The Best Date Ideas in Miami

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens sits in Coconut Grove, with a Main House and ten acres of formal Italian gardens. After dark, the estate hosts Roaring 20s parties, moonlit garden walks, and a monthly night market.

The museum is open daily except Tuesdays, from 9:30am to 4:30pm. Restoration work is under way and may affect some areas.

Rare tropical plants fill 83 acres at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, which also has orchids and a 25,000-square-foot butterfly house. The garden changes with the season: January brings chocolate samples, spring has orchids, and summer is for mangos. New art goes up each December.

The garden is open daily from 10am to 5pm, except December 25.

Explore the illusions at Paradox Museum Miami in Wynwood, where exhibits make you appear to shrink, grow, or float in zero gravity. The mirror room and other interactive spaces give you plenty of chances to take photos together along the way.

Plan for around 75 minutes. Book ahead online, since tickets may sell out.

Step into the immersive installations at Superblue Miami in Allapattah, where more than 50,000 square feet hold works by artists including teamLab and James Turrell. In Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Pulse Topology, 3,000 lights pulse in response to visitors’ heartbeats, giving you plenty to experience and talk about together.

Plan about 90 minutes and wear comfortable shoes. Buy tickets ahead on busy weekends. A concept store and cafe sit on the premises too.

Paddle through the mangroves at Oleta River State Park in North Miami by kayak, canoe, or paddleboard, with routes that lead out toward Haulover Sandbar. Go later in the day for a sunset paddle.

On full-moon nights, guided kayak tours add local history and wildlife along the route, plus a light snack. The park is open daily from 8am to sunset.

SoundScape Park in South Beach shows free movies on Wednesdays from October through May, on a projection wall beside the New World Center. A blanket, a bottle of wine or a picnic basket are all welcome on the lawn.

Free concerts and monthly WALLCAST concerts also take place in the 2.5-acre park.

Stroll down Española Way, a tree-lined pedestrian street in South Beach with twinkling lights and Spanish-inspired architecture dating back to 1925. Stop for dinner at Pane & Vino, Piccola Cucina, Tapas y Tintos, or A La Folie, then stick around for live music on the weekends.

Kyu is a dimly lit, wood-fired restaurant in Wynwood serving Asian-inspired dishes made for sharing, including Japanese barbecue and Korean fried chicken. For a longer night out, stop for a drink at No. 3 Social beforehand, then head over for dinner.

Spend the afternoon at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, where the 1825 lighthouse, beaches, and waterfront views make it easy to turn a walk into a longer date. Pack a picnic, stop at The Cleat for a sunset drink, and stay through golden hour.

The park is open daily from 8am to sunset.

Spend a few hours at Schnebly Redland’s Winery in the Redland, where waterfalls, koi ponds, fountains, and footbridges fill the grounds. Taste wines made from tropical fruits like passion fruit and lychee, then stay for dinner at the winery’s restaurant.

The winery is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 5pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 11pm, and Sunday from 11am to 8pm.