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Master-chef Mark Militello offers a wonderful fusion dining experience. Culinary stunners may include tenderloin of beef with roasted garlic purée on a polenta crouton. Desserts are extraordinary, too, and the wine selection perfect (see Mark’s South Beach, South Beach).

This has been a Miami institution since the 1960s, when the hit TV series Flipper was filmed here. Trained dolphins still swim in the cove where Flipper once swam, and you can join them under a trainer’s watchful eye for a fee. There are live shows throughout the day, featuring sea lions and killer whales as well as dolphins. Other areas provide viewing stations to see manatees, sharks, a mangrove of pelicans, and a coral reef aquarium.

Go – even if it’s just to sample a tipple or two from the cocktail menu. This stylish, sophisticated nightspot is for a hip South Beach crowd in the know.

It’s a bit off the beaten path, but this is a bar, lounge, and dance club all in one. Hip-hop reigns supreme, with non-stop music and a party atmosphere.

This hip-hop dance club is not exclusively gay, but it is gayfriendly and has some gay-only nights, and some gay-only Sunday mornings.

Numero uno on Ocean Drive, it’s spacious and bustling, perfect for a drink, snack, or meal, and avid people-watching.

Favored by the likes of Julia Roberts, this open-air venue is one of the most exclusive, so be prepared to wait. Mostly house music.

Recipes are delicious experimental meldings of Pacific Rim and Caribbean. Tuna tartar with Idaho potato chips, Szechuan grilled Florida Keys grouper, and broiled Florida grapefruit are typical (see Pacific Time, South Beach).

Formerly called Studio. Comfort food, artists’ sanctuary, and bar, at the epicenter of gay life at the beach.

See more than 3,000 species of animals and over 110 species of plants at this 18.6- acre theme park. The centerpiece is the beautiful tropical gardens, and a highlight is the park's worldfamous bird show, with parrots, storks, macaws, cockatoos, cranes, a Blythe hornbill, and other unusual birds. But there are more than birds here: there is a huge collection of reptiles (including a rare albino alligator) and poisonous snakes, in the Serpentarium, and a petting farm with lots of friendly animals. You don’t even have to pay admission to enjoy the beautiful views at the Lakeside Cafe – it overlooks a sea of pink flamingos in Flamingo Lake.