Miami

Miami is the United States' most tropical and internationally minded city — a subtropical metropolis where Latin American culture, Caribbean flavours, and American ambition intersect on a glamorous stage of palm-fringed beaches and pastel Art Deco buildings. More than half the city's population speaks Spanish as a first language; Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Russian are equally present. Miami is not so much a melting pot as a mosaic — each culture vivid, distinct, and delicious.

South Beach is the iconic image: the Ocean Drive strip of 1930s Art Deco hotels, the white sand beach lined with lifeguard towers painted in sherbet colours, the Versace Mansion (now a hotel), the Bass Museum of Art. But Miami Beach is only one of many identities. The Design District is global luxury fashion headquarters. Wynwood's graffiti murals have transformed a warehouse district into one of the world's most photographed outdoor galleries. Coconut Grove is lazy waterfront lunches and sailboats.

Miami also serves as the gateway city for the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. The Overseas Highway south to Key West — 113 miles of bridges skimming over turquoise water — is one of America's great drives. Everglades National Park, a two-hour drive away, offers airboat rides through alligator-dense sawgrass prairies. Cuba is 90 miles offshore and, while politically distant, culturally very close — Calle Ocho in Little Havana is the cultural bridge.