Shopping
Shopping opportunities abound in Miami, with a broad assortment of facilities ranging from sophisticated malls to small specialist boutiques. Miracle Mile in Coral Gables has quality galleries, boutiques and department stores, while the 6.4-hectare (16-acre) waterfront Bayside Marketplace, in downtown Miami, offers an unusual mix of retail shops and local artisan stalls. Other key areas are the funky boutiques of South Beach (most notably the Lincoln Road shopping district, nicknamed the ‘Fifth Avenue of the South’), The Gallery at CocoWalk (see Coconut Grove in Key Attractions) the exclusive Streets of Mayfair shopping centres in Coconut Grove and the numerous malls scattered about Greater Miami. A stretch of Collins Avenue, between Sixth and Eighth Streets, in South Beach, has a handful of local boutiques and medium-price chain stores like Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters and A/X Armani Exchange.
For chic interiors and objects for the home, nothing surpasses the Miami Design District (NE 36th to NE 41st Streets, between NE Second Avenue and North Miami Avenue; website: www.designmiami.com), where high-end decor and furniture shops are open to the public.
Aventura Mall, 19501 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura (tel: (305) 935 1110; website: www.shopaventuramall.com), is one of the most popular malls, featuring Burdines, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Sears, JC Penney and over 250 smaller shops. Bal Harbour, 9700 Collins Avenue (see Miami Beach in Key Attractions), is renowned for its high-end designer boutiques, such as Gucci and Tiffany. Sawgrass Mills, 12801 West Sunrise Boulevard, in Fort Lauderdale (tel: (954) 846 2300; website: www.sawgrassmillsmall.com), is the place to shop for bargains – it is the world’s largest outlet mall with more than 300 discounted brand-name stores.
Most malls are open Monday to Saturday 1000-2100 and Sunday 1200-1800. Most supermarkets open daily 0800-2200, although some are open 24 hours. Sales taxes are 6.5% on all goods – and there is no system for claiming this back. Credit cards are widely accepted.
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