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The Art Deco District along Ocean Drive in South Beach has the world's largest collection of Art Deco architecture, with over 800 historic buildings. At sunset, the pastel-coloured hotel facades glow in neon – nowhere else does it look like this. During the day, guided walks by the Miami Design Preservation League run through the neighborhood.
The stretch of beach on 12th Street at Ocean Drive has always been South Beach's queer meeting place. With rainbow flags and a relaxed atmosphere, it's the ideal place to soak up the sun, meet people and soak up the famous Miami Beach lifestyle. The location between the bars and cafes of the Art Deco District can't be beat.
The Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is an Italian Renaissance-style villa, once the winter residence of industrialist James Deering. Located right on Biscayne Bay, it is filled with antique European furniture and art. The artfully landscaped gardens with fountains, sculptures and water views look like a piece of Europe in the middle of Miami.
The Wynwood Walls transformed an old warehouse district into a world-famous open-air street art museum. More than 35 large-scale murals by renowned artists cover the walls and alleys, as well as galleries, hip restaurants and bars. The surrounding blocks around NW 2nd Avenue are free to explore and photograph.
Gay attractions in Miami will take you mostly through South Beach, where queer history and Art Deco architecture intersect. As early as 1972, the city's first organized Gay Pride Week took place on Lincoln Road, long before the neighborhood became a tourist magnet. The famous cityscape itself is also closely linked to the scene: The openly gay designer Leonard Horowitz was a co-founder of the Miami Design Preservation League and designed the pastel colors that still give the Art Deco buildings on Ocean Drive their appearance today. A good place to start for queer travelers is Gay Beach on 12th Street, the most visible waterfront community hangout.
Culture can be found around the O Cinema South Beach, which also houses an LGBT visitor center in its historic building. In spring and fall, the OUTshine Film Festival, one of Florida's oldest queer film festivals, runs here. The highlight of the year is Miami Beach Pride, which has been held since 2009 and whose parade moves along Ocean Drive in April, from 5th to 14th Street. Hardly any other major Pride runs along a beach promenade full of Art Deco facades. If you want to learn more about the past, take time to walk through the Art Deco district. The following locations will take you to the most important stations in the city's queer history.