HISTORY & CULTURE MUSEUMS

Coral Castle Museum

While you may hear a lot about Miami’s diverse architectural styles, the Coral Castle Museum in Homestead is a singular structure. As the story goes, the 1,100-ton castle was built single-handedly in secret by one man inspired by lost love. It’s a mystery on par with Stonehenge, just with a Miami coral rock twist. You can tour this unusual site with coral sculptures that were built between 1923 and 1951.

Coral Gables Museum

Once a police and fire station, the Coral Gables Museum boasts a 3,000-square-foot gallery and a 5,000-square-foot public plaza that centers around permanent and traveling art and design exhibits, lectures and concerts.

The museum also offers walking tours of downtown Coral Gables twice a month at 10 a.m. (dates vary) as well as Gables Bike Tours every third Sunday of the month at 10 a.m., giving visitors a chance to get to know even more of The City Beautiful.

Historymiami Museum

One of the largest private regional history museums in the southeast U.S. and part of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program, HistoryMiami Museum in Downtown Miami entertains and educates with more than 37,000 artifacts dating back to pre-Columbian times.

Immerse yourself in the permanent and temporary exhibits exploring everything Miami, ranging from immigration and tourism to development and technological advancement. Be sure to make a stop at the Visitors Research Center to take in its collection of one million photographs, drawings and documents.

JEWISH MUSEUM OF FLORIDA-FIU

This museum is set in a stunning 1936 Art Deco masterpiece in South Beach with 77 stained glass windows, a Moorish copper dome, Art Deco chandeliers and a marble bimah. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Inside, explore more than 250 years of Jewish history at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU as well as its permanent exhibit, MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida.

Through audio-visual presentations, films, photos, documents and artifacts, you’ll discover how the Jewish people have maintained their history, tradition and culture in Florida.