Miami

Miami is a city and the administrative center of Miami-Dade County in the US state of Florida with 442,241 inhabitants (as of 2020). The urban area has a size of 143.1 km². The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area with a population of approximately 6.1 million. The name "Miami" comes from the Native American word Mayaimi ("great water"), which referred to Lake Mayaimi (now Lake Okeechobee) and the Mayaimi Indian tribe that lived there. The city is located at the confluence of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. After Jacksonville, Miami is the second largest city in Florida. The majority of Miami residents speak Spanish as their first language.

 

Districts

Downtown, bounded by Biscayne Bay, NW Eighth Street, SW Seventh Street and Fourth Avenue.
Brickell
Coconut Grove
Little Havana
midtown
overtown

The neighboring Miami Beach (South Beach) is not, as many assume, a part of Miami, but an independent city.

 

Getting here

By plane
The main airport in Miami is Miami International Airport (MIA) Lufthansa flies from Frankfurt am Main direct to Miami, Swiss from Zurich. The Metro Bus takes you from the airport to both downtown and Miami Beach. Buses depart directly opposite Arrivals Hall "E". You can find more information on the airport's homepage.

"Budget airlines" like JetBlue usually fly to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) instead of Miami. The bus ride to and from Miami Beach (Collins) costs US$2.25 (with transfer) and takes about an hour. Alternatively, a trip with the Tri-Rail is also possible, but this takes significantly longer despite the higher fare for the trip.

The cheapest flights from Germany cost around 600 euros (as of 2013).

By train
Miami is the southern terminus of Amtrak's Silver Service overnight trains. Driving time from New York City is approximately 27½ to 31 hours, from Washington, D.C. 23-27 hours, from Charleston (South Carolina) 14 hours and from Orlando 5½-7½ hours. Tickets are very expensive, especially for sleepers, if you don't book well in advance.

The Amtrak station is quite remote, 12 km northwest of downtown, in the West Little River neighborhood on the Hialeah city limits. The nearest MetroRail station (Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer Station) is 600 meters from the station (10-minute walk). From there it is a 20 minute drive to the Government Center downtown.

Since 2018, Brightline has also offered hourly connections to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. The trip from Fort Lauderdale takes 35 minutes and costs $15-20 (depending on connection and time of booking), from West Palm Beach it is 1 hour 15 minutes and costs $20-25. From 2022 there should also be a high-speed connection with Orlando.

The Brightline stops in Miami at the much more centrally located MiamiCentral station. This is on 1st Avenue west of downtown. You can also change directly to MetroRail, MetroMover or various bus lines (government center stop).

The local train Tri-Rail also runs on the West Palm Beach-Fort Lauderdale-Miami route, but with more intermediate stops (e.g. Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood) and therefore slower. Since this offer is primarily aimed at commuters, the trains run every half hour during rush hour in the morning and afternoon, and only every hour around lunchtime and in the evening and on weekends all day (until around 10 p.m.). The journey from Fort Lauderdale takes 40 minutes and costs $5, from West Palm Beach 1:40 hours for $6.90 (journey times to the Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer Station, from there it is another 20 minutes by metro to downtown).

The Tri-Rail currently stops in Miami near the Amtrak station (though with a more convenient connection to the MetroRail) and at the airport. There will be another stop downtown at MiamiCentral (see above) starting in Q3 2019.

By bus
There are three Greyhound stations in Miami, some of which are not in prime locations. Taxis from there to Miami Beach hotels cost about $20 plus tip.

In the street
A car can be rented directly in Miami. However, you can also rent a car from Germany from the car rental companies, so you can get on a bus directly at the airport, which will take you to the car rental company. The bus is free. Roads and highways are well developed in Miami, so you can easily reach everything by car.

Highway 95, which runs along the entire east coast of the USA, leads through Miami.

By boat
Miami has one of the largest cruise terminals in the world. Many cruises to the Caribbean begin or end here.

