The original home of the Miami News, a now-defunct evening paper founded in 1896, the Freedom Tower has housed celebrities, refugees and iconic art over its 93-year history. La Torre de la Libertad, as it’s known in Spanish, was a beacon of hope for Cuban exiles fleeing the Castro regime throughout the 1960s and ’70s: Around this time, famed singer Celia Cruz left the island, and she would become one of the few people to have her funeral inside the property in 2003. The tower, considered the “Ellis Island of the South,” was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 2008, three years after Miami developers donated it to Miami Dade College.

The interior finally matched the exterior in 2012, when Terra Group developers donated the Mediterranean Revival–style property to Miami Dade College for its MDC Museum of Art + Design. The split-level facility houses a 15,000-square-foot art space, with exhibits on Cuban exiles and the diaspora as well as offices for the college’s large-scale community cultural programs—including Miami Film Festival and MDC Live Arts. Just as its walls honor those who sought refuge, the Freedom Tower’s facade is illuminated regularly (e.g., red for World AIDS Day) for causes that match the institution’s philanthropic and democratic values. To sum up, it is the Freedom Tower which is one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.

Website: mdcmoad.org/freedom-tower

Address: 600 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132

Phone: 305-237-7700

Entrance fee: Adult general admission $32, Senior $30, and Child $26

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

Pérez Art Museum Miami is a modern and contemporary art museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting international art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Established in 1984, the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) evolved from the Miami Art Museum, which grew out of the Center for the Fine Arts (CFA). The CFA opened to the public in 1984 as a partnership between Metropolitan Dade County Government and the Center for the Fine Arts Association Inc., a private 501(c) (3) corporation. In 1994, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the CFA's leadership determined to transform this County department from a space solely for temporary exhibitions into a private institution with a permanent collection dedicated to international art of the 20th and 21st centuries that reflected Greater Miami's diverse community and pivotal geographic location at the crossroads of the Americas.

High design and sleek throughout, the building's interior aesthetics really make the artwork on display shine brightest. Current exhibitions explore things like post-colonial condition and Africa and African-diaspora art. With a collection of works from such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Frank Stella and Ana Mendieta, not to mention some high-caliber traveling exhibitions, this relatively young museum (formerly Miami Art Museum) is worth a look. Family-friendly interactive programs bring art home: during free Second Saturday (of the month) programs, museum teachers lead families in hands-on activities inspired by the works on display, while Third Thursdays play host to evenings of music and entertainment.

Website: www.pamm.org

Address: 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132, United States

Phone: 305 375 3000

Entrance fee: $12–16

Google rating: 4.5/5.0

Built in 1954 by modernist god Morris Lapidus, whose dictum was "less is a bore," the Fontainebleau’s undulating curves and flashy style stood apart from the crowd. Back in the day, it was the pinnacle of excess: the lobby was a sea of chandeliers; a "staircase to nowhere" was built solely so that women could deposit their coats in the cloakroom at the top and make a grand entrance back down to the lobby; and air-conditioning was cranked up to protect all the mink coats. The Rat Pack, Elvis and Marilyn were regulars. After its fortunes began to fade, a consortium of architects joined forces to recapture its former glory and gave the most famous hotel in Miami Beach a billion-dollar facelift.

The Fontainebleau’s iconic pool area received a major renovation along with the hotel. There is a family pool and some adult options too. The Arkadia Day Club pool is for adults only and offers alcohol and a DJ. And within the last of couple years, Fontainebleau has been putting on some top-notch concerts at the pool in a running series known as BleauLive. The shows are scattered, but you’d be smart to set a Google alert because, when they are announced, tickets go fast.

Website: www.fontainebleau.com
Address: 4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140, United States
Phone: 800-548-8886

Entrance fee: N/A
Google rating: 4.3/5.0

The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building constructed in 1929, pre-dating the Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1997 as Sears, Roebuck and Company Department Store. And the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is also one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.

From the outside, the Arsht Center’s tiered architecture almost looks a bit like a wedding cake. Inside, the theater’s multiple floors jut out overhead to create a striking sense of depth. It’s a jaw-dropping building that makes finding your seats almost as fun as the show itself. The striking postmodern architecture alone makes it worth a visit. But the fact that it’s home to the Florida Grand Opera and the Miami City Ballet, and occasionally hosts the New World Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, doesn’t hurt either. Touring Broadway shows, musicals, world music and children’s shows also feature.

Website: www.arshtcenter.org

Address: 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132, United States

Phone: 305–949–6722

Entrance fee: $15

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

The Museum Garage is located in the Miami Design District, a neighborhood dedicated to innovative art, design and architecture. Featuring the work of five designers, the seven-story mixed-use structure will feature ground-floor retail spaces and capacity for 800 vehicles. For the project, In 2015, Design District developer Craig Robins, commissioned architect and curator Terence Riley to develop the concept for Museum Garage.

