These are the best things to do in Miami this weekend

The Miami Book Fair celebrates its 42nd edition this year, making it the longest-running literary festival in the United States. Expect the regular mix of riveting author presentations, mind-expanding conversations and even more innovative ways to honor the written word. The annual street festival is slated to take place from November 16 through 23 along the Miami-Dade College downtown campus, featuring over 550 authors from 35-plus countries across six continents. Luminaries like Daniel Silva, Kenny Chesney, Padma Lakshmi, Larry Charles, Art Spiegelman and Edwidge Danticat are slated to headline.

Individual readings and events are ticketed, but the festivities kick off with a free, high-energy block party under the stars (November 16), complete with live music, food from local vendors and hundreds of books for sale. There's also tons of family-friendly programming to look forward to, including the Children's Alley, a wonderland of storytelling, crafts, puppetry, theater and roving performers, plus creative and science workshops, live music and budget-friendly fun (kids 12 and under get in free).

In tandem with the holiday season, Jungle Island's enchanting festival of lights returns for a fourth year with a new production featuring more than 37 monumental, handcrafted silk lantern scenes created by a global team of artisans, graphic designers, seamstresses and more. This year, Luminosa takes visitors on a vibrant trail of themed vignettes representing different ecosystems, from the Amazon rainforest to African savannahs, complete with cutting-edge animatronics, holograms and interactive storytelling. The popular Holiday Village also makes a return this year (through January 4), featuring Christmas trees, holiday treats like churro donut holes and coquito, a seasonal bazaar and a 30-foot Christmas tree centerpiece. 

Discover some of the world's finest wines at Vinous Icons: Miami 2025, a two-day tasting event presided over by the experts at Antoni Galloni's leading wine review site, Vinous. Returning for a second year, Vinous brings 100 prestigious wine producers to the Bloom Ballroom at Jungle Island, where guests will sample exceptional pours from Champagne, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Napa and beyond while meeting the visionary winemakers behind each bottle. Each estate will pour two wines, with selections rotating between the Friday and Saturday sessions so you can compare vintages, terroirs and styles. Budding somms can also pop into a variety of masterclasses focusing on standout vintages and regions, from 2021 Barolos and 2022 Napa Valley Cabernets to explorations of South American terroir and New World Chardonnay.

Get your festive carnival fix at Tropical Park during Christmas Wonderland, a local holiday production that's grown into the largest of its kind in the U.S. Now in its third year, this 14-acre spectacle features six immersive holiday worlds, 50-plus rides, dazzling light shows and nightly entertainment like fireworks shows, acrobatic acts and even Santa as a human cannonball.

Of course, the grounds are lined with photo-worthy moments, starting with the Wonder Portal, an LED archway that leads into Tinsel Trail, a half-mile of synchronized lighting displays, installations and whimsical backdrops. At the heart of the midway, the IG’loo 360-Dome surrounds guests in a 3D-mapped immersive visual experience.

The midway is also where you'll find the fair's main food and drink offerings, including plenty of local food trucks and seasonal brews from Cervecería La Tropical.

Space Yoga is basically church for Miami's impressively vast community of wellness-minded ravers. This weekend, the long-running afternoon yoga flow up on the legendary Space terrace migrates nearby to Downtown's historic Flagler Street for an outdoor mindfulness and music journey complete with local vendors and wellness pop-ups, ambient DJ sets, two guided yoga flows, a 5K run and a sound healing session. The wholesome festivities culminate with a block party under the stars, live music, art and local vendors from 7 to 10pm. The full day is free with RSVP and takes place across two stages just outside Olympia Theater.

A much-anticipated precursor to the holiday season in Miami, NightGarden returns in November for its seventh season at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, promising even more psychedelic scenery, family-friendly activities and interactive artwork than ever before. Running from November 7 through January 11, NightGarden invites guests to frolic around a neon-lit wonderland of tropical trails lined with holographic sculptures, secret sunken ponds and hidden fairy worlds. Expect several enticing new activations this year, including the Tree of Life, a monumental centerpiece with lights and projections activated by guest touch. You'll also find new immersive domes with themed photo backdrops, a Secret Garden Laser Light Show, movie nights and more.

