MIAMI

An image comes to mind when one mentions Miami: endless white sand beaches, beautiful people with perfect tans and sports-hardened physiques. It's as if fashion models all flock here, looking for the omnipresent sun of Miami's subtropical climate. Though not completely misleading, this image is simplistic nonetheless. For Miami, the most cosmopolitan city in the United States, and its region boast an abundance of riches. Since the 1960s, it has welcomed a steady flow of immigrants from Cuba and other Latin American countries. In fact, Spanish is Florida's second most widely spoken language.

More recently, city demographics have changed: today it is a hip and dynamic destination, attracting a younger set of sun-seekers. Movement, vitality, and pleasure are what now characterise Miami, a fashionable and glamorous city. This revival is largely due to Miami Beach. While many show business stars have taken up residence here, they are not the city's main attraction, but rather, it's the Art Deco district, which you must visit. Facing the sea along Ocean Drive stands a long line of superbly renovated buildings with pastel facades. If you have trouble going to sleep at night, go into hotel lobbies and admire the mirrors, chandeliers, and fireplaces. At night, the colourful flashing neon signs make for an unforgettable show.

The renaissance of Miami doesn’t stop there: its cultural life is similarly vibrant. There are many private foundations and museums here, like the Wolfsonian and the Rubell Museum. In recent years, Miami has become an artistic hub due to Art Basel Miami, a major contemporary art fair, which, every December, brings together collectors from around the world. Many galleries have opened here, particularly in the Design District and the Wynwood Art District, both former warehouse districts. Painters and sculptors have workshops here. As usual, the artists were followed by the restaurants and bars, giving the district a new life.

Perhaps, after a few days, you will want to get away for a break from the urban commotion. If so, it’s time to go to the Everglades, with its alligators, or to the Keys, a string of islands south of Miami. Go to legendary Key West, the one farthest away. There hovers the shadow of the writer Ernest Hemingway, who wrote some of his finest works while living there.