This Italian inspired estate on Biscayne Bay was built in 1916 by Chicago industrialist James Deering and is so immersive with it’s European style architecture, furnishings, and gardens, that you just might forget you’re only a few miles from South Beach.
Called a museum because the property has been perfectly preserved and features the most lavish European decorations and furnishings, this place is a gem and sure to impress even the most museum adverse folks.
- If you love architecture, history, design, and beautiful gardens. - If you’re looking for something to do in Miami besides the beach.
The gardens get most of the attention here (because they photograph so well), but the house was actually my favorite part!
In a lot of historic homes like this you never see the bathrooms or they haven’t been preserved or restored but these were so detailed and seeing how well equipped they were for the time really drove home how luxurious this place was.
Every room in this place was magnificent, but I found myself really drawn to the smaller details like the phone room and the elevator.
Vizcaya is open Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays) at 9:30AM with the last entry at 4:30PM. The house closes at 5PM and the gardens close at 5:30PM. If you can, I would recommend going on a weekday and early in the day if possible.