Miami isn’t about moderation. The colors are bolder, the hotels bigger, and the beaches broader. While much of the nation is buttoning up sweaters this month, in South Florida, the Atlantic Ocean is still warm, the rainy season is winding down, and crowds have thinned. With its lively mix of cultures, this subtropical getaway offers an energizing immersion in Latin cuisine, wellness therapies, and international art, music, and film.
Arts at the Arsht
The Miami City Ballet and the Miami Symphony Orchestra begin their seasons this month at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County on Biscayne Boulevard in the heart of downtown. In addition to visual and performing arts, the center’s Café at Books & Books offers Monday farm-to‑table vegetarian dinners for $30 and a wine pairing for $18.
Spa by the Sand
A landmark hotel that practically defines beach resort, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach stretches along 22 ocean-view acres on Collins Avenue. Refreshed after a $1 billion update, the megaresort offers easy access to a pristine beachfront and 75-foot pools, but the real star is the 40,000-square-foot Lapis Spa. Take advantage of a daylong spa package that’s like a vacation all on its own ($166 and up).
Better Than Well
For a more focused wellness experience, the Carillon Miami has enough fitness, nutrition, spa, beauty, and medical services to occupy visitors for a week (rooms from $295). The offerings at the enormous 70,000-square-foot spa and fitness center fill an 82-page booklet. Highlights include an open-air, rooftop hydrospa, 10 styles of massage ($175 to $325), and a 10 percent discount on a pick-your-own triad of services.
From Warehouse to Wall Art
Built on the bones of an urban warehouse district, Wynwood has evolved into a lively arts neighborhood filled with galleries, bars, design studios, eclectic retailers, and great restaurants. The windowless warehouse walls have become oversize canvases for murals that make the 50 city blocks an Instagram heaven. Art Walk arrives every second Saturday, when many of the 400 businesses stay open late and celebrate the nation’s largest concentration of street art (free).
A Campus for Calm
The Sacred Space Miami is more than a wellness center. It has become the city’s conscious-
living heart, where programming feeds the mind and body.
Yoga and dance classes coexist with a boutique, workshops, and a varying roster of events. Vegan restaurant Plant Miami and healthy-cooking institute Plant Culinary help fill the 12,000-square-foot center, which is flanked by tranquil gardens
of exotic bamboo and lush tropical plants.
Dr. Smood
The catchy motto for the Dr. Smood cafes that dot Miami? “Smart food for a good mood.” With a blend of stark and cozy decor, most of the city’s five locations look like ultra-hip apothecaries. Repent and detox from a night of clubbing with detox juice programs, organic coffee and tea, and a menu ($6 to $16) that tilts toward superfood salads and organic sandwiches. Color-coded cuisine is designed to address six “moods,” including detox, immunity, and energy.
Must-have ceviche
Chef-owner Juan Chipoco has catapulted ceviche into the must‑have Miami meal at his three
Cvi.che 105 Peruvian restaurants. At each stylish, lively, and seafood-centric restaurant, sampler platters of ceviche are the menu centerpiece ($14 to $22). Begin with the traditional potato cake (causa) stuffed with crabmeat, octopus,
or shrimp ($8 to $14) and save room for mousse or cheesecake
in tropical fruit flavors ($7).
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