Design District architecture to Midtown dinner
Free contemporary art, buildings by famous architects, and a short walk to a quieter dinner.
The Design District is a luxury mall that happens to be outdoors, and the architecture is the reason to come: the Fly's Eye Dome, the Museum Garage, the ICA building. It is free to walk and free to look. Midtown, ten minutes south, is where locals actually eat.
The stops
- Palm Court and the Fly's Eye Dome30 min
The courtyard at the center of the district with Buckminster Fuller's dome. Start here and walk the blocks around it.
Directions to this stop - ICA Miami50 min
Institute of Contemporary Art: free admission, a sculpture garden, three floors of shows. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Directions to this stop - Museum Garage10 min
A parking garage with five facades by five studios. Look up from the corner of NE 41st Street and NE 1st Avenue.
Directions to this stop - Midtown Miami60 min
Ten minutes south on foot. Restaurants with patios along NE 1st Avenue and the Shops at Midtown; dinner here costs half of the district.
Directions to this stop
Good to know
- Street parking in the district is metered; Midtown has garages.
- The district's restaurants are expensive and good; Midtown's are reasonable and good.
- Design Miami in December turns the whole area into a fair.
Questions people ask
Is the Design District free?
Walking it and the ICA museum are free. Only the shops and restaurants cost money.