Bringing together these designers from around the world, Riley drew inspiration from the surrealist parlor game, Exquisite Corpse. Cadavre Exquis, as the game is known in French, involved a collection of images assembled by various artists with no regard or knowledge of what the other artists have drawn, producing one image whose components don’t necessarily match but flow together as one playful composition. Under Riley’s direction, each participating architect was eventually assigned an area and depth to build out and given free reign to create fully individual designs. The result is a unique modern, architectural version of the Exquisite Corpse. To sum up, the Museum Garage is known as one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.

Website: www.miamidesigndistrict.net

Address: At the corner of NE 1st Ave and NE 41st St, Miami, FL 33137, United States
Phone: +1 844-696-1776

Entrance fee: Free to look. Parking $3 for 4 hrs

Google rating: 4.6/5.0

The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, previously known as Villa Vizcaya, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present-day Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida. The early 20th-century Vizcaya estate also includes extensive Italian Renaissance gardens, native woodland landscape, and a historic village outbuildings compound. An Italian Renaissance-style villa and gardens set on Biscayne Bay, it was built by F Burrall Hoffman, Diego Suarez and Paul Chalfin for Chicagoan industrialist and committed Europhile James Deering from 1914 to 1916. And a wildly extravagant spot it is too.

Not only architecturally: the place is crammed with European antiques and works of decorative art spanning the 16th to the 19th centuries. All the furnishings at Vizcaya are just as they were in Deering’s time, including early versions of such amenities as a telephone switchboard, a central vacuum-cleaning system, elevators and fire sprinklers. The East Loggia looks out on to the bay, the exit guarded by a vast telescope. Off to the south stretch Vizcaya’s idyllic gardens, with fountains, pools, greenery, a casino and a maze. Strolling here on a quiet summer’s day can be magical (not surprisingly, it’s a popular spot for weddings). Another bonus is the café, which offers above-average lunches and, on Sundays, tea for two from 1pm to 4pm.

Website: vizcaya.org

Address: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33129, United States

Phone: 305-250-9133

Entrance fee: $0–18

Google rating: 4.7/5.0

The Olympia Theater is a theater located in Miami, Florida. Designed by John Eberson in his famed atmospheric style, the theater opened in 1926. Throughout its history, the venue has served as a movie theater, concert venue and performing arts center. In 1984, it received historical designation by the NRHP. The Olympia Theater and its sister venue, the Tampa Theatre are the only remaining atmospheric theatres in Florida. And this is also one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.

The atmospheric theater was built in 1926 and has somehow withstood time and wealthy developers to remain a true relic stuffed smack in the middle of Downtown Miami. Arrive early for any performance here to take in the Moorish architecture and simulated night sky. It’s truly a throwback experience you just don’t see anymore. Once a 1926 silent movie palace, this is now an enchanting venue for the occasional jazz or Latin gig, indie concerts, comedy shows and cabaret revues complete with velvet seats, Shakespearean balconies and twinkling stars on the ceiling’s painted night tableau.

Website: www.olympiatheater.org

Address: 174 E Flagler St, Miami, FL 33131, United States

Phone: 305-374-2444

Entrance fee: $80

Google rating: 4.8/5.0

Bowman-Biltmore Hotels was a hotel chain created by the hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. The name evokes the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate, whose buildings and the gardens within are privately owned historical landmarks and tourist attractions in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The name has since been adopted by other unrelated hotels. For a time, the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corporation was a publicly traded company. The Biltmore takes all the glamorous history of Coral Gables and stuffs it into one sprawling, dazzling property.

A majestic monument to the Gables of the Florida boom years, the Biltmore boasts a 300-foot bell tower modeled after the Giralda in Seville, as well as one of the largest pools in the U.S. It’s worth checking in for the history alone. The lobby has a hand-painted vaulted ceiling, and French and Spanish furniture, along with large wooden aviaries containing songbirds. Marble floors, oriental rugs and soaring columns add to the grandeur. Upstairs, Egyptian cotton duvets and plump featherbeds add comfort to the period drama. To top it off, there’s a world-class golf course, spa, wine club and sumptuous Sunday brunches—think flowing Champagne, oysters and more. The only drawback is the lonely location, but isolation bodes well for a peaceful vacation. To sum up, it is Biltmore Hotel which is one of the most beautiful buildings in Miami.

Website: www.biltmorehotel.com

Address: 1200 Anastasia Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134, United States

Phone: 305-445-1926

Entrance fee: $25-$60

Google rating: 4.5/5.0