Best Places to Visit in Florida in 2025
Leaving behind the skyscrapers and miles of beaches in Miami, we explore its most amazing and unexpected corners.
South Beach and Downtown Miami are usually the protagonists of trips to the city in South Florida, but beyond these emblematic neighborhoods, Miami has great gems waiting to be discovered. From natural treasures where you can walk among a wide variety of exotic plants to a Buddhist temple where you can feel like you’re in Thailand, we visit the most surprising places in Miami.
1. Kampong, a botanical garden with Borneo plants in Coconut Grove
In the bohemian, yet luxurious, neighborhood of Coconut Grove, a spectacular botanical garden exhibits rare fruit trees, medicinal plants and plant species from around the world. Created by David Fairchild, who was responsible for introducing more than 200,000 varieties of exotic plants to the United States, the garden owes its name to the villages in Malaysia and Indonesia where the botanist obtained his first crops.
Also Read : 9 Free Museums in New York that You Must Visit
2. Venetian Pool, a Venetian oasis in Coral Gables
In the middle of the elegant residential area of Coral Gables, distinguished by its Mediterranean-style mansions, we find a historic pool that has become one of the most photogenic places in Miami. Built in 1923 in an old coral quarry, it is reminiscent of the old Venetian palaces, with its stone bridges. Waterfalls and caves complete the decoration of this atypical pool surrounded by vegetation.
3. Monkey Jungle, a tropical jungle for primates in Homestead
A few kilometers from the bustle of downtown Miami, the Homestead neighborhood is a place of calm and nature where you can observe monkeys from different parts of the planet in a semi-wild habitat. Here, visitors walk through caged tunnels, while marmosets, macaques and spider monkeys jump freely from tree to tree.
A close and safe interaction to have a different experience with the animal world. In this particular jungle you can also see one of the largest concentrations of fossils in Miami, which are more than 10,000 years old.
4. Wat Buddharangsi, a Buddhist temple in Homestead
We continue in the same neighborhood to enter what is perhaps the best kept secret in South Miami, a Buddhist temple built and run by the large Thai community that lives in the area. Founded in 1982, Wat Buddharangsi is an oasis of peace where you can learn about Buddhism, take part in a religious ceremony and contemplate the golden statue of Buddha that presides over it.
Nearby is the Patch of Heaven Sanctuary, another refuge that offers meditation courses, forest baths and more activities among Zen gardens, ponds with koi fish and butterfly farms.
5. Schnebly’s Redland Winery, a winery full of experiences in Homestead
From tasting exotic wines, with curious notes of tropical fruits, to learning to dance country or Latin. On weekends, a whole world of fun breaks loose in this peculiar space where the southernmost winery in the United States is located. Pair its tropical wines with its zero-kilometer cuisine and you will have a plan full of originality for a Saturday night in Miami.
