"franar's new Florida Page" a Florida Travel Page by franar

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ummm what a party!!! I you really want to have a great time south beach incredible...there is something for everyone

Miami used to be called 'God's Waiting Room'. And even today, if you mention Miami to someone who hasn't been here or read about it lately, they might conjure up a blurry memory of octogenarians mingling poolside while Aunt Sadie implored them to wait half an hour after eating before going into the water. Today the old folks mingle with fashion designers, bikini models and Cuban émigrés, and a city that once had the highest murder rate in the US attracts more than 11 million tourists a year.

The Greater Miami Area, which includes Miami and Miami Beach as well as distinctive neighborhoods like Little Havana and Little Haiti, is a melting pot that America's founding fathers would be proud of. Half of Miami's population is Hispanic, and its immigrant communities focus on what's happening in Havana or Caracas as much as they follow events in Washington DC, giving the city an international outlook. For the casual visitor this means a city peppered with the flavors of Latin American food, language, music, politics and spirit.

Most visitors head for Miami Beach, a city built on a sandbar across Biscayne Bay from Miami. Many of the beach's locals are imports from New York, people tired of sitting through five hours of snarled traffic on their way to the Hamptons, who decided that Miami Beach made a lot more sense. They brought with them a fledgling art and culture crowd whose numbers included many younger artists.

Population: 600,000 in City of Miami; 95,000 in Miami Beach; Greater Miami 2.1 million
Area: 45 sq mi (117 sq km)
State: Florida
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time (GMT/UTC minus 5 hours)
Telephone area code: Metropolitan Miami: 305; Miami and Miami Beach: 786

Orientation

Miami is the most populated city in Florida. It sits at the southeastern tip of the Florida, the most southeastern state of the United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the neighboring states of Alabama and Georgia to the north.

Most visitors aren't here for Miami itself, but rather to visit Miami Beach, an entirely separate municipality. Miami is on the mainland, while the city of Miami Beach is on a thin barrier island about 4 miles (6km) east, across Biscayne Bay - locals call it the Billion Dollar Sandbar. On the mainland, the street numbering system is based on north-south and east-west dividers. With the exception of Coral Gables, south-west of Miami, (whose founding fathers should be arrested for making their street systems so stupid) getting around the area is a snap.

The Miami International Airport is about 12 miles (19km) west of downtown, sandwiched between the Airport Expressway and Dolphin Expressway. The Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport is 30 miles (48km) north of Miami. If you're arriving by Greyhound, the station is just north of downtown Miami, on the waterfront. The Port of Miami is on Dodge Island, diagonally opposite the now-abandoned downtown landmark, the Freedom Tower.