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The West Palm Beach skyline across the water with palms and a marina
West Palm Beach across the Intracoastal Waterway

Americas · United States

Miami & Palm Beach

Art Deco, Cuban coffee, royal palms on every avenue and a town literally named after them.

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Miami is a Latin American city that happens to be in the United States, with a beach of white sand in front and the Everglades behind. Art Deco hotels in South Beach, Cuban cafés in Little Havana, murals in Wynwood and the newest towers in Brickell all sit under royal palms. An hour north, Palm Beach is old money on a barrier island, and West Palm across the water has the restaurants. Winter is the season.

The palm: Royal palm

Palm Beach got its name in 1878 when a Spanish ship carrying 20,000 coconuts wrecked on the shore and the settlers planted them. Miami’s boulevards are lined with royal palms, the sabal palmetto is Florida’s state tree, and the Fairchild garden in Coral Gables holds one of the world’s great palm collections.

When to go

°Crainsea January: 24°C by day, 7 rainy days, sea 24°C24°February: 25°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 24°C25°March: 26°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 25°C26°April: 28°C by day, 6 rainy days, sea 26°C28°May: 30°C by day, 10 rainy days, sea 28°C30°June: 31°C by day, 15 rainy days, sea 29°C31°July: 32°C by day, 16 rainy days, sea 30°C32°August: 32°C by day, 17 rainy days, sea 30°C32°September: 31°C by day, 17 rainy days, sea 30°C31°October: 29°C by day, 12 rainy days, sea 29°C29°November: 27°C by day, 8 rainy days, sea 27°C27°December: 25°C by day, 7 rainy days, sea 25°C25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Typical daytime highs, rainy days per month (one drop is about four days) and sea temperature. Green bars are comfortable months, amber bars are hot or wet or cool, and the darker bars mark the best time to go.

Sights

Art Deco District

Eight hundred pastel buildings from the 1930s on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue.

Little Havana

Calle Ocho, domino park, cigar rollers and a cafecito at a ventanita.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Palms, cycads and rainforest in Coral Gables, with Vizcaya villa nearby.

Everglades National Park

Alligators, airboats and the Anhinga Trail an hour west of the city.

Beaches

  • South Beach

    Miami Beach’s famous strand, lifeguard towers and the Deco hotels behind.

  • Crandon Park

    Key Biscayne’s family beach with calm water and shade.

  • Palm Beach municipal beach

    Quiet sand below the Worth Avenue shops, an hour north.

Events

  • Dec

    Art Basel Miami Beach

    The art world descends in the first week of December.

  • Mar

    Ultra Music Festival

    Three days of electronic music in Bayfront Park in late March.

  • Mar

    Calle Ocho Festival

    The biggest Latin street party in the country, in Little Havana.

For remote workers

Internet5/5

A comfortable month: about €3,400

Miami has more coworking desks than most capitals and a winter population of remote workers from the north-east. Costs are high and the visa rules matter: most Europeans arrive under a 90 day waiver that does not allow working for a US employer, so check what your situation permits. Brickell and Wynwood are the districts with the desks.

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For families

Calm water4/5
Shade2/5
Medical care5/5

Crandon Park on Key Biscayne has a shallow, sheltered lagoon; South Beach has gentle surf and lifeguard towers in candy colours. Add the Everglades airboats, the Seaquarium and a day at Zoo Miami. Bring sun protection: Florida shade is mostly umbrella-shaped.

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Three things to know

  1. November to April is dry, 25 degrees and busy; summer is hot, humid and stormy with hurricane season from August to October.
  2. Rent a car unless you stay on Miami Beach; the metro and the free Metromover cover downtown only.
  3. Eat Cuban: a pan con bistec at lunch, stone crab in winter, a cafecito at three.

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