9 Best Shopping in Miami and Miami Beach, Florida

Brickell City Centre houses the one and only stand-alone store of this Italian fragrance and skin-care brand in the United States. But there's so much more than scents and fragrances for sample and sale in the 1,000-square-foot, marble-clad boutique; consumers can also purchase the brand's line of leather bags, travel accessories, and candles. Additionally, an in-store barbershop offers razor shaves with Acqua di Parma’s coveted men's grooming products, the Collezione Barbiere.

This three-story megamall offers the ultimate in South Florida retail therapy and houses many global top performers, including the most lucrative outposts of several U.S. chain stores, a supersize Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, and 300 other shops, like a two-story flagship Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Fendi, which together create one of the largest shopping malls in the United States. Recent additions include a Nike store (where you can customize your Nike gear), the massive Treats Food Hall, and the 93-foot Aventura Slide Tower, a huge spiraling landmark that's also a functioning, nine-story slide open to the public Monday through Saturday 11 am to 9 pm and Sunday 11 am to 8 pm. Consider it a one-stop, shop-'til-you-drop retail mecca for locals, out-of-towners, and—frequently—celebrities.

Beverly Hills meets the South Florida sun at this swank collection of 100 high-end shops, boutiques, and department stores, which currently holds the title as the country’s greatest revenue-earner per square foot. The open-air enclave includes Florida’s largest Saks Fifth Avenue; an 8,100-square-foot, two-story flagship Salvatore Ferragamo store; and stores by Alexander McQueen, Valentino, and local juggernaut The Webster. Restaurants and cafés, in tropical garden settings, overflow with style-conscious diners. A $400 million expansion is currently under way to add 340,387 square feet of retail.

Greater Miami's only independent English-language bookshop specializes in contemporary and classical literature as well as books on the arts, architecture, Florida, and Cuba. The Coral Gables store is the largest of several South Florida locations. Here, you can sip and read in the courtyard lounge or dine at the old-fashioned in-store café while browsing the photography gallery. Multiple rooms are filled with myriad genres; plus there's an entire area dedicated to kids. There are book signings, literary events, poetry, and other readings, too.

A billion dollars in the making, this sleek, three-city-block, mixed-use complex in the heart of Brickell is rife with multiple levels of designer stores, restaurants, food halls, hotel rooms, and residences. The high-end retail rivals that in Bal Harbour and the Design District, solidifying Miami's status as a true shopping destination. The center is a grand fusion of indoor and outdoor space and futuristic architectural design, underscored by the striking, glass-and-steel Climate Ribbon, which controls the enclave's microclimate.

The eight-block-long pedestrian mall between Alton Road and Washington Avenue is home to more than 100 shops, art galleries, restaurants, and cafés, as well as the renovated Colony Theatre. A see-and-be-seen theme is underscored by outdoor seating at every restaurant, where tourists and locals lounge and discuss the people (and pet) parade passing by. Due to high rents, you are more likely to see big corporate stores like J.Crew, H&M, and Victoria's Secret than original boutiques. Nevertheless, a few emporiums and stores with unique personalities remain, along with a number of top-notch restaurants, like Juvia and MILA.

Though exhibited throughout galleries and museums in more than 100 countries, the vibrant, pop art creations by Brazilian artist Romero Britto have become most synonymous with Miami’s playful spirit. His flagship gallery showcases original paintings and limited-edition sculptures for sale. Collectibles, fine art prints, and his signature interpretations in collaboration with some of America’s most iconic characters and brands, including Disney and Coca-Cola, can be found at the Britto Concept store down the street at 532 Lincoln Road.

Complementing its sister store in South Beach, The Webster Bal Harbour houses high-level fashions aplenty for both men and women. Nearly every great contemporary luxury designer is represented (Chanel, Céline,Valentino, Givenchy, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney, etc.) as well as emerging runway darlings. Fashionably impatient? The store can snag ready-to-wear pieces from the latest shows. It also carries exclusive pieces.

Occupying an entire circa-1939 art deco building, The Webster's flagship (and original) location is a tri-level, 20,000-square-foot, one-stop shop for fashionistas. This retail sanctuary carries ready-to-wear fashions by more than 100 top designers, plus in-store exclusive shirts, candles, books, and random trendy items you might need for your South Beach experience—a kind of haute Urban Outfitters for grown-ups.