportation is plentiful within Miami Beach and to Miami.