PortMiami. Port of Miami is located on Dodge Island between Miami and Miami Beach. Carnival Cruise and Norwegian Cruise have their own terminals, Royal Caribbean has its administration here. When entering and leaving, the ships pass the celebrity island of Fisher Island and South Pointe Park in Miami Beach.

 

Transport around the city

If you have your accommodation in South Beach, you will usually be able to do without a set of wheels. The city is easy to explore on foot.

For the nearest destinations that are not within walking distance, such as Downtown, Aventura Mall, Bal Harbour, public transport - line S can also be used. Buses run from almost everywhere in South Beach. Fare is payable due ($2.25).

local transport
Miami's public transportation system is the most diverse and extensive of any place in Florida. If travel time is not a priority, it is possible to reach all commercial areas and major attractions within Miami without a car. A map of the Miami-Dade transit system is available at this website.

Miami's bus system covers the entire county and is connected to bus routes serving Broward County and the greater Fort Lauderdale area. Sometimes the buses still have a hard time keeping to the timetable. Most lines run about every 20 minutes, while the most popular lines run every 5-10 minutes, sometimes throughout the night. A useful route is the "S," which connects downtown Miami to all of Miami Beach, terminating at Avenutra Mall in north Miami-Dade. However, if you take the bus, you should be familiar with Miami and know exactly where you are going, because the bus stops are not labeled, and because of the darkened windows you cannot see the displays for the big one from the bus Some don't work and the announcements, if they work at all, cannot be understood because of the air conditioning, which is running at full speed.

The Metrorail is an elevated rail system serving Miami and surrounding cities, connecting 22.4 mi with 23 stations on two lines (green and orange). It connects many areas of tourist interest including Downtown Miami, Miami International Airport (orange line only), Dadeland Mall, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Lowe Art Museum, Miami Museum of Science, Village at Merrick Park and many other nearby shopping areas. Coconut Grove and downtown Coral Gables can be reached by a short shuttle bus service from various train stations. The two Metrorail lines share common tracks through the core before splitting near the airport. The Metrorail operates between around 5am and midnight, with one bus serving all Metrorail stations during the night hours, providing a 24-hour service.

The fare for a one-way trip on the Metrorail and Metrobus is $2.25 per trip ($1 for people with disabilities or on Medicare). Daily, weekly and monthly passes are available. Miami-Dade Transit's fare card system is known as the EASY Card. Although exact change/cash is still accepted on all Metrobus routes, an EASY card is required to travel on the Metrorail and use the free transfers offered between an unlimited number of bus routes and a single Metrorail journey. The fare card software does not allow return journeys. Any transit tokens that may still be available can no longer be exchanged for EASY card credit and will not be accepted as fare. For more information on fares, routes, and schedules, click here or call 1.305.770-3131.

Downtown Miami is served by a free people mover system known as a Metromover, which connects to the Metrorail at two stations: the Government Center in the central business district and the Brickell station in Brickell. The Metromover is free and the most efficient way to get around downtown Miami. It's a great way to rest while strolling downtown, and a great time to snap pictures of Miami's skyscrapers and growing skyline from above.

Tri-Rail is a commuter rail system connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. There are a total of 18 train stations in and between these cities. Tri-Rail offers frequent trains (at least one per hour) on weekdays and less frequent trains on weekends. Visit the website or call 1-800-TRI-RAIL for stops and schedules.

With the taxi
Taxis are generally expensive, with a flat fee of $2.50 plus $0.40 for every sixth mile travelled. Almost all local cab companies have fixed fares for trips to Miami Beach and other tourist-popular beach and nightclub communities, ranging from $30 to $60 depending on the point of arrival. For example, South Beach may be the most expensive place, while a residential area in Miami Beach may be the cheapest. The fee is the same regardless of the mainland pickup location. All taxis are provided with Barrier Island maps showing the cost per location. The same applies to passengers leaving the islands for the mainland, although normal fares apply for journeys within the islands or on the mainland.

Service is available in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties regardless of pickup location. Normal service fees apply to these four counties, but it is advisable to ask for a pre-determined price before leaving the county, as this is usually cheaper and most drivers are willing to pay when leaving the county negotiate. If you want to be taken anywhere outside of these four districts, you must negotiate a price and inform the taxi company first. Drivers can refuse to drive outside the city limits unless they are first advised not to do so.

