A day in the Miami Design District doesn’t have to be expensive—the neighborhood actually has a bevy of free things to do. Read below to find out how to spend a day in Miami’s most dazzling neighborhood without spending a dime (unless you want to, of course!)
Miami Design District Performance Series
On select Fridays starting in the fall, the Miami Design District Performance Series brings live musical performances produced by 19-time Grammy© Award-winning producer, Emilio Estefan, to Palm Court. In collaboration with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and the Knight Foundation, the series has included performances by acclaimed musicians like: Julian Marley & The Uprising, Thelma Houston, Nestor Torres, Emily Estefan, El Micha, The South Florida Youth Symphony and Taylor Dayne. The upcoming season starts on October 18 with a performance by the Miami Symphony Orchestra in partnership with the YoungArts Foundation. For a really fun night out, couple this free event with happy hour at the Estefan’s Cuban fine-dining restaurant and bar, Estefan Kitchen, which offers VIP stage-side table service during each performance.
Estefan Kitchen is located at 140 NE 39th Street. Reservations for Performance Series Fridays can be made on OpenTable or by calling (786) 843-3880.
Enjoy a Family-Fun Kind of Day
The neighborhood regularly hosts Family Day in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. They take place once a month on Sundays and offer a schedule of interesting and educational activities for all ages. In the past, these events have included Hispanic Heritage celebrations, yoga, gardening classes, story time and plant-inspired art activities. If you can’t make the official Family Day, there is still plenty to do for the little ones like playing around Dozie Kanu’s play structures, grabbing a glitter topped ice cream cone with homemade cotton candy at Madlab Creamery (not free but worth every delicious cent) or browse the best in kids gear and clothing at State of Kid and Genius Jones.
Take a Neighborhood Art Tour
The Miami Design District is centered around art and design. To see all it has to offer, join the free art tour with journalist, art critic and educator Margery Gordon. Occurring one Wednesday evening and one Saturday afternoon every month, these tours (which are perfect for all ages) highlight both the public art and art institutions in the neighborhood. Groups meet in front of the Fly’s Eye Dome in Palm Court.
Palm Court is located at 140 NE 39th Street. Find upcoming tour dates and times here.
Go Gallery Hopping
As if the murals and sculptures around every corner weren’t enough, Miami Design District is also filled with a slew of art galleries like Opera Gallery and Markowicz Fine Arts and art institutions begging for you to visit. If starting a collection is high on your list, we promise you’ll find plenty of art work you’ll want to take home with you. There are also plenty of organizations and museums with free admission like the nonprofit Locust Projects, the de la Cruz Collection or the ICA Miami that feature established and emerging artists from across the globe and offer a variety of exhibits and programming year-round.
Click here to see the full list of art organizations in the Miami Design District.
Special Events
There’s always something going on in the Design District. The stores, restaurants, design showrooms and art organizations all stage events big and small and many are free and open to the public. Check the neighborhood event calendar here or sign up for the Miami Design District newsletter and stay in the know about free upcoming lectures, wellness events, exhibitions and more.
