If you are visiting Miami and looking for activities that are dog-friendly, Miami Design District should be at the top of your list! Miami Design District is not only home to luxury fashion designers such as Fendi, Dior, Cartier and Alexander McQUEEN, but has celebrity-chef restaurants, art galleries and unique outdoor sculptures. While my wallet cannot afford to shop there, I love to explore Miami’s Design District for its modern architecture and outdoor art. You can find a bunch of Instagrammable photo spots. Make sure to bring water for your dog and stay in the shade as much as possible because it can get very hot on a Miami afternoon! Afterwards, I recommend stopping for an ice cream or grabbing dinner outdoors at one of the nearby dog-friendly restaurants.
Parking:
I recommend parking at the Museum Garage at 90 NE 41st St, Miami, FL 33137. The garage itself is a work of art and only cost me $3 to park for about 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon. I drove up and down the streets looking for street parking for about 20 minutes, but wish I would have known about the garage in advance. The price and convenience can’t be beat.
Eating:
3 great places to eat in Miami’s Design District are Swan, MIA Market and Mandolin Aegean Bistro. Swan is a chic restaurant in the heart of the Design District with indoor and outdoor dining. The menu has seasonal and market-driven ingredients as well as various seafood options. I recommend making a reservation as Swan can be very popular. The MIA Market is a chef-driven food hall with lots of cuisine options from Southern to Italian to Israeli to Vietnamese. There is something for everyone at the food hall. You can eat indoors or outdoors. Mandolin Aegean Bistro is a beautiful Greek restaurant whose outdoor dining will transport you to the Mediterranean. I recommend booking a reservation here well in advance. Mandolin is a couple of blocks north of Miami’s Design District, but is worth the walk!
Walking Tour of Outdoor Art:
Stop 1 – JOKESTER 2 by Paula Crown
When you walk out of the Museum Garage, the first piece you will come across is located on the corner of N.E. 40th St and N.E. 1st Avenue. This 10-foot exhibit that looks like a crushed red SOLO cup is meant for us to reflect on our use of plastic and the effect on the environment. The artist is advocating for environmental activism and for us to end our use of single-use plastic. There are also several food trucks on this street corner if you’re hungry.
Stop 2 – Gorilla by Eddy Maniez
Keep your eyes peeled as you walk around the neighborhood. You never know what cool pieces of art or wall murals you will find as the Miami Design District continues to add new exhibits. We stumbled upon this awesome Gorilla outside the Marcowicz Fine Art store at 110 NE 40th St, Miami, FL 33137. The gorilla is made of silicone and crystals.
Stop 3 – Fendi Colonnade
Walk east on N.E. 40th St until you come across the colorful colonnade in front of the Fendi store and turn right on the pedestrian walkway. Next to the colonnade is a lemonade stand, which is perfect for a hot Miami day.
Stop 4 – Conscious Actions by GT2P
Just south of the Fendi store, this interactive piece is located at 163 NE 39th St. between the Cartier and Hermés stores. There are 4 swings, which are great for both adults and kids. The piece reflects on both the energy we consume and the energy we contribute back to the world. For example, as you swing back and forth, you see the wave-like effect on the slats above you.
Stop 5 – Fly’s Eye Dome by Buckminster Fuller
Continue walking south until you reach Palm Court, which is just that – a courtyard with lots of palm trees. The palm trees provide shade on a hot day when you want to stop in the courtyard for an ice cream from Madlab Creamery. The main exhibit here is Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome. The Fly’s Eye Dome is not just an art piece but Fuller’s vision for a self-sufficient home as part of the green building movement. The cut outs in the dome were designed to hold solar panels and systems for water collection.
Stop 6 – Jungle Plaza
Make sure to exit Palm Court on the west side to take a peek at Jungle Plaza. You never know what could be going on that day. The plaza is an event space for large-scale concerts, festivals, live performances, food markets, and outdoor yoga classes. The Saturday we visited the Miami Design District did not have any events going on, but we took a bunch of photos in front of the huge Louis Vuitton mural. It seemed to be a popular spot for Instagram influencers.
Stop 7 – Dollar A Gallon III by Virgil Abloh
On your walk back to the Museum Garage, make sure to walk the length of the Paseo Ponti or pedestrian walkway. You’ll come across the Dollar A Gallon III sculpture between NE 41st Street and NE 40th Street. The sculpture is an ode to a gasoline sign relaying information about various types of gasoline and the respective pricing, while also being the commodity of an advertised sponsor with the NASCAR logo. The artist studies the effect of advertising on the impressionable.
That’s a wrap! Enjoy your tour of the Miami Design District with your dog. Let me know if you visit and encounter any new sculptures!
Rye Lee and Me 