DK Travel : Miami : Downtown and Little Havana

A little rundown, this part of Miami is a foreign land for most Americans, but – if you are willing to make the cultural adjustment – it is a fascinating land. Here along the Miami River is where it all started in the late 1800s, but it took the arrival of Cuban exiles from the 1950s on for Miami to come into its own as a world player. On these brash streets, you will see that the influx from countries to the south has yet to abate and that the face of Miami is more Latino each day.

The Top 10 sights of Little Havana are covered on (see Calle Ocho, Little Havana)

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El Créditto

A raggedy old factory, where you can watch cigars being rolled and breathe in the sweet perfume of pure tobacco.
El Crucero

Old-fashioned hospitality, Cuban style, and amazing cooking. Daily specials are listed on the board. Don’t miss the creamy natilla , a sweet custard with a caramelized top, which rounds off a meal perfectly.
Exquisito Restaurant

The most authentic and affordable on the street, where locals go every day. All the gritty Cuban fare, like brain fritters and horse beef stew, but also things “gringos” can relish, such as Cajun lobster or shrimp, or pork chops.
Flagler Street

Flagler is Downtown Miami’s main drag – loud, bright, busy, and lined with small shops and street peddlers. Pop into the Galería International Mall (243 East Flagler Street, at SE 2nd Avenue) for cheap and tasty ethnic snacks, while on the next block is the stylish Gusman Center. On East Flagler Street at NE 2nd Avenue, look for the Alfred I. DuPont Building (1937–9), a paean to Art Deco in the Depression Moderne style.
Flagler Street

Walking through the heart of Downtown Miami is reminiscent of a marketplace you might encounter in Latin America – colorful, brash, rather seedy – and none too safe at night.
Freedom Tower

Downtown’s landmark was built in 1925 in the Mediterranean-Revival style, inspired by the Giralda, an 800-year-old bell tower in Seville, Spain. Initially home to the now-defunct Miami Daily News , its role and name changed in the 1960s, when it became the reception center to process more than 500,000 Cubans fleeing Castro. It was restored in 1988 to create a Cuban museum, which is located in the lobby of the building.
Garcia’s Seafood Grille & Fish Market

A family-run eatery with a friendly atmosphere, in-and outdoors, though you might have a bit of a wait. Great grouper chowder, and conch salad.
Gesu Church

This Mediterranean-Revival building in the Spanish Colonial style (built 1922) is the oldest Catholic church in Miami. Dozens of masses are held every week, in English and Spanish. The church is noted for its stained-glass windows, which were made in Munich, Germany. The ceiling mural was restored in its entirety by a lone Nicaraguan refugee in the late 1980s.

Mosaic on dome of Gesu Church
Guayacan

Cozy and unpretentious, this is Cuban fare with a zingy Nicaraguan twist. Try the pescado a la Tipitapa , a whole red snapper deep-fried and drenched in a sauce of onions and peppers. Wonderful soups as well.
Gusman Center for the Performing Arts

Built in 1926, this theater has a fabulously ornate Moorish interior and is housed in the similarly colorful and festooned Olympia Building. It began as a vaudeville theater, where Rudy Vallee used to perform, and Elvis Presley also gigged here. Inside, the hall looks like an Arabian Nights palace, with turrets, towers, intricate columns, and a crescent moon and stars in the ceiling. Buy a ticket to anything just to see it.

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Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- under $20
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