Get up close to animal magic
What’s the ideal Christmas gift for the animal lover in your life?
How about a close encounter with the world’s most iconic creatures that’s guaranteed to put a smile on their face?
Tickets for VIP meet-ups with some of the most popular animals at Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire, have just been released for 2022.
Fancy feeding lunch to the world’s tallest animals? With their Meet The Giraffes experience you get to serve them their favourite food of willow branches while an expert zookeeper gives you the lowdown on the herd (£54pp).
Come face-to-face with the elephants, Whipsnade’s largest residents, as you go behind the scenes at the elephant house, feed them lunch and discover more about the species from one of the keepers (£99pp).
There’s also a Meet The Lions experience (£84pp) as well as a Meet The Tigers experience (£84pp).
Or, you can be a zookeeper for a day with animal encounters, mucking out activities, breakfast, lunch and refreshments, a T-shirt and 20% off zoo admission for spectators (January-march £149pp, Apriloctober £295pp).
Purchase zoo tickets separately. zsl.org/meet-the-animals/ zsl-whipsnade-zoo
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and colour schemes. One of the most eye-catching hotels is the Breakwater – a distinctive blue and white landmark by day which dazzles at night when the switch is flicked on its outdoor neon lights. The most recognisable building on the strip is the former home of tragic fashion designer, Gianni Versace. The Villa Casa Casuarina is now a luxury hotel and restaurant.
For a bit of high culture in South Beach, head to the Frank Gehry-designed New World Centre. This is the home of America’s orchestral academy and almost every Saturday evening the students, some of the best young classical musicians in the world, play a concert. No need to buy a ticket.
You can join the hundreds of people who gather outside the centre with picnics to enjoy the shows on big screens for free.
Foodies should head to Time Out Market, a firm favourite of locals and tourists in South Beach. Inside, there is a choice of 12 restaurants and bars serving everything from steaks and grilled cheese to
Vietnamese pho.
Cuban soul
Just west of Downtown Miami is the famous Cuban neighbourhood, Little
Havana. With 1950s’ cars cruising the streets, Art Deco buildings and shops, bars and restaurants that have been run by the same families for generations, it is a real slice of living history.
Domino Park, on the corner of SW 8th Street, is a famous meeting spot for residents who sip coffee, chat and play dominoes, a tradition from the old country brought over to Miami and is placed firmly at its centre.
At the Ball & Chain you can sample mojitos while listening to a samba band in the sunshine. Then head across the famous Calle Ocho strip to the wonderfully
Little Havana, with its Art Deco and 1950s’ cars, is a slice of living history
named El Pub for an empanada – almost a Cuban Cornish pasty, but much spicier – and a colada coffee to perk you up.
No trip to Little Havana would be complete without a classic Cuban sandwich made up of pork, marinated in garlic and citrus juice for two days, then slow-cooked and served with peppers, onion, Swiss cheese and mustard between two slabs of Cuban bread.
Bustling Brickell
Not to be confused with
Downtown
Miami, Brickell is one of the fastest growing neighbourhoods, full of hot new hotels, glittering skyscrapers and an exciting cultural scene.
EAST Miami is Brickell’s latest luxury “lifestyle” retreat. Every room has floor-toceiling windows and oversized balconies, there’s a stylish 40th-floor rooftop bar, trendy pool deck, hidden tea room, tapas bar, grill restaurant, all sitting above the Brickell City Centre mall, packed with entertainment, shops and restaurants.
Just north of Brickell are two of Miami’s most exciting museums,
Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, which houses the multi-level Gulf Stream Aquarium as well as the Frost Planetarium. The views from the top of this futuristic building of the city and across the Biscayne Bay are incredible.
To sample Miami’s natural beauty, head down on to the water where Miami Ecoadventures offers a very different view. On a tandem kayaking adventure, you can paddle past the city skyline, while checking out the mangroves and watching out for brown pelicans, nurse sharks and stingrays.
Every building is emblazoned with some form of street art
Art at its heart
Shaking off its industrial past to welcome creative enterprises and hot new galleries is Miami’s art district, Wynwood.
But art here isn’t all about masterpieces hung on stark white walls. Every building is emblazoned with a form of street art, all of it striking and thought-provoking.
One of the most photographed places in the world, Wynwood Walls is an outdoor gallery created by graffiti artists and muralists and includes work by Shepard Fairey, the artist who designed Barack Obama’s famous “Hope” poster.