Things to Do in Miami Besides the Beach
Last reviewed: October 26, 2026. Sources for this page are listed in its fact sheet.
Short answer first. Besides the beach, Miami's strongest days are the Everglades at Shark Valley, Vizcaya's gardens in Coconut Grove, the Wynwood Walls street art compound, the two Museum Park museums (PAMM and Frost Science), a Calle Ocho walk in Little Havana, and Zoo Miami. Every place on this list was verified as operating in October 2026 against its own or an official source.
Airboats on the Tamiami Trail side of the Everglades. Photo: Mazin Omron, Pexels.
The list: Miami beyond the sand
1. Everglades National Park at Shark Valley
The National Park Service's Shark Valley entrance, on the Tamiami Trail west of the city, has a 15 mile paved loop trail and an observation tower, with tram tours and bike rentals at the visitor center.
2. Airboat tours on the Tamiami Trail
The National Park Service authorizes three airboat operators on SW 8th Street west of Miami: Coopertown Airboats, Gator Park, and Everglades Safari Park.
3. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
James Deering's winter estate on Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, a National Historic Landmark with a main house, formal gardens, and rockland hammock; it is closed on Tuesdays.
4. Wynwood Walls
The ticketed outdoor museum of street art founded in 2009, holding more than 40 murals by street artists from around the world; the surrounding Wynwood streets carry more murals for free.
5. Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
Miami's flagship modern and contemporary art museum, in a Herzog & de Meuron building on Museum Park downtown, focused on art of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the African diaspora.
6. Frost Museum of Science
Next door to PAMM in Museum Park, Frost Science combines a science museum, a three level aquarium, and a planetarium in one campus.
7. Little Havana and Calle Ocho
Miami's Cuban heart along SW 8th Street: Domino Park, cigar rollers, cafecito windows, and live music at Ball & Chain, all walkable in a morning.
8. Art Deco Historic District
The 1920s to 1940s hotels of Ocean Drive in South Beach, interpreted by the Miami Design Preservation League from its Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive, which runs walking tours daily.
9. Zoo Miami
Florida's largest zoo, spread over about 740 acres in southwest Miami-Dade, and per the zoo the only tropical zoo in the continental United States.
10. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
An 83 acre botanic garden in Coral Gables with major collections of palms, cycads, and flowering trees, plus a butterfly conservatory.
11. Venetian Pool
Coral Gables' historic public pool, cut from a coral rock quarry in 1923 and fed by spring water; it reopened after a major renovation and is closed on Mondays, per the City of Coral Gables.
12. Deering Estate
Charles Deering's bayfront estate in Palmetto Bay: two historic houses inside roughly 450 acres of mangrove, pine rockland, and protected habitat.
13. Coral Castle
Edward Leedskalnin's oolitic limestone sculpture garden in Homestead, about an hour south of central Miami; published hours conflict between listings, so check before you drive.
14. Museum of Miami (formerly HistoryMiami)
The city's history museum downtown, a Smithsonian Affiliate founded in 1940, telling the story of South Florida through its Tropical Dreams exhibition and a large photograph archive.
15. Cape Florida Lighthouse
Inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, the lighthouse was built in 1825 and is the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County, per Florida State Parks; lighthouse tours run Thursday to Monday and are included with park entry.
Planning facts before you go
PAMM and Frost Science sit next to each other in Museum Park, so the pair makes one easy downtown day. Venetian Pool is closed on Mondays (City of Coral Gables, checked October 26, 2026). The Everglades entrances and Coral Castle both need a car or a tour from Miami; nothing on this list except the museums and Little Havana is realistically walkable from a beach hotel. Coral Castle's hours are deliberately not printed here because current listings disagree.
See Everglades and Miami city tours on Viator
Frequently asked questions
What do you do in Miami when it rains?
Head for Museum Park. PAMM and Frost Science are side by side downtown, both are indoor days out, and the Museum of Miami is a short ride away. Rain usually also shortens the lines.
Is Wynwood worth it if you are not into art?
For most visitors, yes, briefly. The murals are outdoors, big, and fast to take in, and the surrounding streets are free. Treat the ticketed Walls as the curated core and the neighborhood as the bonus.
How many of these fit in one day?
Two comfortably. Pair the two Museum Park museums, or do Little Havana in the morning and Wynwood in the afternoon. The Everglades and Coral Castle are each most of a day once driving is counted.
Keep planning
Browse all Miami attractions, book the wetlands with the Everglades airboat tours guide, save money with free things to do in Miami, or walk the art first in the Wynwood visitor guide.