Ocean Drive, Miami Beach: how to do the Art Deco strip, where to eat and which hotels line it
Ocean Drive is South Beach's Art Deco hotel row facing Lummus Park. Here is a day on it, the hotels we could check, the menu rule and the car plan.
The short version
- What: South Beach's Art Deco hotel row, facing Lummus Park and the ocean.
- Start here: Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr: daily 9 am to 5 pm, tours daily.
- Eating: Sidewalk-café menus must show every price and service charge; read the bill.
- Cars: The city voted for car-free winters, 5th to 15th Street; not in force yet.
- Next big weekend: Art Deco Weekend on Ocean Drive, January 15 to 17, 2027.
Do Ocean Drive on foot: the Art Deco Welcome Center in the morning, the sand at Lummus Park by day and the lit-up hotel facades after dark, eating where the prices are clear before you sit down.
Hour by hour
- 9 amArt Deco Welcome Center · Start at 1001 Ocean Drive, the Miami Design Preservation League's center and museum, open daily 9 am to 5 pm. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
- MorningThe walking tour · The league runs its Art Deco walking tour daily from the Welcome Center. The public price and start time were not on its tours page in October 2026, so check mdpl.org or ask at the desk.
- Late morningCross to the sand · Lummus Park, opposite the hotels from 5th Street to 14th Place, is open sunrise to midnight. Restrooms and water fountains are at 6th, 10th and 14th Streets, and Muscle Beach, the outdoor gym, is at 9th Street.
- LunchGianni's at the old Versace mansion · The Villa Casa Casuarina at 1116 Ocean Drive, where Gianni Versace lived, is now a hotel. Its restaurant, Gianni's, serves lunch daily from 11 am to 3:30 pm and dinner from 5:30 to 10:30 pm, with reservations online or by phone.
- AfternoonWalk to the quiet end · Head north past 14th Street to The Betsy at 1440 Ocean Drive, the family-owned hotel that calls this the quieter end of the street. Turn back along the beach path for the return.
- 7:30 pmDinner and a show · Mango's at 900 Ocean Drive starts its nightly dinner and show at 7:30 pm. Its Sip, Savor & Salsa package says all ages are welcome until 10 pm.
- After 10 pmNeon and late bars · The facades light up after dark, which is when the Art Deco strip looks most like its postcards. Mango's nightclub room opens at 10:30 pm and its bar runs until 5 am.
What Ocean Drive is
Ocean Drive is the front row of the Miami Beach Architectural District, which went on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1979. The district runs from the ocean to Alton Road and from 6th Street to Dade Boulevard, with 960 historic buildings, and the hotels along Ocean Drive face Lummus Park and the beach.
The park is the other half of the street: 26 acres of sand, paths, palms, 18 volleyball courts and two playgrounds between 5th Street and 14th Place. Parking along Ocean Drive itself is restricted, so most people arrive on foot from a garage or the trolley.
The Miami Design Preservation League runs the Welcome Center and Art Deco Weekend, the street festival that takes over Ocean Drive from 5th Street to 14th Place. Its 50th edition is January 15 to 17, 2027.
Hotels on Ocean Drive we could check
| Hotel | Address | What its own site confirms |
|---|---|---|
| The Colony Hotel | 736 Ocean Drive | Art Deco hotel with a history dating to 1935; direct bookings get late checkout to 1 pm when available; matches valid third-party rates |
| Hotel Breakwater | 940 Ocean Drive | Home to Havana 1957's Latin on the Ocean Drive restaurant, with happy hour Monday to Friday, 4 to 7 pm |
| The Villa Casa Casuarina | 1116 Ocean Drive | Hotel, Gianni's restaurant and events venue in the former Versace mansion |
| The Betsy | 1440 Ocean Drive | Family-owned, beachfront, two pools, direct beach access, dogs welcome, live jazz nightly at the Piano Bar |
None of these hotel pages listed resort fees or valet prices in October 2026. Ask for the total with fees and the parking cost before you book.
