Miami is often thought of as the ultimate location for fun-seekers looking to have a thrilling tropical vacation… and let’s not kid ourselves Miami is pretty much the perfect place for having fun in the sun and partying all night…, however that doesn’t mean that this tropical paradise doesn’t have its mysterious or downright weird places to visit, so in this post we´ll explore some of weirdest attractions in and around Miami. But don’t worry, you can still bring your swimsuit and your favorite beach attire, we’re still going to Miami after all, so you can be sure there will be a lot of fun in the sun… even if it gets a little weird this time.
Now a little bit of practical advice, Miami is a bigger place than you’d expect and transportation may be a little tricky, especially since some of the places we’re going to visit not in Miami popper but at relatively close driving distances, so if you want to explore this weird side of Miami a recommendable option would be to book a rental car in Miami, as this option gives you greater range of exploration than using public transport, plus, would you miss the opportunity to drive around a convertible in Miami? I know I wouldn’t, so come on, let’s explore that wonderfully weird part of Miami.
Crandon Park Zoo Ruins
Crandon Park is a popular park with sports areas beautiful beaches, and even some natural preserves dedicated to birds. Now, Crandon Park it’s worth visiting by itself as this is perhaps one of the most pleasant areas to be in in the whole Miami area, you can organize both a nice picknick and an afternoon and the beach in the same place! However, hidden in this wonderful park there are also some fascinating reminders of the past. I’m talking about the ruins of the zoo that used to be in here.
You see, at one point there was a zoo at Crandon Park, and it became a famous attraction with at least 1200 animals. The zoo even got a couple of important accomplishments such as successfully breeding Asian elephants in captivity (a feat few zoos ever manage to do, even with today’s standards.) If the zoo was so famous and accomplished what happened? You might be asking. Hurricane Betsy happened. Sadly, making a zoo with a sea view in a hurricane-prone land is… well, a terrible idea really. The zoo never managed to recover after the devastation caused by Hurricane Betsy. Today only the ruins of the zoo stand, and you can explore them to your heart contempt as they were left as a reminder.
There is a 12-minute drive from Miami to Crandon park and parking is free and plentiful.
- The Venetian Pool
The Venetian Pool, strange as it may seem, started its life as a limestone quarry. However, when the limestone was no longer needed, the owners decided to give the site a new life and turned the quarry site into a touristic site. Now, this is no average pool, this pool makes the pool at your hotel looks like a glorified puddle. Here you can find a beautiful pool with turquoise waters, surrounded by a waterfall, and many buildings and decorations on the traditional Venetian style. And the best part of it all is that the water used for this pool comer from a nearby spring, so the waters at this pool are probably cleaner than in any other pool. You can find the pool at 2701 De Soto Blvd, Coral Gables.
- Coral Castle
This site is worth visiting just because of the mystery that permeates it. You see, Coral castle is a garden full of megalithic sculptures made of coral limestone. The sculptures are huge and there are a lot of them, but apparently, all of those enigmatic sculptures were made by a single man as a gift for a woman that tragically never showed up.
There are a lot of rumors around these strange monuments and the man that created them, one of those rumors say that Edward Leedskalnin, Coral Castle’s creator, used occult methods to create these monuments. When asked about the castle’s creation Mr. Leedskalnin was always cryptic about his methods. To aid the mystery, it’s known that he only worked on this project at night and in all the photos related to the sculpture’s creation you can see a tripod, some chains, and a mysterious black box. Of course, this is probably just a local legend, but hey… it’s as weird as weird attractions get.
Now this monument to oddities is not in Miami proper but in Homestead, a nearby town that’s an hour drive away from Miami, so again, renting a car in Miami might be a good option, if you don’t quite know how to rent a car, sites such as Miles Car Rental, can provide you with all the help you need and also the best prices in the market.
- Hallandale Beach and the second biggest statue in the country
If you thought that we weren’t going to the beach on this trip to Miami then you’re wrong, this is Miami after all! So, let’s go to Halladale Beach! Ok… ok maybe I’m cheating a little bit again as this is not in Miami proper, but hey it’s just a half-hour drive from Miami so, it’s not that far anyway.
Hallandale beach is all you expect from a beach and a little bit more, here you can find a clean well-maintained urban beach with lots of restaurants and shops nearby. The beach has gorgeous blue water and it’s not as crowded as many other beaches. This beach is perfect for swimming, taking the sun, or maybe just relaxing and doing nothing all afternoon long which is a great part of the experience of visiting the Miami area.
Now, when it comes to the wonderfully weird part of Hallandale beach you have to make a little bit of a detour from the beach but don’t worry, it’s just a 4-minute drive from the beach, here, more precisely at 901 Federal Hwy, you can find Pegasus and Dragon, the second tallest statue in the USA, rivaled only by the Statue of Liberty. The statue features a Pegasus standing victorious over a defeated dragon and has a little fountain surrounding the epic battle scene. It’s unclear what these battling mythic titans are supposed to represent, but then again, all pieces of art are supposed to be interpreted by everyone in their own way.
And with that concludes our little list of Miami’s wonderfully weird, but don’t believe that that’s everything to see here in Miami, believe me, this is just an appetizer of every weird marvel you’ll find in Miami, so what are you waiting for? Go see the go see everything that Miami has to offer!