Usually you have to call a taxi company and ask for a pickup. For safety and legal reasons, large company taxis are not normally allowed to pick up passengers at any location except at MIA, the Port of Miami, and train stations. However, some individual taxi drivers will not abide by this rule, so you may try to hail a taxi on the street. A significant and notable exception to this rule is South Beach Sec

A good alternative to taxis is Uber.

You can order them using the mobile app, pay online immediately and then only have to wait for the car.

 

Sightseeing features

When you are in Miami you will naturally want to spend some time at the beach. The only beach within the Miami city limits is Virginia Beach. However, there are many other South Florida beaches nearby, from Tequesta to Key West. Because Miami has fairly temperate weather, the beaches are active year-round, but the water is typically too cold for locals to swim in winter. Located closest to Miami, on a barrier island in Biscayne Bay, the city of Miami Beach is best known for the South Beach party scene. Topless sunbathing is legal in Miami Beach, and if you want to take it all off head to Haulover Beach in North Beach.

Miami Science Museum (Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science)

 

What to do

Calder Race Course, 21001 NW 27th Ave, Miami, FL 33056. Tel: +1 305-625-1311. This lovely property in a tropical setting is the site of two horse racing events: Calder and Tropical Park. The main event of the Calder race is the one day and fantastic Festival of the Sun in October with four big races. The grandstand and the clubhouse are fully covered and air-conditioned and offer a wide range of dishes and drinks. Sunday is family day with pony rides, a petting zoo and other attractions for children.
Marlin's Park, 501 Marlin's Way. Miami Marlins Ballpark.
Jungle Island (Located on the McArthur Causeway on Watson Island). Originally Parrot Jungle. Price: Day pass around $32.

 

Shopping

The malls are recommended for larger purchases. Are near the airport

Dolphin Mall. There are numerous individual shops in the mall, some of which are designated as outlets, a large fast-food area, and a cinema on the upper floor. Last modified: Dec. 2015 (information may be out of date)
Miami International Mall last modified: Dec 2015 (information may be out of date)

Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach offer plenty of shopping opportunities, and you can even (if you're lucky) see famous actors, singers and other high society.

For an extensive shopping trip, it is worth making a detour to one of the surrounding malls. My favorite is the Aventura shopping mall. You can easily plan half a day there and for lunch or dinner I recommend the Cheesecake Factory, which can also be found in many other malls and cities. The Aventura Mall is located in Aventura, about 15 miles north of downtown Miami and can be reached directly with the S bus line. Costs only $2.25 and is a nice 45 minute drive from South Beach along the A1A coast road.

Restaurants

Wide range of Cuban cuisine. Several sushi and seafood restaurants. In November there are delicious-tasting stone crabs.

Middle
Las Culebrinas in the Grove, 2890 SW 27th Ave in Miami. An excellent Cuban restaurant in the . Deep-fried yucca with a delicious green sauce is served as an amuse-bouche. The Good Caesars Salad costs $7 and is very good. Grilled Churrasco Strips cost $9.95 and are also delicious. They offer a drink mojito made from fresh peppermint, ice water and rum.
Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant, 11 Washington Ave, South Beach. Phone: 305-673-0365. In general, you have to put up with long waiting times. For lunch, the waiting time is shorter. Price: Dishes range from $10 to $40.

 

Hotels

Miami is known for its boutique hotels (especially those in South Beach). Designers such as Ian Schrager (Delano, Shore Club), André Balazs (Raleigh, Standard on Belle Isle) and Todd Oldham (the hotel) have helped put South Beach on the map with their creative hotel designs. The downside of many boutique hotels is that rooms can be small, especially if the building was built during Miami's Art Deco heyday. If you value space, a boutique hotel may not be the right hotel type for you. If you don't need to stay in a boutique hotel (and value space), Miami has several upscale high-rise hotels north and south of South Beach and near downtown. Miami has its share of less expensive chain hotels for those who value space and/or money.

