Miami-Dade County

See

• Zoo Miami, west of Palmetto Bay, is the largest and oldest zoological garden in Florida. It houses over 1,200 wild animals and is a free range zoo. Its climate allows it to keep a wide variety of animals from Asia, Australia and Africa like no other zoo in the country.
• The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Doral has a large variety of 1960s and 1970s American photography, pre-Columbian artifacts, ancient African and Asian bronzes, and Caribbean and Latin American paintings and artwork.
• Homestead Bayfront Park is a natural atoll pool and beach next to Biscayne National Park near Homestead. It has a full-line snackbar, picnic pavilions, grills, fishing area and a large playground. Boat launch and boat services.
• Coral Castle is an odd complex of stone structures near Homestead, built with enormously heavy stones, and allegedly by one man, without the help of modern equipment.
• The Barnacle Historic State Park is a preserved house built in 1891 near Coral Gables.

Do

• Oleta River State Park, near Sunny Isles Beach, is Florida's largest urban park. It has 15 mi of off-road bicycling trails. Paddle through lush mangrove forests, go fishing, or swim.
• The Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition in Doral is ranked one of the largest and most successful fairs in the nation. Typically held in late March and early April, the 18-day event offers close to 100 rides, nearly 170 food vendors, 50 games, souvenir and gift shops and the World Agriculture competition. Not to be missed is the daily Mardi Gras parade.
• The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens near Palmetto Bay hosts the Miami Dolphins (NFL), Miami Hurricanes (college), and Orange Bowl (college), and is the main venue for the Miami Open (tennis). The stadium grounds have become home to the Formula One Miami Grand Prix, using a temporary street circuit constructed specifically for that event.
• Homestead-Miami Speedway is a NASCAR track near Homestead that plays host to many important car racing events.

Buy

• Aventura Mall near North Miami Beach has nation-wide chains such as JCPenney, Macy’s and Abercrombie and Fitch. It also has Rainbow Valley Playground, a play spot for children. The other notable landmark of this mall is its 24-screen movie theater.
• Dadeland Mall in Kendall near Coral Gables is one of the United States’ first malls. Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue are some of the stores now represented at Dadeland.
• Dolphin Mall in Sweetwater near Doral has Off 5th (a Saks Fifth Avenue outlet store), Marshall’s HomeGoods, Burlington Coat Factory, a movie theater, and many busy restaurants.
• Bal Harbour Shops near Surfside (Florida)|

Surfside has several designer labels including Chanel, Cartier, Fendi and Gucci among others. $5 parking fee.

• The Falls, a mall west of Palmetto Bay, has Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn, and tropical waterfalls.
• Sunset Place, is a mall near Coral Gables, with the Gap, Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret, a Niketown store, and a large movie theater.
• Miami International Mall in Doral has 120 stores including Macy's, Dillard's and JCPenney.

Eat

It's not well-known that the Miami area is the area where Burger King has its headquarters. Aside from fast food, Miami-Dade County is really deep in Hispanic culture. it won't be an abnormal sight to see tacos, picadillo, or other cultural dishes served on the streets.

Much of Miami's population comes from internal migration from other parts of the country and from immigration. Greater Miami is known as a cultural melting pot, where people maintain some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami and Miami-Dade is heavily influenced by its large population of ethnic Latin Americans and cultures from Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cuba and who are mainly Spanish or Haitian Creole.

Enjoy meals such as a Cuban dish of ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, yellow rice, plantains and fried yuca with beer.