Miami Shopping
The range of noteworthy shopping alternatives
in South Florida includes immense, popular, bazaar-like
malls with a lot of amusements and little elegance,
to outdoor art museum-like parks that offer the finest
world-class merchandise in inexpressibly beautiful,
architected environments. We have selected a few special
venues that we feel best exemplify this range, from
which you will be sure to find just the right selection
to suit your mood and budget.
Sawgrass Mills
Sawgrass Mills is an immense shopping mall with hundreds
of stores and over 30 eating establishments, located
near the Sawgrass Expressway, in the city of Sunrise,
surrounded by acres of parking lots and connecting roadways
from all angles of the city. Although it was intended
to be one of the first outlet malls, where major retailers
such as Sears and Neiman Marcus send their clearance
and marked down items for quick sale, it has begun to
attract, along with the crowds, the kinds of stores
one would find in malls catering to a more monied clientele,
such as coffee and chocolate shops, a Wolfgang Puck
Café, Disney and Ralph Lauren outlets, contemporary
fashion shops, and one of a kind curio shops.
You can skip your aerobics session on the day you walk
the 2 miles of halls, shaped like a twisting alligator.
Taking a movie break at one of the Regal 23 theaters
also is a good way to punctuate your day. Be sure to
remember which color and animal-coded entrance you parked
near, or use the valet parking, which makes sense here,
and is more than a luxury in a mall of this size.
Sawgrass Mills. 12801 West Sunrise
Boulevard, Sunrise, FL
Aventura Mall
In keeping with the surrounding neighborhood, Aventura
Mall features all of the major retailers, including
Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, as well as over
250 of the more contemporary shops and restaurants,
arrayed indoors and outdoors on 3 floors, in a Mediterranean-style
atmosphere.
The emphasis here is on contemporary and cutting edge
fashion and cuisine, enjoyed in an elegantly designed
setting. Contemporary films also are featured at one
of the AMC 24-theaters. For a complete experience in
unhassled, luxury shopping, take advantage of the valet
parking, wear your breeziest and best outfit, and come
prepared for a day of shopping and dining in a very
classy environment.
Aventura Mall. 19501 Biscayne Boulevard,
Aventura, FL
South Beach
If you want to experience world-class shopping, outside
of the malls where you have much the same selection
as you do at home, then South Beach is the place to
go for the most unique, contemporary and quality clothing,
jewelry and art, as well as some of the finer antiques
available in our area. Shop after shop, arrayed with
eating establishments and clubs, make South Beach one
of the most popular outdoor malls in the world.
The 12-block-long Lincoln Road area, which connects
Biscayne Bay with the Atlantic beach, and where no cars
are allowed, is pure South Beach at its best. You will
find some of the finest restaurants and one-of-a-kind
shops in the world along Lincoln Road, which is between
16th and 17th Streets, just south of the Jackie Gleason
Theater.
Lincoln Road. Btw. 16th & 17th
Streets, Collins Avenue to Bay Road, Miami Beach, FL
Las Olas Boulevard
This downtown Fort Lauderdale road to the beach is
known for its annual art fair, held on Labor Day weekend,
where artists and their patrons can mingle, sip and
snack along the sidewalks. Throughout the rest of the
year, the fair is still very much in full swing, except
that it moves indoors into the many shops, eating establishments
and clubs lining the boulevard. Any time of the year
is perfect for a visit to Las Olas. Here you will find
the quieter treasures, off the beaten path.
Sidewalk cafes are everywhere, along with art and antique
galleries. Some of the movie stars from South Beach
might venture here, but you probably will not recognize
them, as they also are trying to get away from it all,
enjoy quality food and drink in fresh, upscale surroundings
without a lot of flash and commercialism. You will find
the casual but elegant ambiance of Las Olas particularly
suitable either before or after your trip to the beach.
Las Olas Boulevard. 3 blocks south
of Broward, mostly between SE 6th and 11th Avenues,
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Mizner Park
Aptly named, Mizner Park is much more than a mall.
It is a place to renew yourself with inspiring architecture,
landscaping, fountains, non-intrusive live music, and
shady, breezy, palm-lined walkways. You could spend
days there, and not get tired of shopping and dining,
walking and looking. Jacobson’s and Bang &
Olufsen are just a couple of examples of shops whose
names are associated with the highest quality, and found
only in the most exclusive neighborhoods.
Even the movie theaters, unlike the uninspired multiplex
hives found in most malls, are smaller in number, luxuriously
appointed, and feature only first-run, foreign and domestic
films of the highest quality. Your visit to Mizner Park
undoubtedly will be one of the memories remaining with
you which eventually compels your return visit to South
Florida.
Mizner Park. Just east of Federal
Highway, between Palmetto Park and Glades Roads, Boca
Raton, FL
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