Free Fun in Miami!

If you’re looking for a place to take a pocket-wise vacation, you might not think of Miami, the glitzy-glam capital of sparkle and sun, but you’d be surprised to find that this city is an ideal travel destination full of places, things and events to enjoy for free or nearly free. From the beaches to outdoor yoga in the parks to an innumerable amount of art and cultural events, the Miami of late is one you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy.  The main attraction in Miami is the always free and readily available picturesque weather. A typical winter Miami day is a comfortable high 70s. You can always count on year-round sunshine; Florida is, after all, known as the Sunshine State.

PEOPLE WATCHING, SOUTH BEACH-STYLE 

For the best beach people-watching in the Greater Miami area, head to South Beach. Expect to find rowdy young locals with boom boxes and crowds of international visitors -- but also readily available concession stands and bathrooms. This long stretch of beach starting with the pier at the top of historic Art Deco Washington Avenue is a great place to see the Miami of postcards, watch the cruise ships come and go, and watch the sunset over the cityscape.

ART DECO TOURS 

Walk north along Ocean Drive to explore the preserved Art Deco buildings. Farther north on Miami Beach, near the hotels, admire the MiMo (Miami Modern) architectural style of 1950’s buildings painted in a palette of pastels with cutout shapes and mosaic murals. Log onto the website at www.MDPL.org to learn more about how to spot the style and the history of the area and for information on guided walking tours.

HIT THE BEACH 

A good rule of thumb for those looking for a quieter beach experience is the further north you go, the quieter it will get, from Collins Avenue 21st Street to 46th Street, has a raised boardwalk for walking with shoes and without sand. While parking in these areas may be challenging, there’s always metered street parking, even if it may take a few rounds around the block to find it. The beaches of Key Biscayne, a residential island off of mainland Miami, cost a minimal fee, but are guaranteed to be very clean and incredibly beautiful. Crandon Park Beach is a three-mile lagoon style beach with walking and biking trails, beach volleyball nets, shelters for shade and BBQ grills available for the ideal beach day. An even more remote beach on Key Biscayne is at the tip of the island, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, where you can fish and enjoy the historic lighthouse. Once you’ve soaked up the sun at the beach, gotten your tan on and are ready to explore the rest of the city―on a budget of course―there’s plenty more to see!

ART WALKS 

Miami’s nightlife offers something for everyone starting with our opulent and world-renowned clubs, but right now in Miami, the see-and-be-seen spots are free Art Walks hosted in different areas. Not only can you soak up art of all kinds from avant-garde, contemporary, collections, street art and historical pieces from artists of all over and notable locals, but you can spend the whole night doing it! Art Walks all over the city are usually soaked in free wine and alcohol if you get there early before it’s gone, often feature free music, and are always changing. Virtually every week there’s an Art Walk somewhere. Visit www.ArtCircuits.com for Art Walk maps and schedules. The biggest and most popular is the second Saturday of the month in the up-and-coming Wynwood Arts District and the Design District. If you aren’t in town for the Wynwood Art Walk, full of galleries and stores open late, you can venture there any day of the week to explore a community turned street art museum. Colorful murals are painted on the sides of former warehouses-turned-studios. Don’t miss Wynwood Walls, which is a great starting point. Other Art Walks include Viernes Culturales (Cultural Fridays) on Calle Ocho in Little Havana where Miami’s colorful Cuban community shows off their exuberant cultural exports in music, art, and food. There’s also the Coral Gables Art Walk on the first Friday of the month, a calmer and quieter Art Walk in historic downtown Coral Gables.

FREE MUSEUM DAYS 

If you can’t fit an Art Walk into your schedule, there is art available all the time in Miami―and sometimes, for free! In fact, Miami is very much an art capital of the country. December’s Art Basel Miami Beach art fair is a must-stop on every serious collector’s cultural calendar, with many free events scheduled throughout the city. The rest of the year, you can still easily fill a weekend just stopping at Miami’s many museums and galleries. The Wolfsonian-FIU museum is free every Friday after 6 p.m., the Miami Art Museum is free the second Saturday of each month, and Museum of Contemporary Art offers free live jazz on the plaza at 8 p.m. on the last Friday of each month. In November, Sleepless Night Miami Beach offers 24 hours of free cultural programs including museum exhibits, concerts, dance performances, and film screenings.

FREE YOGA 

If, after all that art, you need some “ohm-ing”, there’s a lovely free yoga class at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami on every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. There are also free yoga classes on Saturday mornings in Coconut Grove at Kennedy Park and Wednesday and Saturday evenings at Margaret Pace Park. Best of all, all three of these options are on the water! Namaste.

ONLINE SALE SITES 

A great way to keep your pockets full but your belly fuller is to take advantage of Miami’s immense culinary opportunities by using online sale websites like Groupon and Living Social and Gilt Miami. These daily coupons can make an otherwise pricey meal affordable -- or just save some cash for shopping and bringing home souvenirs.