High season for hotels is from November to April due to the lower temperatures. However, the lower temperatures in Miami are still warm compared to most of the United States around this time. The high season is also marked by the emergence of many events in Miami, such as: B. the Winter Music Conference and the Spring Break. If you want to reserve a room during the high season in Miami, especially at a boutique hotel and/or a South Beach hotel, you should book months in advance.

Hotels are required to charge a 12.5% room tax, and some hotels may charge a 15% service charge, which may or may not be added to a room reservation through the hotel, a travel agent, or an agency (either in person or through an online site). not.

Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, 16701 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33160. Tel: 1-866-323-7931, Fax: 305-947-5873, Email: reservations@newportbeachside.com. Beautiful oceanfront luxury community on Sunny Isles Beach 15 minutes north of Miami.

 

Security

Basically, the security is given during the day as in other US cities. At night, on the other hand, you should think about which areas you drive to or where you stay. Overtown and Liberty City are considered particularly dangerous.

 

Health

As everywhere in Florida, cockroaches ((cock)roaches) are to be expected in Miami. However, most hotels and restaurants use pesticides to combat them.

 

Geography

Geographical location
Miami is located in southern Florida on the state's east coast. Orlando is 360 km, Tampa 420 km, Jacksonville 540 km and Tallahassee 760 km.

 

Geology

The rock beneath the city of Miami is called Miami Oolite or Miami Limestone. This layer of rock is only covered by a layer of earth about 15 meters thick. The Miami Limestone formed due to drastic sea level changes during the last Ice Age. About 130,000 years ago, melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise 25 feet above today's level, resulting in all of South Florida being covered by a flat sea. In this large lagoon, the Miami Limestone formed over time, which consists largely of dead shellfish. 100,000 years ago the sea level dropped again and exposed the bottom of the lagoon.

Because this limestone is porous and permeable to water, dams cannot protect Miami from expected sea level rise. The city will therefore inevitably go under by the next century at the latest.

 

Climate

With its hot, humid summers and warm, dry winters, Miami's climate is a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen effective climate classification: Am), with the city being exposed to cold fronts between the end of October and March. Annual rainfall peaks in the rainy season from May to October, which coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season. In the remaining months there is a dry season. This is characterized by mild temperatures punctuated by the occasional rush of cold air, and it is these passages of cold fronts that result in the low winter rainfall.

Annual rainfall is one of the highest for any major US city, totaling 1488 mm, with the nearby cities of Fort Lauderdale (1621 mm) and Miami Beach (1227 mm) deviating significantly.

Miami owes its warm climate not only to its low altitude and location just north of the Tropic of Cancer, but also to the Gulf Stream, which balances out temperature extremes. On a typical summer day, maximum temperatures are a minimum of 24°C and a maximum of between 30 and 35°C, with the high humidity often being reduced by a thunderstorm or sea breeze. In the winter months, temperatures average around 21 °C. They rarely fall below 15 °C and reach a maximum of 25-28 °C.

The highest temperature recorded in Miami was 40 °C, the lowest temperature of -1 °C was recorded several times. Snowfall has only occurred twice in the history of weather records in Miami, on January 20, 1977 and on January 4, 2018. These records were kept quite sporadically from 1839 to 1900, with some gaps lasting several years. In December 1900, a weather station for measuring temperatures and precipitation was set up in downtown Miami; in June 1911, the National Weather Service opened an official office in the city. Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center is based in Miami.

While hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30, tropical cyclone formation outside of this period is not uncommon. The highest probability of a hurricane hitting Miami occurs during the period when most Cape Verde-type hurricanes form, which is between mid-August and late September. Miami has been spared a direct hit since Hurricane Cleo in 1964. Many tropical cyclones have impacted the city, most notably hurricanes Betsy in 1965, Andrew in 1992, Irene in 1999, and Katrina and Wilma in the very active hurricane season of 2005. A tropical depression that later developed into Tropical Storm Leslie over the open Atlantic, caused record rainfall and flooding in the city in 2000. Due to its location at the ocean's edge and on the low coastal plain, Miami is considered one of the most hurricane-prone major cities in the United States, along with New Orleans and New York City.

