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City Guide - Miami - Further Distractions | ||
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Further Distractions Fairchild Tropical Gardens A magnificent 33-hectare (83-acre) botanical garden just south of Coconut Grove, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants, a 1440-sq-metre (16,000-sq-foot) conservatory, 11 lakes and lily ponds, and the world's greatest collection of palm trees. 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables Tel: (305) 667 1651. Fax: (305) 661 8953. Web site: www.ftg.org Transport: Bus 65. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1630. Admission: US$8 (concessions available). GameWorks Miami Hollywood meets high-tech in this vast game factory, created under the direction of Steven Spielberg with the motto, 'Life's a game, it's meant to be played'. Here both adults and children can try their luck at state-of-the-art and classic video games, ride high-energy modern simulators (skiing, motorcycling, jetskiing), and then combat their hunger in the bar and GameWorks Grill Restaurant. The Shops at Sunset Place, 5701 Sunset Drive Tel: (305) 667 4263. Fax: (305) 740 0912. Web site: www.gameworks.com Transport: Bus 65. Opening hours: Daily 1100-2400 (until 0200 Thurs-Sat); minimum 18 years after 2200. Admission: Free; from US$20 for two hours' play. National Hurricane Center Hurricanes are a constant danger in Florida from June to November and Miami has the highest frequency of hurricane-force winds in the whole of America. At this fascinating research centre, visitors can learn everything they want to know and more about hurricanes, tropical cyclones, storms and 'twister' tracking in the USA. Florida International University Campus, Southwest Seventeenth Street, Sweetwater Tel: (305) 229 4470. E-mail: flepore@nhc.noaa.gov Web site: www.nhc.noaa.gov Transport: Bus 87 to FIU University Park Campus. Opening hours: Half-hour-long tours held Tues and Thurs 1100-1300 (by prior appointment only). Admission: Free. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Vizcaya is a beautiful Italian Renaissance-style palace set in four hectares (ten acres) of picturesque formal gardens, south of downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay. Built as a winter residence for the Chicago industrialist James Deering in 1916, its 70 rooms are filled with antique furnishings spanning the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. 3251 South Miami Avenue, Biscayne Bay Tel: (305) 250 9133. Fax: (305) 285 2004. Web site: www.metro-dade.com/parks Transport: Metrorail Vizcaya. Opening hours: Daily 0930-1700; gardens until 1730 (last entry at 1630). Admission: US$10 (concessions available). |