Calle Ocho is Spanish for "Eighth Street" and that is exactly what Calle Ocho is. Everybody in Miami, even the non-Spanish speakers, refer to this area as Calle Ocho, which runs right through the heart of Miami's "Little Havana" district.
While Calle Ocho is more of an area than a specific attraction, it should be the first place on any tourist's itinerary who is interested in witnessing Miami's Cuban culture. Calle Ocho is lined with the most authentic Latin restaurants in the country alongside "bodeguitas," which are Latin America's version of a convenience store with a Latin twist. Make sure you go into at least one bodeguita and order a "Colada," which is a super strong shot of Cuban coffee. After that you'll be set for a full day of running around Miami.
To get to Calle Ocho--Eighth Street--go west on Eighth Street from I-95; Calle Ocho stretches from I-95 West through 36th Street.
Miami's Freedom Tower is a 14-story Mediterranean-Revival-style tower built in 1925. It sits along downtown Miami's main thoroughfare, Biscayne Boulevard, and was originally built to house the city's newspaper. The design was inspired by the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain, and also doubled as a lighthouse with a beacon light shining out over Biscayne Bay from the cupola tower.
After the newspaper went out of business in the 1950s, the tower was taken over by the U.S. government to provide immigration services to incoming Cuban immigrants. Miami's Freedom Tower was the first place Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro would go to get basic medical services and records on relatives who already made it to the United States. For thousands of Cuban immigrants, Miami's Freedom Tower represented nothing less than freedom from Fidel Castro and the hardships he imposed on the homeland.
Today the Freedom Tower houses a museum chronicling pre- and post-Castro Cuba and the advances made by Cuban Americans in this country. The tower is also home to a Cuban literature library and the offices of the Cuban American National Foundation, along with meeting and reception halls.
Miami Freedom Tower
800 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33132
The Monastery of St. Bernard de Clairvaux was originally built in Segovia, Spain, during the 12th century. Cistercian monks occupied the monastery for nearly 700 years, after which the monastery was seized, sold and converted into a granary during a social revolution in the mid-1830s.
In 1925, William Randolph Hearst purchased the monastery, had it dismantled stone by stone and had it shipped to the United States in 11,000 wooden crates. Due to financial woes, Hearst left the stones sitting in a Brooklyn warehouse for 26 years.
After Hearst's death in 1952, the monastery was purchased by W. Edgemon and R. Moss for use as a tourist attraction; $1.5 million dollars and 19 months later, the Monastery was back together in North Miami Beach, Florida.
The Monastery is now open to visitors on a daily basis and for a small admission fee.
Ancient Spanish Monastery
16711 West Dixie Highway
North Miami Beach, Fl 33160
305-945-1461
spanishmonastery.com