 

History

Before the Europeans arrived, the area that is now Miami was inhabited by the Tequesta Indians. On July 18, 1896, Miami officially became a city with a population of about 300. Three months earlier, Henry Morrison Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway connected Miami to the rail network. Tourism in the city began in the same year with the construction of the Royal Palm Hotel.

During the 1920s, gambling was legal in Miami and Prohibition was largely ignored. Thousands of people from the north of the USA immigrated to Miami and thus triggered the construction boom. New high-rise buildings created a skyline, giving Miami its nickname "Magic City" because the city changed so quickly from winter to winter that visitors thought the city was old Grown by magic. In 1926, the construction boom was halted by a hurricane named after the city and then by the Great Depression. During World War II, the military built many training barracks around Miami due to its strategic location. Many men and women returned in search of work, and by 1950 the population had grown to over 500,000 people in and around Miami.

Since the 1960s, increasing numbers of Latin Americans have been immigrating to Florida and particularly to Miami. Neighborhoods like Little Havana established themselves. Miami is now considered a cultural melting pot and has a predominantly Hispanic population. Miami residents are primarily Cuban (34% of Hispanics), Nicaraguans, Hondurans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Venezuelans and Argentines.

In the 1980s, Miami was the largest transshipment point for drugs, mainly cocaine, from Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru due to its proximity to the manufacturing countries and mass tourism. The drug lords brought billions of US dollars to Miami, where the money was quickly laundered through various deposits in banks and investments in construction projects. At that time, the well-known TV series Miami Vice was filmed here.

After the large drug cartels from Latin America were broken up in the 1990s and the security authorities took more effective action against criminals, the crime rate fell drastically and drug imports declined. The city has been expanding since then and is still experiencing an ongoing construction boom. The increased development downtown is therefore also called Manhattanization. New hotels, apartments and office buildings were built, trendy districts such as Wynwood or the Design District emerged.

 

Religions

There are currently 500 different churches from 32 different denominations in Miami, with the Baptist congregation being the most strongly represented with 79 churches. The city is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. There are also 47 churches that do not belong to any denomination (as of 2004).

Demographic Data
According to the 2010 census, the then 399,457 inhabitants were spread over 183,994 households. The population density was 4322.2 inhabitants/km².

72.6% of the population identified themselves as white, including a majority with Latin American roots; 11.9% identified themselves as White non-Hispanic. 19.3% stated that the race was Afro-American, 0.3% Native American and 1.0% Asian-American. 4.2% stated that they belonged to another ethnic group and 2.7% to several ethnic groups. 70.0% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

In 2010, 27.4% of all households had children under the age of 18 and 30.0% of all households had people aged 65 or over. 56.9% of the households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without children or one parent with children). The average household size was 2.47 people and the average family size was 3.15 people.

20.7% of the population was younger than 20 years old, 31.3% were 20 to 39 years old, 27.1% were 40 to 59 years old and 21.0% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 39 years. 49.8% of the population was male and 50.2% female.

The average annual income was $51,270 (2015), with 27.7% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, 25.45% of the population spoke English as their first language, 66.75% spoke Spanish, 5.20% spoke Haitian, and 0.18% had German as their first language.

Miami is the third poorest city in the United States based on the percentage of residents whose income is below the poverty line. Only El Paso (Texas) and Detroit (Michigan) are ahead of Miami. There are a number of socially disadvantaged neighborhoods such as: Overtown, Liberty City, Little Haiti and Allapatah.

 

Crime

The crime rate in 2010 was in the high range at 534 points (US average: 266 points). There were 68 murders, 46 rapes, 1,856 robberies, 2,909 assaults, 4,604 burglaries, 14,165 thefts, 2,449 auto thefts, and 104 arson attacks.

