VIZCAYA MUSEUM & GARDENS

3251 South Miami Ave.
Miami, FL 33129
(305) 250-9133

Hours: open daily except Christmas from 9:30am to 4:30pm, when the ticket booth closes. The house remains open until 5pm, the gardens until 5:30. Guided and group tours are available and moonlight tours of the formal gardens are especially popular. Be sure to call ahead to see when the next one’s scheduled.  

Admission: $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 13.

 

Millionaire industrialist James Deering liked the good things in  life. Even when it came to his winter home on Biscayne Bay, he spared no expense. He roamed Europe to find the finest of period pieces for his mansion.

Now, his home and gardens are owned by the Metro-Dade Parks, and is one of two officially designated National Historic Landmarks in Miami-Dade County. They offer visitors a glimpse of life in high society during an earlier age.

Deering’s 34-room Italian-Renaissance-style "villa," constructed around a central courtyard, was completed in 1916. It is furnished with period furniture and artwork from the 15^th to the 19^th centuries.

The formal Italian gardens cover more than 10 acres with beautiful plants and dramatic fountains and statuary.

Vizcaya was the site of the 1994 Summit of the Americas and has been visited by scores of dignitaries - from Pope John Paul II to Queen Elizabeth to American presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Special accommodations are available for wheelchair-bound visitors. Audio-taped tours and large-print guidebooks are available.