Little Havana
Little Havana is located just west of Downtown Miami. Also known as the Latin Quarter, it received its name by being a Cuban neighborhood from the 1970s until the 1990s, but now consists of many Central and South Americans. Its main drag is along 8th St or Calle Ocho, where authentic Latin shops and restaurants abound and the majority of the population speak entirely in Spanish. Each year, the neighborhood hosts the annual Calle Ocho parade, the largest street festival in the world. Although the area is far less dangerous today than in its past, don't wander into the neighborhoods late at night, particularly East Little Havana (east of 17th Ave) where high crime rates and gang activity is still a concern.
Understand
Get in
The easiest and most convenient way of getting to Little Havana is by car, where street parking is plentiful and affordable. However, public transit options also exist. MetroRail does not go through Little Havana, but there are a handful of bus routes that do.
By bus
You can take the #6, #7, #8, #11, #207, or #208 buses from Downtown Miami. The #11, #207, and #208 can be picked up at the Government Center MetroRail/MetroMover station, and the #6 and #8 can be picked up near the Brickell MetroRail/MetroMover station. The #7 bus comes from Downtown Miami, stopping at the College North MetroMover station and the Overtown MetroRail station. See this map for more information.
The #37 and #42 buses come from Miami International Airport.
See
- 1 Tower Theater, 1508 SW 8th St, ☏ +1 305 642-1264. A prominent Art Deco landmark on Calle Ocho, airing movies subtitled in Spanish.
- 2 Gomez Park (Domino Park), Calle Ocho and 15th Ave. A small park at the intersection of Calle Ocho and SW 15th Ave, named in honor of Maximo Gomez, the commander of the Cuban troops during its War of Independence in the late 19th century. 15th Ave between Calle Ocho and 9th St is paved with a beautiful wavy brick pattern with images of dominoes, and there are domino motifs throughout the design of the park, which owe its influence to the large crowd of 55-year-old-and-up men who gather here every day to play this and other tabletop games. In case you're wondering: yes, they do card. Visitors, of course, are welcome to observe the greatest center of public street life in Little Havana.
- 3 Cuban Memorial Boulevard, Calle Ocho and SW 13th Ave.. The median along this boulevard is home to many statues and monuments, including an eternal flame burning in memory of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, a statue commemorating Bay of Pigs brigade member Nestor 'Tony' Izquierdo, a large relief map of Cuba with a quote by Cuban independence leader José Martí, and many others. If you look carefully at the massive ceiba tree located here, with its large, above-ground roots, you might see piles or bags of chicken bones, which are ritual sacrifices by practitioners of the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria.
Do
- 1 loanDepot Park, 501 Marlins Way (Little Havana), toll-free: +1-877-MARLINS (6275467), ticketsales@marlins.com. One of the newer stadiums in Major League Baseball, loanDepot Park opened in April 2012 as Marlins Park at the former site of the Orange Bowl as the new home of the renamed Miami Marlins. The futuristic, retractable-roof park broke new ground in ballpark architecture; at the insistence of the team's then-owner Jeffrey Loria, it is designed to reflect the culture of 21st-century Miami. Check website or call the toll-free number for tickets to Marlins games.
- Little Havana Food Tour. in Little Havana, a lively, family-friendly neighborhood, and begin a guided edible journey through one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods. Learn about traditional, rustic Cuban cuisine by tasting your way through the must-visit street in the area — Calle Ocho.
Buy
- La Casa de las Guayaberas, 5840 Southwest 8th St, ☏ +1 305 266-9683. A store where you can find guayaberas (a Cuban shirt that has buttons but a loose fit and pleats) for men and women. Ronald Reagan came to this store himself to buy a guayabera. Shirts can be bought off the rack or custom-tailored.
- Back In Style Vintage & Designer Clothing & Accessories (for Women & Men), 2209 SW 10 St, toll-free: +1-866-642-6426. Back In Style is a vintage & designer clothing & accessories showroom that is open select hours, or by appointment. Please call ahead. Named one of the top 5 vintage websites in the world by Vogue Russia, over the past 10 years Back In Style has supplied clothing to celebrities, magazines, television, and couture fashion houses. Their pieces have been featured in international publications such as Vogue, Lucky Magazine, UK Grazia, Daily Candy, Marie Claire, Supermodels Unlimited, & Six Degrees, and their gowns have been worn on the red carpet at the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes and People’s Choice Awards. Clients include Chloe Sevigny, Daisy Fuentes, Tila Tequila, Julia Roberts, and James Scott. Back-in-Style.com has a wide variety of items as old as the 1940s, and as current as today, ranging from hard to find couture designers, to unique novelty items and period pieces.
Eat
Sedanos market is the place to go for dining needs. Also try Tamiami Inn's homemade style meatball chowder.
- 1 Versailles Restaurant and Bakery, 3501 SW 8th St, ☏ +1 305 441-2500. M-F 8AM-10PM, Sa-Su 9AM-1AM. A prominent gathering place and political forum for the Cuban-American community. The desserts here are delicious.
- Azucar Ice Cream Company, LLC, 1503 SW 8th St, ☏ +1 305 381-0369. This "only in Miami" scoop shop, creates artisanal gourmet ice creams and tropical fruit sorbets in Cuban and Latin American inspired flavors. Flavors include Guava, Mamey, Mango and Key Lime Pie ice creams. Signature Miami flavors such as Abuela Maria (vanilla, guava, cream cheese and Maria cookies) and Cuban Rum Cake (vanilla, rum cake and walnuts) are local favs.
- Yambo Restaurant, 1643 SW 1st St, ☏ +1 305-649-0203. 24 hours. Nicaraguan. Has a take-away area and a sit-down restaurant decorated in Nicaraguan style. Mains $8.
- 2 La Carreta, SW 8th St, ☏ +1 305 444-7501. Open 24 hr a day. Cuban. The flagship restaurant of a small chain of Cuban restaurants (including one location at Miami International Airport). The majority of staff speak limited English but menus are available in English and Spanish. $5–22 per person, per meal.
Drink
- Los Pinareños Fruteria, 1334 SW 8th St, ☏ +1 305 285-1135. An authentic Latin American open-air fruit market that sells fruit smoothies and coffee, but they are best known for their sugar cane juice. $3.
- Cubaocho, 1465 SW 8th St. Extensive rum collection and art work.
Sleep
- Hostel Brazilian, 133 Southwest 17th Court, ☏ +55 84 9498-6477 (WhatsApp). Beds in 6-room dorms. From $21.
- 1 Life House, Little Havana, 528 SW 9th Ave, ☏ +1 305-778-2713, toll-free: +1 866-466-7534. Built in the 1920s it is one of few "grand hotels" in Little Havana.