From 1978 to 1982, Miami was engulfed in a wave of violence of unprecedented proportions. Between 1976 and 1981 alone there were 1,665 murders, almost all of which were committed by heavily armed drug dealers. In 1980 there was a mass exodus of 125,000 Cubans, the so-called Marielitos,[ among whom were 5,000 serious criminals who were expelled by Fidel Castro and settled in tent camps below I-95 in Liberty City and ensured a rapid increase in crime. In the same year, Miami was perceived as the drug capital of the USA. The feature film Scarface (1983) describes these conditions.

The violent takeover of the cocaine trade by the Medellín cartel brought the killings to a head. The Colombians from Medellin were described as particularly "ruthless, cruel and utterly ruthless" by the Miami Police Department. They didn't bother to dispose of the bodies, but left the dead on the street after the hail of bullets, with many innocent people dying as well. The peak of violence came in the notorious Matanza Medellinesa, when 40 drug dealers were machine-gunned in a single weekend.

The cocaine war in Miami was supported in particular by Griselda Blanco, whose cocaine cowboys and motorcycle killers were responsible for the 1979 Dadeland Mall massacre. The Medellin cartel met with other underworld bigwigs at the famed Mutiny Hotel in Coconut Grove, Miami. Miami was then dubbed the "Wal-Mart for cocaine" by the press. For a long time, Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale were almost completely controlled by the Medellin cartel.

In 1981, for example, the Miami morgue was so overcrowded that mobile refrigerated trucks had to pick up the shot victims from the street. Overall, there was an atmosphere of fear and hysteria in the heavily armed city during this period, with over 220,000 submachine guns purchased in Dade County that year. In the early 1980s, the entire Miami area was considered extremely unsafe and the risk of becoming a victim of robbery, rape, physical harm or other criminal acts was omnipresent.

More than 1,000 completely inadequately trained police officers were recruited for the CENTAC special units, but they often became victims of the firefights in the drug wars. The corruption of the police officers in Miami was legendary and enabled the drug dealers to conduct their business mostly undisturbed.

After the large drug cartels from Latin America were broken up in the 1990s and the security authorities took more effective action against criminals, the crime rate fell drastically and drug imports declined. However, there are still some street gangs in Miami today. As in other large cities, there are always conflicts, especially in the areas of social hotspots.

 

Culture and sights

Touristic attractions
The Miami Seaquarium on Virginia Key and the Cuban neighborhood of Little Havana are Miami's top tourist attractions. Miami is also the starting point for many trips to the nearby Everglades and the Florida Keys, a group of islands at the southernmost end of Florida, which includes Key West, for example. Some well-known attractions that are often attributed to the city of Miami are located in nearby Miami Beach. The Winter Music Conference takes place in Miami every year. The international art fair Art Basel has been held in Miami Beach since 2002.

parks and sports facilities
There is a wide range of different city parks, several sports facilities, playgrounds and camping opportunities. Due to the proximity to the beach, all beach and water sports are possible. A Tennis Masters tournament takes place in Miami every year.

Sports
Miami Marlins (Major League Baseball)
Miami Dolphins (National Football League)
Miami Heat (National Basketball Association)
Florida Panthers (National Hockey League)
Inter Miami (Major League Soccer)
Miami Grand Prix (Formula 1)

Miami is a frequent venue for the National Football League's Super Bowl. So far, more Super Bowls have been held in Miami than in any other American city before. The last Super Bowl was played as Super Bowl LIV in February 2020 between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. The Kansas City Chiefs won 31-20. Before that, Super Bowl XLIV took place in February 2010 between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, which the New Orleans Saints won. The Bayfront Park car race track existed in Miami from 2002 to 2003. Since the 2022 Formula 1 season, the Miami Grand Prix has been held on a purpose-built Miami International Autodrome circuit around Hard Rock Stadium.

Super Bowl VII is fondly remembered in Miami. In 1972/73, the Miami Dolphins were the only team to date to have a perfect season.

 

Traffic

Air traffic
Miami International Airport is one of the largest international airports in the world and a major aviation hub. 44.6 million passengers were handled in 2016. The airport is served by many international airlines.

