Miami is one of the most sought after destinations in America. With a vibrant party and shopping scene, it is the ideal location if you’re looking to soak up the sun and indulge in a stylish and glamour filled trip. However, cheap flights to Miami will also allow you to explore the city’s alternative side. This will provide an entirely different angle to this luxury city, and you’ll return home having discovered something new about one of Florida’s most popular holiday locations.

If you love food and drink, Miami has more to offer than glitzy wine bars, fine restaurants and the traditional 24 hour American diner. South Beach offers a great range of beachside restaurants to enjoy, and you’ll find grilled sea bass and popcorn shrimp at Barton G. Segafredo is ideal if you want salads, desserts and sandwiches, and you can relax to lounge music at the destination all day long. Meanwhile, if you’re tired of the chic cocktail scene, then a South Beach microbrewery is perfect. International and home-made beers are served at popular venue, Abbey, and it’s the ideal spot if you want to socialise and play some darts.

Miami has an eclectic mix of cultures, with many of its residents having origins in Cuba. For a refreshing trip away from the glitzy and glamorous side of the city, Little Havana offers history and retail. Located around the area of Calle Ocho, you’ll find that Cubans fleeing from Fidel Castro’s regime in 1959 found a new home in Miami, creating an area with Cuban shops, restaurants and Mediterranean styled homes. With Latin music humming in the air, and the faint smell of Cuban cigars, Little Havana is an exciting and unexpected attraction.

Miami is known for its party scene, and by visiting the city in early March, you’ll be able to experience the annual carnival. With international foods, concerts, beauty pageants, sports and a Latin jazz festival, there is a real attraction for visiting Miami at this time of year. On the finale of the ten day festival, the largest block party in the world takes place in Calle Ocho, offering you the chance to dance to 30 stages of Caribbean, merengue and salsa music.

Miami’s Children’s Museum is a great place to visit if you want to let your hair down for a day. Fun loving visitors flock to this attraction because of its interactive displays, which include a television studio, an exhibition of teddy-bears and a mosaic tiled sandcastle. Vizcaya Museum & Gardens is another stunning spot to explore. Located on the Biscayne Bay, the Italian Renaissance inspired architecture provides a surprising fairytale-like paradise to explore. A decadent interior can be found inside the beautiful building, and you’ll find decorative works ranging from the 16th to 19th centuries. European antiques, all with original fittings, are numerous, and you may feel like you’ve slipped back to a long lost golden age.

There is much to do in Miami other than the iconic shopping and partying that it is known for. Scratch the surface, and you’ll discover a historic and cultural city that you may have never realised was there.