Welcome to Miami

Miami is hot in summer and coolish in winter. Spring and autumn less so. That about covers the weather in Miami. Sure, the occasional hurricane threatens holiday harmony but it's rare.  Summer hits peaks of around 32C. Winter averages about 19C. It's drier in winter, with rain squalls generally a summer thing.

Cheap, expensive and everything in between.

Dining out in Miami Beach is cheap, largely brilliant and a vast array of flavours to tempt every palate.

The budget options - Miami boasts so many choices across the price range that it's hard to know where to begin. The Rascal House 17190 Collins Avenue is a 50s style American Diner. It's a fun way to experience old-style cooking. The News Cafe is at 800 Ocean Drive and serves up European fare with flare. It's good, well-priced and hearty.

Mid price options - for a more upscale experience try Big Fish at 55 SW Miami Avenue Road. It's a seafood joint as you'll have guessed, and while the food is good, it's the superb waterfront location you're here for. Downtown Miami has dozens of choices, but for a good selection try the Bayside Market Place - stacks of venues so you can simply go for what you fancy.

Splurge - you can all the way to the top in Miami, but for a splurge at a uniquely Miami spot try Joe's Stone Crab. The place is a local institution and, allegedly, the originator of all things crab. Bisques, sandwiches, platters - whatever can be done with crab is. All you do is choose.

Miami is sun, sea and food

Miami is supposedly one of the coolest hangouts on the planet at the moment. And it's not hard to see why. A drive through South Beach showcases the hundreds of great restaurants, hole in the wall bars and the glamorous people cavorting on the pavement. The beaches are clean and good and the nightlife has everything you could possibly imagine.

South Beach is Miami - take a walk down Ocean Drive and drink it all in! The turquoise ocean beckons during the day and the surfers, beach babes and everyone in between lap it up. As evening falls the sidewalk cafes, little bars and outdoor dining restaurants come alive and as night settles in the dusk 'til dawn nightclubs start pounding out some beats.

Ocean Drive Art Deco - the golden era for architecture in Miami happily coincided with the art deco movement. Once dilapidated buildings have been repaired and fastidiously repainted in the art deco style. The result is several blocks worth of great looking buildings. Just stroll Ocean Drive and you'll see it all.

Little Havana - if a little bit of latino fun is your thing head for Little Havana centred around the Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street) area. Smell the cigars, taste the Cuban food in the dozens of small restaurants, enjoy shopping Havana style.

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens - on Biscayne Bay is a fairy tale castle in the middle of hedonistic Miami. The delightful building and marvellous grounds are a wedding planner dream. Inside, the wealthy opulence is on display and you'll get a taste of what money could buy way back when.

Beer from home - if you just can't do one more candy-coloured frizzy cocktail that threatens to knock you off your pedestal, go for a home brew courtesy of the Abbey bar on South Beach. They brew their own in the European style as well as offering a selection of beers from Europe. There's even a dart board.

Key Biscayne - is the nearest of the Florida Key islands to Miami and it's a welcome relief after all the frivolity and sun oil of South Beach. This is back to nature in a cool, undeveloped haven, far from the madding crowds. Take the kids here and just chill on the pristine beaches.

The must see - the clubbing scene in Miami is the real deal. The swanky Florida Room is good old chandelier-lit fun with a rococo theme happening. It's big and brassy, sophisticated and hip. Swing your thing for a night and go home having done one of the 'it' places in the world.