The effervescent and effortlessly chic MOE Studio in Little River opens its doors to the community for the eighth edition of MOE Market, a day of shopping local brands, fresh flowers, jewelry, vintage and more. Roam the highly aesthetic studio spaces to discover your next favorite pieces (perfect timing ahead of the holiday season), mingle with like-minded friends and fuel up on tacos and matcha along the way. Entry is free with RSVP and street parking is available, but ride-sharing is encouraged. 301 NE 61st St

A night-turned-to-day on Club Space’s Terrace is a veritable rite of passage for any club kid. With a well-timed disco nap, lots of espresso martinis or your preferred stay-awake method, you too can experience the after-hours euphoria of dancing as the sun comes up on the iconic Space terrace. This weekend, an epic lineup spans genres and decades, including house icons Honey Dijon and Louie Vega on Friday, deep techno maven Maceo Plex on Saturday and Kaytranada playing a DJ set on Sunday.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more festive bar year-round than JohnMartin's in Coral Gables. The Irish-style pub strikes just the right balance of cozy and contemporary with its penny tile mosaic flooring, black steel frame windows and moody lighting, ideal for sipping something dark and sudsy. For the holidays, JohnMartin's goes the extra mile, decking its halls with twinkling lights, festive décor and a lineup of boozy cocktails that channel the cheer of the season. The pop-up runs from November 14 through December 28, with DJs and other festive programming sprinkled in along the way.

In November, we give thanks for our bounty, and there's perhaps no better place to do so than at Ford's Farm. Nestled in Homestead, chef Jeremy Ford's farm grows much of the produce that's plated at his Michelin-awarded Miami Beach restaurant, Stubborn Seed. This season, Ford is throwing open the gates for another rustic-chic supper club series at the farm, and he's tapped a handful of Miami's best chefs to collaborate on the menus. On November 15, the Harvest & Smoke-themed dinner comes together courtesy of pitmaster Jeff from Apocalypse BBQ and chef Joe Mizzoni, who will unite with Ford for a one-night-only farm-to-table feast. The intimate dinner party takes place inside the property’s stunning, custom-built barn for an open-fire dining experience inspired by the farm’s harvest and the spirit of the hospitality community.

The Downtown Development Authority is bringing all the cozy seasonal vibes to our subtropical paradise for its annual Holiday Village on Flagler, running on December 7, 14 and 21. Downtown's charming historic thoroughfare will transform into a festive pop-up village complete with twinkling décor, local vendors and interactive stations where kids can craft ornaments, snap photos and enjoy sweet seasonal treats. To kick things off, there will be a magical 24-foot Christmas tree-lighting ceremony on November 14 from 6 to 10pm, which includes a free performance by the Miami Symphony Orchestra alongside students from the New World School of the Arts. Families can also frolic in a dedicated kids’ area with a bounce house, popcorn, cotton candy, face painting and an early visit from Santa. Other highlights include a menorah lighting on December 14, a toy giveaway on December 21 and a New Year's Day celebration from 3 to 8pm featuring live music, family fun and surprise guests, all free and open to the public.

Few brunches in Miami rise to the level of an "event," but the Sunday brunch at Novikov is assuredly one of them. After a brief sabbatical, this buzzing sunlit feast makes a return to its luxurious perch along the Downtown Miami waterfront, featuring two hours of unlimited grazing from an extensive Market Table spread. Choose from a raw bar, endless sushi and sashimi, a salad bar, dim sum and robata-grilled favorites, plus a decadent dessert bar and signature brunch cocktails. Premium add-ons take the party to another level, including a honey truffle king crab leg, wagyu ribeye and roasted peking duck. Of course, it wouldn't be one of Miami's hottest brunch propositions without a live DJ spinning beats that pair perfectly with Novikov's bayfront views and a glass (or two) of bubbles.

Winter Wonderland is back at The Ben Hotel, transforming the swanky West Palm Beach waterfront lawn into a glittering holiday playground with twinkling trees, Aspen-style chalets and, of course, a 50-by-66-foot rink made of the real stuff. Around the rink, expect plenty of festive distractions: chalet vendors slinging gifts and sweets; a holiday bar for hot chocolate, s’mores, grown-up toddies and the debut of a Holiday Tree Forest created in partnership with local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. There will also be themed events like Live Music Saturdays and Santa Sundays, ornament-making workshops and an opening-day curling exhibition (yes, Palm Beach now has curling athletes and, no, the tropics do not care about your winter stereotypes). Skating runs daily from November 1 through January 4 from 10am to 9pm. Entry is free unless you’re lacing up, in which case tickets start at $25 for adults and $10 for kids 11 and under.

