South Beach is a retail and leisure mecca, with an ever-changing constellation of ways to spend time and money.

South Beach is the southernmost neighborhood of Miami Beach and occupies a long, small island in the Atlantic Ocean outside Miami. The area is known for its hundreds of art deco houses dating back to the 1920s and 1930s that can be used as part of a walking tour.

Located just 13 miles west, Miami International Airport (MIA) is the nearest airport to South Beach and Lincoln Road. There are direct bus, taxi, and ride-sharing services available. Miami Beach Airport Express Bus (Route 150) makes it easy to travel between Miami International Airport and South Beach.

The Miami Design Preservation League provides specialist-led tours of a number of South Beach's remarkable array of art deco hotels and other structures. Tours depart from the Ocean Drive Art Deco Reception Center at 10:30 a.m. Any day except for Thursday, and every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Bookings are not needed. Self-guided audio tours are also available from the company in English, Spanish, German, French, and Portuguese.

Lummus Park and Public Beach is a large, white-sand beach parallel to Ocean Drive that is popular with locals, visitors, sun lovers (topless sunbathing is tolerated), water sports enthusiasts, bikers, skaters, street vendors, buskers, and models and their photographers. But Lummus Park is not the only way to explore the ocean in South Beach: there is also First Street Beach, a surfing spot that also has a fishing jetty, and South Pointe Park on the southern tip of the island.

South Beach is a retail and leisure mecca, with an ever-changing constellation of ways to spend time and money. The pedestrian-only, open-air Lincoln Road Mall is a top-notch shopping experience showcasing one-of-a-kind boutiques and curated stores with mixed-in sidewalk cafés. A broad selection of clothes and design experts call Collins Avenue home.

For those who want to avoid the heat, there are also a variety of museums in the city. The Florida Jewish Museum in South Beach discusses Jewish life in Miami Beach and Florida. The Wolfsonian-Florida International University has a museum dedicated to architecture, while the Bass Museum of Art in North South Beach is the only fine art museum in the city. For art of a certain nature, there is the World Erotic Art Gallery, which claims to house "the largest collection of erotic art in America."

As the sun sets on South Beach, daytime shoppers become night-time club-hoppers at a mix of nightspots, some exclusive and some available to anyone. Clubs in South Beach have rock clubs but even bars, lounges, and also restaurants after midnight, pouring out all sorts of music and catering to a straight, gay, or mixed clientele.