Miami International Airport (tel 305/876-7000) is six miles west of the city. A cab from the airport should cost around $24, or you can take one of the 24-hour SuperShuttle minivans, which will deliver you to any address in Miami for $9-15 (tel 305/871-2000, ). From the airport, take the #7 Metrobus to downtown, a trip of 30 minutes or so ($1.25, exact fare required; every 40min Mon-Fri 5.30am-8.30pm, Sat & Sun 7am-7pm), or the 'J' Metrobus ($1.25 plus a 25¢ surcharge to South Beach; every 30min daily 5.30am-11.30pm) to Miami Beach farther on. If you arrive late at night, the Airport Owl shuttle runs in a loop through South Beach, downtown and back to the airport ($1.25; once hourly, 11.50pm-5.50am). Greyhound's Miami West station is a short cab ride from the airport, while the other major terminal is downtown at 100 W 6th St (tel 305/374-6180 or 1-800/231-2222, ). The Amtrak station, 8303 NW 37th Ave, is seven miles northwest. To get downtown or to Coconut Grove or Coral Gables from here, take Metrobus #L to the Metrorail, eight blocks away.

A good place for information and maps is the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau , 1920 Meridian Ave (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; tel 305/672-1270, ). In South Beach, at the Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Drive (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; tel 305/672-2014, ), the Miami Beach Art Deco Preservation League has details on walking tours and events, and a great line in retro gifts.

Ocean Drive
South Beach's finest Art Deco showpiece with cosmopolitan cafés, flashy vintage cars and wannabe models.

Little Havana
Lunch on Cuban specialties and café con leche in this Hispanic enclave.

Fairchild Tropical Gardens
Fairchild Tropical Gardens' acres of rare tropical plants, flowering trees and sleepy vines are a perfect setting for a picnic or solo meditation.

Joe's Stone Crabs
Expensive but absolutely worth it, world-famous Joe's is known for its succulent stone crab claws and the best key lime pie you'll have in Florida.

Villa Vizcaya
Erected in the 1910s, the mock sixteenth-century Italian Villa Vizcaya - complete with sculpture gardens and elaborate fountains - is Miami's answer to Versailles.

Venetian Pool
In Coral Gables, the waterfalls and underwater caves of this quarry-turned-luxurious swimming pool provide a great break from the heat and the salty Atlantic.

The Wolfsonian
The superb Wolfsonian museum houses 70,000 pieces of American and European knickknacks - including antique books and posters - produced between 1885 and 1945.

•  Coconut Grove

•  Coral Gables

•  Downtown Miami

•  Key Biscayne

•  Little Havana

•  Miami Beach