Art, sexuality and cultural taboos converge at the Museum of Sex with the debut of its latest exhibition, Hard Art: Unruly Selections from the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection. Explore decades of boundary-pushing works spanning the 1930s to today, pulled from the private collection of one of the world’s most dynamic collectors. From playful to profound and, at times, deemed too provocative for public display, the featured works include a wide range of media that challenges convention and invites conversation. Curated with the goal of amplifying underrepresented voices and celebrating uncensored expression, artists on view include Marco Brambilla, Jimmy DeSana, Bunny Yeager, John Kayser and others.

Tinez Farms' Pinterest-perfect pumpkin patch provides the ideal fallscape for all your seasonal photos. Aside from the multi-sized and colored gourds and hay bales, there's an animal barnyard and petting zoo, pumpkin patch, Tinez yard games, climbing, swings, zip lines, a bounce house, animal interactions and a tubing slide to help get you into the autumnal spirit. You can also opt to add on a train, pony, donkey or horse ride to your experience, or even bottle feed a baby goat. While you're there, peruse the farm's Home & Garden Market, where you'll find things like indoor and outdoor plants and pots, accessories and seasonal decor.

The NYC-imported Smorgasburg, Miami's largest outdoor food market, returns to its Wynwood outpost for a new season featuring over 40 vendors (including 10 new concepts) and more shaded areas for noshing. Graze from a variety of local street foods, international fare, healthy options and inventive creations from the likes of Acai Way, Korean Kitchen, Kabuki Soba, The Lazy Oyster, La Picaña Grill, Lechona Truck, Tio Paella, Puro Chocolate, Cool & Creamy Truck and more. 

Elliot & Erick Jiménez: El Monte is the Cuban twin photography duo’s first solo museum exhibition, marking their leap from award-winning image makers for the likes of Prada, Tiffany’s, Bad Bunny and Selena Gomez to multi-disciplinary artists on an institutional stage. Inspired by the Afro-Caribbean spiritual tradition of Lucumí and Lydia Cabrera’s seminal text El Monte, the show centers on a womb-like, chapel-meets-forest installation alongside photographs and sculptural works that explore spirituality, ancestry and identity. 

Art meets science at "Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius," a sweeping exhibition presented by Frost Science and produced by Grande Experiences in collaboration with Rome's Museo Leonardo da Vinci. On view through April 5th, 2026, the show explores da Vinci's multidisciplinary legacy with interactive displays, rare artifacts and life-size replicas of his machines, alongside immersive projections of iconic works like The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Explore 16 themed sections, from anatomy and flight to engineering and optics, plus hands-on installations like the Vitruvian Man interactive station and the Mona Lisa Revealed exhibit, featuring the world’s only exact 360-degree replica of the painting.

Nestled in the lobby of The Betsy, a Michelin-awarded hotel famed for its arts programming, The Piano Bar hosts Miami Beach’s longest-running live music series. The space's relaxed, Old Havana atmosphere gets amped up by a rotating roster of local and visiting talent, with free public jazz shows nightly through December starting at 6pm. Some of the scheduled musicians include Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Tal Cohen, composer Leonard Reina, Beau Cornelius, Pato Romero, Brian Murphy and Jim Gasior. Food and drinks are available for purchase from LT Steak & Seafood, The Betsy's on-site restaurant by chef Laurent Tourondel.

Miami's biggest night for improv comedy happens every Saturday at Villain Theater in the heart of Little Haiti. Enjoy original, spontaneous live performances from some of the fiercest improvisers across South Florida. Shout out a suggestion and become a part of the action as the theater's talented cast of actors spins hysterical yarns over the course of two Second City-style improv shows. Mingle and sip beers in the lobby lounge in between sets: A ticket grants you access to both the 8:30 and 10pm showtimes.

The Coconut Grove Farmers Market is probably Miami’s most well-known. Every Saturday, Homestead's Glaser Organic Farms transforms an unoccupied corner of Coconut Grove into a full-fledged produce market with dozens of fruit and vegetable stands, a raw bar featuring prepared foods and salads and coolers filled with cold-pressed juices and nut mylks. There’s even velvety vegan ice cream for sale and several rows of picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy your bounty. Along its periphery, you’ll find other local vendors selling honey, homemade soaps, handmade jewelry and other artisanal items. And the setup and breakdown are so fascinating to watch! Much like the circus leaving town, everyone quickly dismantles their tents and packs up just after sunset, leaving no trace of the bustling day on the empty gravel lot.