West Miami and Airport Area
Visitors to Miami see two major shopping malls even before the plane lands. Arriving at Miami International Airport from the west, planes approach over the Mall of the Americas and Miami International Mall. Planned for a 2001 opening in this area is the Dolphin Mall, with outlets, specialty shops, theme-park-type rides and restaurants.
Nearby Tamiami Park is home to a number of special events during the year, including the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition, which brings state-of-the-art excitement to traditional fairground frolic. Also nearby is Tropical Park, offering scenic walkways, fishing lakes, picnic areas and sports galore, including horseback riding.
Just east of the airport is the Miami Jai-Alai Fronton, said to be the oldest and largest arena of its kind in the US. Billed as the world’s fastest game, jai-alai is a Basque specialty that is gaining in popularity throughout the country, but is still played with most the zest at the Miami venue.
South Miami-Dade County
Encompassing South Miami, Kendall, Goulds, Perrine, and Homestead, the southern end of Miami-Dade County offers an exciting world of attractions, parks, shopping centers and restaurants.
Visitors may feel that they are “on safari” as they sample southern Miami’s many animal-oriented attractions, including Parrot Jungle and Gardens, Monkey Jungle and Miami MetroZoo. Another natural paradise is Fairchild Tropical Gardens, with winding paths through sunken gardens and rainforests, past lakes and lily ponds and scenic overlooks, with exotic orchids, palms, cycads, and a gift shop that will enchant botany buffs. Nearby, Matheson Hammock Park and Marina features ponds and picnic areas, meadowlands and mangroves, and its very own blue lagoon for swimming.
In the high-tech world of man-made attractions, GameWorks at South Miami’s Shops at Sunset Place combines games, attractions, music, video and technology in a slam-bang format that spells fun for all. And for high-speed excitement, the famous Miami Grand Prix, along with other NASCAR and Indy car racing events, is hosted at the Homestead-Miami Speedway Complex.
The county’s south end also offers some fine shopping, from The Shops at Sunset Place (just south of Coral Gables) to Dadeland Mall in Kendall, to the dramatically landscaped Falls shopping center, and, farther south, the Cutler Ridge Mall, Prime Outlets at Florida City, and an antique district at Homestead Main Street.
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