Other international airports include Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport. Nationally, Miami is also accessible via Opa-locka Executive Airport.

ship traffic
The Port of Miami was the world's busiest port for cruise ships in 2013, with over 4 million passengers. It is also one of the most important freight transshipment points with 8 to 9 million tons of freight and (2015 and 2016) over 1 million TEU container units per year.

Public transport
Miami Airport Station is the city's main public transportation hub. Since 2015, the regional trains/S-Bahn trains of the Tri-Rail from Mangonia Park have ended here. You can transfer to the Miami-Dade Metrorail to downtown and to the MIA Mover to Miami Airport. Miami-Dade Transit (Metrobus) city buses stop here, as do long-distance Greyhound Lines buses. The Miami-Dade Metromover is a free people mover system that serves downtown Miami.

The Amtrak long-distance trains from New York City should also be relocated to Miami Airport Station, but they will continue to use the Miami Station, which is about four miles north and opened in 1978, in 2020.

Since 2018, the All Aboard Florida rail company has been offering a new service via the Florida East Coast Railway (of which the company is a subsidiary) with its Brightline brand from the Government Center station in Miami via Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach. This service is scheduled to be extended to Orlando Airport in 2022. A new MiamiCentral train station for Downtown Miami was built at the inner-city Government Center.

Construction of a high-speed rail link from Tampa to Miami via Orlando should have started as early as 2011. The route should be driven along the existing trunk road network at a planned speed of 270 to 300 km/h according to the principle of traffic route bundling. The plans were shelved by Gov. Rick Scott in March 2011, but were picked up again in 2019 by the Brightline high-speed train line - at the time with the participation of the Virgin Group.

road traffic
Interstate 95, which runs north-south, is the city's primary road link. It is intersected by Interstates 195 and 395, connecting Miami Airport to the west with Miami Beach to the east. In addition, the U.S. Highways 1, 27, 41 and 441 and Florida State Roads A1A, 5, 7, 9, 25, 90, 112, 836, 913, 933, 934, 953, 959, 968 and 972 through the metropolitan area.

 

Education

The City of Miami is part of the Miami-Dade County School District. This school district includes a total of 39 high schools, 20 of which are outside the Miami area. The most important further education institutions are Florida International University with around 55,000 students and Miami-Dade Community College with around 18,000 students.

The Miami-Dade Public Library owns just over 4 million books, 106,000 audio and 111,000 video media.

 

Media

Miami is the publishing location of the national daily newspapers The Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald and The Miami News (discontinued in 1988). Radio and TV Martí is one of the radio stations based in Miami.

The following selection of television series and films is set in or filmed in and around Miami.

TV Series: Burn Notice, CSI: Miami, Dexter, Pinball, Golden Girls, Miami Vice, Million Dollar Agents, Nip/Tuck, Two Hotties in Miami, Emma, Magical!, StartUp. Maimi Vice

Movies: 2 Fast 2 Furious, Ace Ventura, All About the Money, Every Damn Sunday, Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, James Bond 007: Casino Royale, James Bond 007 - Fireball, James Bond 007 - Goldfinger, James Bond 007 - License To Kill, Lots Of Trouble, Making Mr. Right - A Man A La Carte, The Miami Cops, Miami Rhapsody, Police Academy 5 - Mission Miami Beach, Pain & Gain, The Porky's Movies, Scarface, Der Supercop, Die Superidiot (Revenge of the Nerds 2), The Birdcage - A paradise for shrill birds, The Specialist, Transporter - The Mission, True Lies - Wahre Lügen, Mad about Mary, Two out of control, Two bears strong Dudes, Unstoppable Two, Step Up: Miami Heat

The American reality show Miami Ink - Tattoos for Life (original title: Miami Ink), in which people were tattooed in front of the camera, ran from 2005 to 2008.

Miami served as a model for Vice City, the setting for the fourth game in the Grand Theft Auto series: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (GTA: VC or Vice City for short; English for "City of Vices"). The game was first released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002, then for PC in 2003. The city also served as the setting for both Hotline Miami games released in 2012 and 2015 respectively.