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In Miami, Kids Can Let Loose, Too

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A portrait by U.S. street artist Elle is among the highlight murals at Wynwood Walls during the early days of 2025. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

The moment my 6-year-old held a spray-paint can for the first time it was as if he had been shuttled through a portal and into a world where his imagination would have free rein. He put on a pair of blue plastic gloves, grabbed the can with two hands, and caused a metallic pinging noise when he shook it. Then he pressed the button to release the green paint he had chosen and quickly became giddy with the activity, swirling designs on the graffiti-filled wall and running along it to create a ribbon of colour. He then paused to think about whatever vision came into his head that he might recreate. His entire reaction encapsulated why the Wynwood Walls exists. Among the coolest museums anywhere, the open-air arthouse celebrates the use of concrete as a canvas while simultaneously breaking down barriers.

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Gabriel Brijbassi, 6, tries graffiti art for the first time during a January 2025 visit to Wynwood Walls. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

The downtown Miami attraction is a masterpiece of regenerative tourism, elevating a local community and attracting global attention at the same time. Launched in 2009 by New York financier Tony Goldman, the Wynwood Walls curates the work of current and pioneering graffiti and street artists. It also ignites the creativity of any child that enters its space.

Like the genre itself, the Wynwood Walls is wild and edgy, a contradiction of steadfastness in its mission to eschew boundaries while at the same time being fluid and ever-changing in what it exhibits. There is a sense of permanence about the space even if it cultivates spontaneity and whimsy (its website, too, will cajole a smile once you begin to navigate it).

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Ron English’s “Baby Hulk” is among the popular exhibit pieces at Wynwood Walls. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

Most endearingly is how Wynwood Walls supports youth to explore their inner Basquiat. All kids 12 and under can enter for free and try their hand at tagging walls. Children in the community can take full advantage of the space, using the facility’s spray-paint cans to uncoil their artistic abilities on a regular basis if they like (as long as they’re accompanied by an adult). Visiting children, like Gabriel, can go at it after a brief tutorial from a Wynwood Walls tour guide on how to hold and deploy the cans. He didn’t delay, grabbing one colour and then the next to attempt to scrawl hearts, then monsters, and finally to write his name like a graffiti wiz would. We had about 20 minutes to paint; he could have stayed the afternoon.

Wynwood Walls is such a captivating attraction that you will leave, like we did, wondering why your own community doesn’t have something just like it. The place is fresh and fun, full of vibrancy and provocative content even in its inherent playfulness. It also underscores Miami’s reputation as a creative destination, blending with the city’s Art Deco history and the annual Art Basel convention to elevate South Florida’s notability in the arts.

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A mural of neighbourhood kids from Miami’s Wynwood district keeps watch over the city’s open-air street-art museum. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

That may come as a surprise because the city is best known for its sexy nightlife and beaches, but the Wynwood Walls is a hallmark of an arts-focused outing that families can enjoy together. Afterwards, kids can explore science in downtown Miami, too. Once you’ve visited the energetic Wynwood neighbourhood, you can head to the more conventional experiences at the Frost Museum of Science. The 250,000-square-foot, six-floor attraction features an aquarium with a massive oculus lens where kids and adults alike can spend many minutes marvelling at the sharks, sea turtles, and other aquatic creatures swimming into view.

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The oculus lens at the Frost Museum allows visitors to observe the sea life in the facility’s aquarium. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

You can stargaze, as well. The Frost planetarium has numerous entertaining shows each day where the cosmos and its wonders come into clearer view on screen. If you want to look at the heavens in plain sight, venture to the outdoor spaces on the museum’s upper floors. You’ll enjoy a constant scene of the city’s skyline, the Atlantic coast, and, depending on the time of day, the sun, moon, and stars above.

More memorable eye candy can be appreciated on the Skyviews Observation Wheel that twirls on the shores of Biscayne Bay. Riders enter the enclosed Ferris wheel cars — which resemble the gondolas used to ascend mountains — for an approximately 15-minute journey that includes a half-dozen rotations. The ride is affordable (adult tickets cost less than $20 and kids tickets are $16) and lineups aren’t long. During the trip, you can stare eastward to the bay or look west and peer into the city and its predominantly stark white buildings that will remind you of Latin American metropolises. If you look down, you might spot a manatee bobbing near the docks.