FREE METROMOVER 

Miami can be a bit overwhelming to explore. There’s so much to see, but the free Metromover makes Downtown, Brickell and Bayside―all tourist friendly areas with lots of restaurants, shops and arts centers―easy to visit and explore by just jumping on and off as many times as you’d like. It may even be fun to get lost and see where it takes you if you have some time on your hands to freely explore. The Metromover runs in loops and it will always be easy to get back to where you started. There’s also public transportation available for a low cost in all the different areas of the city and connecting them. 

Having fun for free in Miami is easy to do and there are many great options. Every weekend in Miami, you’ll find farmer’s markets, free concerts, outdoor movie screenings, and so much more. There’s a festival or event for anyone, any day, in this sunny city by the bay. Browse our calendar of events for the latest happenings. Use your time wisely, have fun, and remember to soak up Miami’s natural beauty and amazing weather. After all, they’re free!

Miami's Private Art Collections, open to public

THE MARGULIES COLLECTION
The Margulies Collection at The Warehouse resides in a converted warehouse in the sizzling Wynwood Art District and boasts the finest in contemporary and vintage eccentricities. Famed Miami art collector Martin Z. Margulies has gathered photography, videos, installations and sculptures since the late nineties and brought them together in this 45,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Margulies Collection features unforgettable marvels like a towering geometric matrix and an entire train cutout that will leave you awestruck. This collection is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an admission fee of ten dollars.

THE RUBELL FAMILY
The Rubell Family espouses art education with one of the world’s largest, privatized contemporary art collections and their Contemporary Arts Foundation. The cornerstone of an international enterprise, the 45,000-square-foot Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation champions established and emerging artists alike. Recently, the foundation received a major donation of artwork by California artists from Boston collector Kenneth L. Freed. Mr. Freed’s significant gift includes 59 sculptures and 14 works on paper by Taft Green, Patrick Hill, Evan Holloway, David Ireland, Alice Könitz, Lisa Lapinski, Charles Long, Jason Meadows, Jeff Ono, Robert Overby, Torbjörn Vejvi, Nicolau Vergueiro and John Williams. The collection is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with an admission fee of ten dollars.

CRAIG ROBINS COLLECTION 
Nestled in a corporate office in the Design District, the Craig Robins Collection at Dacra showcases the exuberant spirit of contemporary art and design. Real estate mogul Craig Robins perpetually seeks to integrate art and community by providing public access to his collection of over 200 artists’ works. The pieces revolve several times annually, drawing mainly from German, Mexican, Chinese and American artists. But some creators like Richard Tuttle and John Baldessari reside permanently amidst this disarming and often humorous medley. The Craig Robins Collection is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

CIFO / CISNEROS FONTANALS ART FOUNDATION 
CIFO / Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2002 by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and her family to support art and artists who are exploring new directions in contemporary art. CIFO fostei'srs cultural understanding and educational exchange through three primary initiatives: Grants and Commissions Programs for emerging and mid-career visual artists from Latin America; an exhibitions program showcasing work by Latin American artists and international contemporary art from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection at CIFO Art Space; and foundation-initiated support for other arts and culture projects. Exhibition Hours: Thursday: Noon- 9 p.m.; Friday- Sunday: Noon- 5p.m. Exhibition Hours apply only during exhibition dates.

THE DE LA CRUZ COLLECTION CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE
Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz beckon enthusiasts to The de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, Miami’s only free private art collection. The couple even exercises the same benevolence at home, where many view their private collection by appointment. A journey through the Design District’s Contemporary Art Space commences with the amorphous, fluorescent forms of Aaron Curry and progresses to the second story where Kathryn Andrews’ giant birthday candles leave you feeling dwarfed as if in a dream. On the top level, Jim Hodges’ delicate floral installations lie feet away from the largest ping-pong table you’ll ever see, making this one surreal playpen. The de la Cruz Collection at the Contemporary Art Space is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

DEZER MUSEUM 
Those with a need for speed need look no further than the Dezer Museum in Sunny Isles Beach. Witness the evolution of the automobile in this 250,000-square-foot showcase of over 1,000 eclectic vehicles. Survey Hollywood’s most fabled engines—the 1948 Ford “Greased Lightning” from Grease, the 1959 Cadillac “Ecto-1” from Ghostbusters, and the 1981 Delorean “Time Machine” from Back to the Future. Here, at the Dezer Museum, patrons may even channel the charm of 007 in the museum’s James Bond exhibition. One-of-a-kind collections, spanning the hundred-year history of the automobile, are memorialized in the Dezer’s myriad sub-museums, honoring European classics, military vehicles, micro and electric cars, bicycles, motorcycles and scooters. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week with a fee of $25 for adults and $10 for children.