4 Best Sights in Miami and Miami Beach, Florida

This über-high-design architectural masterpiece on Biscayne Bay is a sight to behold. Double-story, cylindrical hanging gardens sway from high atop the museum, anchored to stylish wooden trusses that help create this gotta-see-it-to-believe-it indoor-outdoor museum. Large sculptures, Asian-inspired gardens, sexy white benches, and steel frames surround the property. Inside, the 120,000-square-foot space houses multicultural art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Most of the interior space is devoted to temporary exhibitions, which have included the likes of Ai Weiwei: According to What? and Grids: A Selection of Paintings by Lynne Golob Gelfman. Even if you aren't a "museum type," come check out this magnum opus over lunch at Verde, the museum's sensational waterfront restaurant and bar.

Fans of edgy art will appreciate the Rubell Museum (formerly the Rubell Family Collection). Mera and Don Rubell have accumulated work by artists from the 1970s to the present, including Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, and Keith Haring. New thematic and topical exhibitions debut annually, during Art Basel in December. (For example, a previous exhibition, Still Human, delved into the impact of the digital revolution on the human condition.) Admission always includes a complimentary audio tour; however, true art lovers should opt for a complimentary guided tour of the collection, offered Wednesday through Saturday at 3 pm. Stop in for lunch at the on-site restaurant, Leku, serving Basque cuisine that's just as beautiful as the museum's art.

Special exhibitions join a diverse collection of international contemporary art at this museum whose original 1930s art deco building was designed by Russell Pancoast and constructed entirely of Florida keystone (material with a coral base). A years-long, $12 million expansion by noted architects Arata Isozaki and David Gauld, completed in 2017, increased internal space nearly 50% and added four new galleries. Most of the exhibitions are temporary, but works on permanent display include Chess Tables, a sculpture by Jim Drain, and Miami Mountain, a sculpture by Ugo Rondinone. Visit for free the third Thursday and last Sunday of every month.

Late millionaire Naomi Wilzig's collection of some 4,000 erotic items is on display at this unique museum. Expect sexy art of varying quality—fertility statues from around the globe and historic Japanese shunga books (erotic art offered as gifts to new brides on their wedding night) share the space with some kitschy knickknacks. If this is your thing, an original phallic prop from Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and an over-the-top Kama Sutra bed are worth the price of admission. Kids 17 and under are not admitted.