The Skyviews Observation Wheel is part of the Bayside Marketplace, a pleasant mall with a number of eateries and clothing stores. It’s surrounded by green space and is a less than 20-minute walk from the Frost Museum, or an easy stroll to the heart of Miami. The city’s downtown is proof that it isn’t all beaches and glam — there’s a good amount of family-friendly activities to experience and some of them will inspire you to return to visit again.

Where to Stay and Save in Miami

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YOTEL Miami includes a rooftop bar and pool area that invites guests to enjoy its warmth and ambience. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

YOTEL is a three-year-old property that has an excellent location for those seeking to explore downtown Miami. It is across the street from the Avenutra Mall Terminal of the Metromover, which is a free public transit train car that shuttles passengers to locations in the downtown core. You can reach attractions such as the Frost Museum, Bayside Marketplace, and Brickell City with the Metromover. The Kaseya Center, home to the NBA’s Miami Heat, is less than 15 minutes by foot away, and so are a number of notable restaurants, including Michelin-starred Elcielo and a La Mar franchise by renowned Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio. From YOTEL, you’re also only a 20-minute drive across MacArthur Causeway to the famous South Beach district.

The hotel has 13 floors with a stunning rooftop patio at the zenith. From there, guests can lounge in the outdoor pool, relax on cabana beds, or enjoy food and drink from the Vela Sky bar. The restaurant features Spanish-inspired cuisine such as confit octopus and grilled branzino as well as American fare.

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Downtown Miami, including the Kaseya Center, is an easy walk from YOTEL. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

YOTEL’s rooms are open-concept spaces with funky decor and lots of tech features such as motion-sensor lights and USB outlets aplenty. The hotel even has a pair of robots, who are mostly for entertaining purposes and not providers of functional services. Self-serve check-in is available through computer kiosks in the lobby, or the helpful welcome team can issue your room keys when you arrive.

Most notably, YOTEL is a budget-friendly option, with prices in March starting at just $141 USD for a mid-week rate (approximately $205 CAD) or $236 USD (approximately $340 CAD) for a weekend night. For Canadian families, it is a smart and convenient choice, given the unfavourable exchange rate against the U.S. dollar.

MORE ABOUT VISITING MIAMI

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The view of Miami’s skyline at sunset as seen from the Skyviews Observation Wheel. (Adrian Brijbassi photo for Vacay.ca)

Getting There: Air Canada has a direct option from Miami to Vancouver that is the longest non-stop flight in North America. The flight takes seven hours, but is extremely convenient for west-coast travellers seeking a sun getaway. The airline also has direct flights from Toronto and Montreal, and 20 flights originating in Canada to Florida.

 

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Note: Vacay.ca occasionally publishes articles about destinations outside of Canada that our editors believe will be of interest to our readers. In this feature, Managing Editor Adrian Brijbassi profiles Miami’s family activities. Visit Florida and the Greater Miami Visitors and Convention Bureau supported his trip; no organization, business, or tourism representative reviewed the article before it was published.

Adrian is the editor of Vacay.ca and VacayNetwork.com. Adrian has won numerous awards for his travel writing, travel photography, and fiction, and has visited more than 55 countries. He is a former editor at the Toronto Star and New York Newsday, and was the social media and advocacy manager for Destination Canada. His articles have frequently appeared in the Huffington Post, Globe & Mail, and other major publications. He has appeared on national and local broadcasts, talking about travel, sports, creative writing and journalism. In 2019, he launched Trippzy, a travel-trivia app developed to educate consumers about destinations around the world. He also edited "Inspired Cooking", a nutrition-focused cookbook featuring 20 of Canada's leading chefs and in support of the cancer-fighting charity, InspireHealth. "Inspired Cooking" was created in honour of Adrian's late wife and Vacay.ca co-founder, Julia Pelish, who passed away of brain cancer in 2016.