No city does events quite like Miami. The combination of warm weather and cool hotels makes it an obvious choice to host big-time events, a main reason why the Super Bowl has been played here 11 times. But even when the NFL isn’t coming to town, Miami throws a great party, whether it’s for art, sports, or music. Planning a vacation around one of Miami’s world-class events guarantees a good time, so here’s a look at Miami’s top seasonal events, and why you might want to hit one up this year.
The largest boat show in the world descends on Miami in mid-February, bringing with it a parade of impressive yachts – and the people who own them. Even if you’re not in the market for a boat the show is a spectacular scene, where day cruises turn into onboard parties that spill out into after-hours clubs. You can hit the main event at the Miami Beach Convention Center to see the latest boats on the water or one of five other venues filled with high-end yachts.
Gluttony and good times abound at this annual beachside bacchanal, where celebrity chefs join talented locals for four days of fantastic food. The festival spans most of Miami Beach, where TV chefs host private dinners and master classes in between cooking at events like Burger Bash, Tacos and Tequila After Dark, and Best of the Best. The main event, though, is the Grand Tasting Village, which sets up on the beach Saturday and Sunday. Here, Miami’s top restaurants sample their best dishes while winemakers and spirit companies pour endless drinks to wash them down. The quarter mile of decadence is one of the best parties of the year, especially when A-list DJs play seaside sets for the final few hours in the afternoon.
Electronic music’s biggest week happens in Miami towards the end of March when DJs, producers, and fans converge for Miami Music Week. Artists who typically sell out stadiums perform in small venues around the city, and you can catch names like Calvin Harris, Tiesto, and Afrojack playing pool parties and intimate lounge shows. The week culminates with the Ultra Music Festival, the original Ultra that began as a small rave on the sands of Miami Beach. It’s moved to downtown’s Bayfront Park and now draws over 100,000 people over three days, where the biggest acts in the industry play amid warm tropical breezes. For electronic music fans, there is simply no bigger event in the world, and an afternoon at Ultra will have you dancing and moving to music with people from dozens of different countries.
While Ultra is the headlining event of Miami Music Week, you can catch the same A-list artists in smaller venues around the city if you go a few days earlier
One of the largest tournaments in tennis outside the Grand Slams hits the hardcourts at Hard Rock Stadium the last weekend in March. It recently moved to the county line from its longtime home in Key Biscayne, where it was formerly known as the Lipton and Ericsson Open. Over the years, it has hosted every legend in tennis, from Pete Sampras to Roger Federer, and even featured the first finals meeting between the Williams sisters. Wandering the grounds on the opening weekend allows you to get closer to top tennis pros than you could in a larger venue. And with plenty of local restaurants set up around the courts, you can get a pretty good sampling of Miami cuisine while you’re there too.
Because Miami’s weather tends to get sticky during the traditional LGBT Pride month of June, Miami Beach holds its Pride festival during the temperate weeks of early April. The week features the traditional parade, as well as pool pirates, movie screenings, and art showcases. The weekend culminates with a free Pride music festival in Lummus Park, where top DJs and drag queens perform both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday morning, the Pride Parade runs down iconic Ocean Drive, offering a carefree, fun atmosphere filled with satiric floats, bumping music, and hilarious costumes.
Formula 1 racing makes its lone stop in Florida the first weekend in May, winding through the Miami International Autodrome in the parking lots of Hard Rock Stadium. But the Grand Prix is far more than watching cars drive in circles at a stadium. The Autodrome is made up of eight grandstand areas set up around 19 turns and offers over 60 hospitality suites. Formula 1 also sets up a makeshift “marina,” where boats park along the course on ground made to look like the ocean, and people party like they’re enjoying an afternoon on a yacht. The Grand Prix also recently added a Team Village inside Hard Rock Stadium, where fans can watch pit crews and mechanics work on the cars from high above the stadium floor. The main Sunday event is a pure spectacle, as much a social event as an auto race filled with celebrities, athletes, and influencers.
America’s military might is on full display along Miami Beach during Memorial Day Weekend, when F-15s, B52s, and other impressive aircraft show their stuff for two days. Stand along the sand and you can also catch U.S. Army parachute teams jumping into the festivities. The show also includes powerboat and jetski team demonstrations in the water, and a Sunday night fireworks show and concert to close it out.
Miami’s top restaurants, some of which can be special-occasion expensive, offer three-course, prix-fixe menus for around $43 during August and September. It’s a chance to experience Miami’s world-class dining scene without spending a ton of money. At the same time, some of the city’s most luxurious spas set in fancy hotels have massage and treatment packages at serious discounts.
Some people come to Art Basel for the art, but most people are here for the parties. So, really, you don't need to know much about art to have one of the best weekends of your life.
Art Basel is a little like the Super Bowl, in that the event itself is secondary to the parties and associated events. The main show at the Miami Beach Convention Center draws art collectors and dealers from around the world. But the rest of the city turns into a giant museum for the week, where modern art shows like Scope take over Miami’s event spaces. And smaller shows and exhibits pop up everywhere from public parks to train stations. While Art Basel is an art lover’s dream, it also draws people for its epic parties. And if you’re lucky enough to get on the list you’ll find yourself rubbing elbows with some of the most creative and interesting people in America.