Hotel and restaurant websites, checked October 2026
Eating on Ocean Drive without the surprise bill
Ocean Drive's sidewalk cafés have drawn years of complaints about surprise bills in the local press. Miami Beach responded with rules for its sidewalk cafés: menus at the tables must show prices for all food, drinks and specials, as well as any service charge, and the city can revoke a café's sidewalk permit and business license for breaking them.
So read the menu for the price of the drink you are pointing at, and read the bill for a service charge before you add a tip. A service charge of 18 to 20% is common on the bill in Miami; COTE and Le Jardinier on the mainland, for example, add 20%.
For a sit-down meal with posted hours, Havana 1957 has two Ocean Drive locations: 1410 Ocean Drive, open from 11:30 am on weekdays and 10:30 am on weekends, and the Breakwater at 940. Gianni's at 1116 is the splurge.
The Latin dinner-and-dance club in the middle of the strip. Lunch runs noon to 6 pm with live reggae on Saturdays and salsa on Sundays; the dinner and show starts at 7:30 pm every night.
The nightclub room opens at 10:30 pm and the Mojito Room has Latin music from 10 pm, Thursday to Saturday. Parking is validated after 5 pm with a spend of $130 or more.
Lummus Park
The public beach park in front of every Ocean Drive hotel, open sunrise to midnight, with paved paths for walking, running and cycling.
Outdoor fitness areas run 7:30 am to sunset, and the public restrooms are at 6th, 10th and 14th Streets.
Where they are
Cars, closures and parking
Ocean Drive has gone back and forth between car-free and open. In September 2026 the Miami Beach Commission voted 7 to 0 to close it to cars between 5th and 15th Streets each year from Thanksgiving to late March, Telemundo 51 reported. The vote does not take effect on its own: the city still needs permits and agreement from Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Transportation. Check miamibeachfl.gov before you plan to drive or be dropped off at your hotel door.
Street meters in this part of South Beach are in the Entertainment District, at $4 an hour around the clock. The 7th Street Garage at 210 7th Street, the 12th Street Garage at 512 12th Street and the 13th Street Garage at 1301 Collins Avenue charge $2 for the first hour and $20 for the day, with a $15 flat rate on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 pm to 5 am.
Questions people ask
Is Ocean Drive closed to cars?
Not as of October 2026. The Miami Beach Commission voted in September 2026 to close it between 5th and 15th Streets from Thanksgiving to late March, but the plan still needs county and state approval. It has also closed for big events.
What hotels are on Ocean Drive?
Among them: The Colony at 736, Hotel Breakwater at 940, The Villa Casa Casuarina at 1116 and The Betsy at 1440 Ocean Drive. Ask each for the total price with fees and the parking cost.
Can you visit the Versace mansion?
The former Versace mansion at 1116 Ocean Drive is now The Villa Casa Casuarina hotel. Its restaurant, Gianni's, takes outside reservations for lunch, 11 am to 3:30 pm, and dinner, 5:30 to 10:30 pm.
When is Art Deco Weekend 2027?
January 15 to 17, 2027, on Ocean Drive from 5th Street to 14th Place. Hours and the program were not posted in October 2026; check artdecoweekend.org.
Where should I park for Ocean Drive?
Use the city's 7th, 12th or 13th Street garages: $2 for the first hour and $20 for the day. Street meters here cost $4 an hour around the clock.
More guides
Lummus Park Beach: the South Beach strip on Ocean Drive, where to park and what the rules areSouth Beach · Beaches · South beach · 4 min readEspañola Way: South Beach's Spanish village street, where to eat and how to get thereSouth Beach · South beach · Restaurants · 4 min read
Miami nightclubs: the door, the price and what time to show upNight out · Late night · 10 min readWelcome Center and tours from mdpl.org; Art Deco Weekend dates from artdecoweekend.org; district facts from Wikipedia; Lummus Park, meters and garages from miamibeachfl.gov; hotels from colonymiami.com, thebetsyhotel.com, vmmiamibeach.com and havana1957.com; Mango's from miami.mangos.com; sidewalk-café rules from WPTV (Associated Press); the 18 to 20% service-charge note from Viajero Hostels' Miami page; COTE and Le Jardinier charges from their menus; the car-free vote from Telemundo 51 (September 2026); checked October 2026.