5 More Free Things to Do in Miami
Additional No Cost Attractions and Activities for Budget Travelers
Sep 7, 2008
Stretch your vacation budget even further with this list of Miami-area attractions, activities and events that are free to do.
From museums to outdoor concerts to discovering the city’s Latin heritage, you’re sure to find something of interest that will give you some great memories of your visit to the city of Miami, Florida.
Art Deco Welcome Center
South Beach is complete eye candy for anyone with an interest in Art Deco architecture. If that includes you, a stop at this welcome center is a must. Learn more about the history of the area, get information on the various Art Deco buildings and pick up free maps to help guide you around. The Art Deco Welcome Center is located at 1001 Ocean Dr, in South Beach, and is open from 10am to 6pm year-round except national holidays.
Jewish Museum of Florida
The museum is comprised of two restored former historic synagogues. The first was built in an Art Deco style in 1936, the second was Miami Beach’s first synagogue, built in 1929. Together, they house exhibits of Jewish life in Florida since 1763, as well as a timeline wall of Jewish history worldwide. Normal admission is only $6, but is free to all every Saturday from 10am until 5pm. The Jewish Museum of Florida is located at 301 Washington Ave in Miami Beach and can be reached by phone at 305.672.5044.
Holocaust Memorial
Even if you have no interest in the Jewish Museum above, the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach will still take your breath away. Built of Jerusalem stone, the memorial begins with a curved walkway, furnished with an eternal light that leads to a 42-foot bronze arm sticking out of the ground. This arm is tattooed with a serial number, similar to those applied in concentration camps by the Nazis, and is covered in about 100 bronze bodies climbing it. The walkways around the arm are inscribed with the names of Holocaust victims. You’ll find the memorial just north of Lincoln Mall, at 1933 Meridian Ave in Miami Beach. Admission is free year-round from 9am to 9pm daily. For more information, phone 305.538.1663.
Little Havana
With its location at the tip of Florida, Miami is home to one of the largest populations of Cuban immigrants in the US. Most of these people are concentrated in an area of town known as Little Havana. For a small taste of the Cuban lifestyle, from stores to cafes, take a stroll down Calle Ocho – also known as 8th Street – between 12th and 27th Avenues, just south of downtown Miami. Visit during mid-March for the free Calle Ocho festival, which brings in over 1 million people to this single day street party full of music, costumes, street performers and food samples from local merchants.
Bayfront Park
Best known for its Bayside Marketplace, which includes everything from independent vendor kiosks to more touristy fare like the Hard Rock Café, it is also home to memorials for the astronauts who perished in the Challenger spaceship accident, another to former president John F. Kennedy (the JFK Torch of Friendship), the city’s Veterans’ Memorial and a fountain dedicated to Claude Pepper, a distinguished US congressman. It also offers free yoga classes outdoors by the bay three times a week, as well as 32 acres of lush greenery, with a small sand beach, a tropical rock garden and waterfall (dating back to 1926). The view of the city skyline against the ocean is quite spectacular, as well. You’ll find Bayfront Park at 301 N. Biscayne Blvd.
This is but a small sampling of free things to do in the Miami area. For more no cost attractions and activities, please read the Suite101 article, “5 Free Things in Miami, Florida.”
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