Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The advantages of visiting Miami in the winter are the lack of hurricanes and spring breakers, and daily highs in the mid-70s Fahrenheit. December falls toward the beginning of South Florida's high season, which means inflated hotel rates are unavoidable and reservations are required. You might find the prices and the hassle worthwhile, however, as you wiggle your toes in sand and admire palm trees decked with Christmas lights while folks in the country's colder climates are tightening their scarves.
Each year during the first or second weekend of December, the Miami Beach Convention Center hosts Art Basel Miami Beach, a prestigious contemporary-art show of Swiss origin that spawns exhibitions and exclusive parties throughout the downtown area -- and sends hotel rates skyrocketing. Purchase tickets online in advance for a smooth visit. If your time in Miami does not coincide with Art Basel, get your dose of contemporary art at the Perez Art Museum Miami, where the emphasis is on 20th- and 21st-century multicultural art. To contemplate more traditional pieces, spend an afternoon at the Bass Museum of Art, where the European collection includes 16th-century tapestries and Baroque paintings.
Even on a December day, it is easy to forget it's wintertime as you walk past the waterfall in the 2-acre rainforest exhibit at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens. Narrated tram tours, offered several times a day, are a relaxing way to see all 83 acres, which make Fairchild the biggest tropical botanical garden in the United States outside of Hawaii. The former Miami home of namesake David Fairchild, a renowned plant collector, now is called the Kampong, one of five properties in the National Tropical Botanical Garden system. Reservations are required to tour the premises on your own or with a guide.
While you won't get a white Christmas in South Florida, from October to January, you'll find plenty of cheer at Miami's Tropical Park, which becomes ablaze with holiday lights for Santa's Enchanted Forest, a theme park with rides, games and live shows. You also may celebrate the season by taking in a performance of George Balanchine's adaptation of "The Nutcracker" by the Miami City Ballet, staged on select days in December at the Adrienne Arsht Center.
In December, Miami's beach water temperatures are at their lowest. The average is 73 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanographic Data Center, yet it is warm enough to make a day of sun and surf possible. South Beach with trendy clubs and hotels is lively all year. December falls within stone-crab season, when visitors and locals alike wait on line for hours to indulge at South Beach's legendary Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant. If you seek seclusion and family-friendly shores, head to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne. It features a lighthouse you can tour on select days of the week. The calm waters of Matheson Hammock Park and Beach in Coral Gables are ideal for children and anyone who is a beginner swimmer.