NEIGHBORHOOD: South Beach

In a fun and silly example of Miami's decadent tourist culture, the Dream South Beach Hotel, destination for the vacationing party crowd, has hired a "Chief Float Officer," whose job is to set people up with floaties at the rooftop pool.

OLA, the South Florida mainstay that served creative latin cuisine at the Sanctuary Hotel for fourteen years, until it was damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017, has just reopened at South Beach's Gates Hotel after moving around for a few years. Always a happening place at the Sanctuary, the restaurant hopes to continue its success with a new executive chef, Chris Castro.

So many South Beach joints can seem, well, insanely touristy. From the sidewalk cafes with their gigantic cocktails on Ocean Drive, to the overpriced, underwhelming restaurants of Lincoln Road, it’s easy to write off the whole neighborhood as one giant gastronomic Times Square. There are some real winners that have been around forever, however, and they still haven’t sold out like many South Beach hot spots.

Off a narrow pedestrian alley off busy Lincoln Road, hidden behind 1111, the high-design parking garage famous for showing how beautiful parking garages could be, nestles a little hidden colony of courtyard townhouses sitting atop a few shops, cafes, and a fancy Japanese Peruvian restaurant. One of houses, designed by starchitect firm Herzog & de Meuron, who also did the rest of the 1111 complex, is on the market for $2.999 million.

The Continuum, that gigantic duo of residential towers at the southern point of South of Fifth, with its hundreds of units, acres of grounds, and oodles of amenities, is embarking on a multimillion-dollar renovation of its long entrance drive, which ascends two levels from the street to the main entrance, and will include the two roundabouts, the gatehouse, new pavers, a new fountain, and extensive landscaping. ArquitectonicaGEO, the landscape architecture arm of Miami megafirm Arquitectectonica, is handling the reno.

The new public art adorning the Miami Beach Convention Center was recently unveiled, including a series of murals and a public park lining Collins Canal adorned with large aluminum sculptures. The art, as curated by the City of Miami Beach's Art in Public Places initiative, includes site-specific permanent works by Joseph Kosuth, Joep van Lieshout, Ellen Harvey, and Franz Ackerman, with a tile installation by artist Sarah Morris set to debut by the end of the month. The Joep van Lieshout pieces, specifically, enhance the gorgeous new park along Collins Canal.

Monad Terrace, famed French architect Jean Nouvel's first project in Miami, has just topped off, and the Big Bubble got a hard hat tour of the boutique luxury condo project's construction site with architect Kobi Karp, who collaborated with Nouvel on the project. Check it out, below.

A large mediterranean revival house converted into stylish apartments, a half a block from Lincoln Road, in the heart of South Beach but still in a mainly residential area, is on the market for $3,050,000.

The renowned painter Chuck Close has listed his two bedroom, two bath condo on the 25th floor of the Setai in Miami Beach for $4.1 million. The artist isn't going anywhere though. He's just downsizing, and will occupy one of the two other condos he owns in the building, which he currently uses as a studio and guest quarters. Unit 2506 is listed by agent Marjory Dressler

When you're in the mood for an exciting nightcap, a dinner with a view, or a party in the clouds, try out one of these urban hotspots in Miami. These are Miami's ten most spectacular rooftop bars, restaurants, and lounges.