Miami is truly America's `Magic City'. Photo: Getty Images
Miami's vibrant, lush and Latin and unlike any other city in the States writes, Greg Fleming
Miami's long been called the Magic City, but thanks to a shady past ("trying to sum up decades of insidious corruption in Miami in a paragraph is like trying to write the Cliffs Notes for Ulysses," proclaimed the Miami New Times this year) and being a favourite destination for party-hard Americans come holiday season, it was a city I'd never considered visiting.
That is until a cruise ship dumped me back in Miami last month and I got to experience this one-of-a-kind city myself.
Yes "magic" will do but adjectives like trashy, beautiful, sassy and surreal are just as apt — and often within the same block. But most of all Miami is a Latin city — unlike any city I've visited in the States. Around 55 per cent of Miamian's have Spanish as a first language and that seemed a conservative estimate as I Ubered around on a whirlwind three-day visit.
Indeed the only Uber driver I encountered who spoke English to any degree picked me up on arrival and laid out his view of his adopted hometown as he battled the late-night traffic (in Miami you are always battling the traffic).
"I go home to Peru and realise how everything here is about appearances. Don't get me wrong, Miami's a great city, a fun city if you've got the money — but you see people here who look like they're rich, but that car's leased and they're sharing an apartment downtown with three friends."
Although that's probably true, this city-on-the-make provides a visitor with a unique US experience; Miami truly has a swagger to it and has little in common with the rest of sleepy, retire-right Florida (except the year-round great weather). I loved my time here — it's a city full of surprises — you stumble across photo-shoots on a daily basis, Latin rhythms blare from every restaurant and everyone has a side hustle.
Wynwood
Many tourists come here for the beach but there's so much more to Miami — areas like Wynwood — which was a 15-minute Uber from my downtown base of Brickell.
Wynwood's turning away from its gritty past and is now the place to go to enjoy some of the best in Miami art, culture and food. Some here call it Miami's answer to New York's arty Williamsburg — and although it's an area on the move it still retains a rugged, industrial feel.
There's amazing street art on show at Wynwood Walls and surrounds (all for free), and affordable eateries (check out the pop-up spot Wynyard Yard, which hosts some of Miami's top food trucks, as well as cooking classes concerts and yoga sessions).
I happily wandered around here for hours one afternoon, fueled on some great Cuban coffee (thanks Little Habana Cafe). I met some graffiti artists at work with a boombox blaring beside them, art galleries galore, a record store with some good sushi out back (Lucky Records) even a machinegun museum.
Little Havana
Just west of downtown, Little Havana is a must-see. Here you'll find Cuban culture aplenty, but it's not overly touristy like, say, San Francisco's Chinatown. Here you get the sense of this as a living, breathing — Latino — community. The Domino park was full of old men — and a few women — engrossed in a game on a Tuesday morning, locals gathered to chat in the cigar store while the ventinata at Le Exquisito restaurant served some standout Cuban coffee.
After some souvenir shopping I lunched at nearby Versaille's — which bills itself as the world's most famous Cuban restaurant — operating since 1971.
Expect to queue but it's well worth the short wait for a table — my Churrasco (skirt steak served with moros rice, sweet plantains and chimi-churri sauce) was superb, accompanied of course by more Cuban coffee (a cortadito con evaporada made with sweet, steamed evaporated milk).
Little Haiti
I loved my few hours here but don't expect glitzy, tour-bus-ready attractions. The Caribbean Market gave me a glimpse of life in the Afro-Caribbean culture (it's where I met internationally renowned Haitian artist Louis Rosemond painting a marvellous sun umbrella) but there was an air of despair and neglect.
Lone men sat on the curb in the sun, lost in their thoughts, their belongings around them. It's one of the poorest communities in Miami and the future for many is uncertain after Trump moved in July this year to end protections for Haitian immigrants who entered on the temporary protected status after the Haitian earthquake of 2010. This is despite the fact that many Haitians are integral to Miami's hospitality and tourism industry.
That said, I found some great family-owned restaurants, politically charged street art and — most surprisingly — a cutting edge record store (Sweat Records).
Everywhere I went the people were warm and inviting, forgiving my execrable attempts at Spanish — but clearly tourists aren't a common occurrence out here. Little Haiti gave me a taste of the other side of Miami, and a sense of the personal impact of Trump's immigration policies on some of Miami's most vulnerable.
South Beach
You don't get all the way to Miami without hitting South Beach and its surrounding streets.
And it's everything you imagined; busy, touristy, a little rundown in parts but hell, it's fun.
My first stop was at the 11th Street Diner — a Philly-style diner that is often cited as one of the best in the States — and perfect if you want to avoid the almost industrial tourism eateries on nearby Ocean Drive. Tip — order the pork chops with apple and raisins. I then wandered up to Lincoln Mall a busy, pretty tree-lined shopping and restaurant precinct, sit back with a coffee and watch the people.
When the sun set I wandered down the bustling Ocean Drive, you've seen this on countless movies and TV shows but what you don't get is the energy, the competing Latin rhythms from neighbouring restaurants and the smell of the sea a stone's throw away. You'll pass the old Versace mansion (now a luxury hotel) where Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997, and countless other stunning Art Deco buildings with a colourful, if not as tragic, history.
Need to know Miami
* Brush up on your Spanish, and your dress game — you can tell the tourists from the locals easy after sundown; the locals look chic!
* Get around downtown Miami on the Metromover. It's free.
* The Cuban coffee here is unlike anything I've tasted — cheap, sweet, strong and sustaining. If you see a line of locals outside a ventinata (a walk-up window) join it — a $1.50 coffee may change your life. Beware — it's twice as strong as American coffee and there's no need to add sugar.
* The Miami metropolitan area grew from about 1000 residents to nearly 5.5 million residents from 1896-2006. The nickname, The Magic City, comes from this rapid growth.
CHECKLIST
Where to stay
East, Miami, in Brickell. This was a great base from which to explore the city. A new 40-storey hotel rated as one of the 10 best in the city. Amazing views and smart, chic service. east-miami.com
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.