A Miami Local’s Guide to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami, Florida

I’ve lived in Miami almost my entire adult life and I’ve never been to Vizcaya. Until today, I had only seen it in quinceañera photos.

For those of you that find your way to my website from Russia or Australia, allow me to elaborate. In Latin American cultures, when a girl turns fifteen, her family throws her a huge coming-of-age birthday party similar to a Sweet Sixteen. Since Miami is 85% Hispanic, these parties are very common. And since Vizcaya is one of the most beautiful places in Miami, quinceañera photos are usually taken there.

As we made our way through the beautiful shaded drive up to the entrance, we could see the place was packed. When we got to the parking lot, we were turned away because the “lot was full,” even though I’m fairly certain I saw open parking spots beyond the rent-a-cop’s golf cart. But he was probably just too lazy to move the cones that had been placed there earlier in the day. So we had to park at a lot across the street from the grounds and walk. At least parking was free.

There was a semi-long line to get in which shouldn’t have taken more than 15-20 minutes, but took 40. If I didn’t have a Museum Pass from the Miami-Dade Library System that would get me in free, I would have been pissed about having to pay $18 after waiting in that line. Two museum employees walked around the line asking everybody how many people were in their party and handed out tickets with that number on it. It’s like pinning your drunken friend’s address to his shirt as you stick him in a cab, as if we might not be able to elaborate how many tickets we need when we get to the front of the line. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).