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 The heart of downtown Miami as seen on February 2, 2007. The ongoing construction throughout the city, as depicted here, has inspired popular opinion suggesting Miami has become a prime example of "manhattanization". Right of center in this image is the Freedom Tower, a historic landmark. [edit] Regions
- Florida Gold Coast - The tri-county region sometimes referred to as "South Florida", consisting of Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties on the Atlantic coast. This is the most southeast region.
- Treasure Coast - Just north of the Gold Coast consisting of Indian River County, St. Lucie County, and Martin County.
- Southwest Florida - The Gulf Coast counties of Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier and Monroe.
- Florida Heartland - The inland counties of South Florida. These counties are very rural, especially when compared to the bustling urban centers along the coast, and are much more economically reliant on agriculture and cattle ranching than on tourism. They are also overall more culturally Southern.
- Florida Keys - An archipelago of about 1700 islands extending from Miami to Key West.
[edit] Cities
Some of the major cities in South Florida are:
- Boca Raton - Outstanding landscaping, parks and beaches.
- West Palm Beach - sub-tropical waterfront location, vibrant downtown for shopping, exciting dining experiences.
- Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Beach,Deep Sea diving, Butterfly World, Thoroughbred racing.
- Fort Myers- Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel and the exotic beaches of Captiva Islands.
- Hollywood - Seminole Indian reservation
- Key West - Charter saltwater deep sea fishing, kayak, SCUBA diving and snorkeling.
- Miami - Boating, Watersports, Glass Bottom boats, Deep Sea Diving, cruising.
- Naples- Enjoy the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, world class shopping, golf courses and the nearby untamed tropical wilderness of The Everglades.
- Port Charlotte Hurricane Charley on August 13, 2004 hit this area badly.20,000 roofs needed repairs, and businesses moved into trailers. However this area is on the way to a complete recovery.
- Sarasota - Casey Key, Longboat Key, Lido Key, Siesta Key, Venice, Manasota Key,Ringling Brothers Circus Museum
- Vero Beach- Disney's Vero Beach resort community with priorities on art, education, culture and lifestyles.
[edit] Other destinations
[edit] Understand
South Florida has a tropical wet-and-dry climate, cold fronts from November through March, and most of the year is warm and humid. The Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30. The most likely time for South Florida to be hit is mid August through the end of September.
Miami-Dade County Regional Park located between the cities of Sunny Isles Beach and Bal Harbour, is a designated naturist (clothing-optional) beach at the north end.
A wide variety of languages are commonly spoken throughout South Florida with increasing diversity near the major cities. The City of Miami for example has three official languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole (French Creole). English however is the most dominate and preferred language in South Florida. Even in areas where English isn't the native language, most people will be bilingual in the other language (although generally not the other way around for native English speakers). The simplest way to get treated in English is to use the "approach rule", where most locals will only respond in the language they were summoned in, unless they are not able to speak it, this rule can be used on anyone whether or not they were originally speaking Spanish, English, or any other language.
Occasionally you may run into someone who is not fluent in English. If this happens simply speak slowly and use only simple English. In a few places, especially near Miami you may find someone that cannot speak any English. Even when encountering a local who does not speak English, one could easily find another local to help with translation if needed without much effort, since most of the population is fluently bilingual.
[edit] Get in
[edit] By plane
Miami International Airport, one of the busiest international airports in the world, is the main airport serving the Miami metropolitan area. Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, and Sarasota also have large airports.
[edit] By boat
Coastal cities have excellent year-round marina facilities, often serving some of the largest and most luxurious yachts in the world. Miami is home to the Port of Miami, the largest cruise ship port in the world. Fort Lauderdale also has a cruise port.
[edit] By bus
[edit] By car
- Interstate 75 runs south from Northern Florida through Tampa's eastern suburbs, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples, until crossing the "Alligator Alley" as a toll road to Fort Lauderdale before turning south to end in Miami Lakes.
- Interstate 95 continues south from the Atlantic Coast of the eastern USA through Treasure Coast cities into West Palm Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale before terminating in Downtown Miami.
[edit] Get around
Public transportation - Local public transportation includes Metrobus, Metromover, and Metrorail—an elevated rapid transit system—each operated by Miami-Dade Transit.
Hire a car to explore the unique countryside areas.
- GoCar GPS Tours(1661 James Avenue, in South Beach): See Miami Beach in the world's first Storytelling Car. The GoCar will guide you to see what most visitors never see, while telling stories and history along the way that bring the city to life. It's like having your own private tour guide with you. Tours take place at your own pace in a fun to drive, open-air, 2-person scooter car. Rates begin at $29 per hour. Discounted daily rates are also available.
- Marco Island, Captiva Island, and Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida.
- Sebring International Raceway in Sebring.
- Fakahatchee Strand State Park -The wild orchids [1].
- Miami Seaquarium aquarium located on Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay in the city of Miami with a pair of local Manatees.
- Lincoln Road in Miami - a popular pedestrian mall lined with shops, sidewalk cafes, bars and galleries.
- City of Miami Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Miami.
Discovery Cruise Line sails every day to the Bahamas from Fort Lauderdale, departing at 7:45AM & returning at 10PM. With Discovery's convenient daily schedule, you choose how and when to cruise from the following options:
One Day Bahamas Party Cruise Cruise 'N Stay Bahamas Resort Getaways
Butterfly World in Coconut Creek. Amidst thousands of flowers, tropical plants, waterfalls, gardens, and classical music, Butterfly World is a unique, breathtaking site that is one of Florida's leading tourist attractions.
Miami Yacht Charters & Rentals[2]South Florida yacht charter services. Convenient boarding locations such as Miami Beach, South Beach, Coconut Grove, Aventura, North Miami, Key Biscayne, Bahia Mar, Marriott Portside Marina, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and more.
Miami's population growth in recent years has been caused by internal migration from other parts of the country as well as by immigration. Greater Miami is known as a cultural melting pot, while still maintaining some of their cultural traits. The overall culture of Miami and Miami-Dade are heavily influenced by its large population of ethnic Latin Americans and cultures from Caribbeans from islands such as Jamaica, The Bahamas, Cuba and who mainly Spanish or Haitian Creole.
Enjoy such meals such as a Cuban dish of ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, yellow rice, plantains and fried yuca with beer.
[edit] Get out
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