Dazzling beaches stretch for miles, flanked by picturesque barrier islands. Of course, there's great golf, worth the trip in itself. Yet today's Miami is that and more, with every generation of architects enlarging on her prophecy in their own way. Miami has always seemed to grow by magic rather than plan, perfectly free to be Spanish, Moorish, Caribbean, art deco, postmodern or just plain whimsical. As the Cuban immigration center in the 1960s, it earned the nickname Freedom Tower.
Thematic towns are rife in Miami.
Its Moorish revival architecture sports domes, minarets and horseshoe arches on streets named from Arabian Nights tales. With the popularity of the Miami Vice TV show in the 1980s came recognition of a new Miami style, melding urban savvy and tropical flair. Today, the Tamiami is generally used for private aircraft, but inside one hangar, there's a slightly different agenda. Champion acrobatic pilot Kermit Weeks opened the museum here in 1987 and has assembled the kind of exhibits that aviation fanatics will love. In addition, historical displays and photographs offer some interesting background.