Miami

From families seeking fun in the sun to Brazilians escaping the Southern Hemisphere winter to gaggles of Midwestern girls on bachelorette weekends, Miami's colorful tourist cross section demands a wide range of things to do. And the city delivers both ocean and land-based pursuits.

The beach, of course, is a big draw and there's sand for every taste. Those looking to loosen their bikini top gravitate to freewheeling Lummus Park while families prefer the quieter scene in North Beach and nature lovers head to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne. Water activities like surf skiing and parasailing are centered in South Beach. Pools at hotels like the Raleigh and the Gansevoort are additional just-add-water options with a vibrant scene. The city's warm climes also make outdoor pursuits such as tennis and golf (there are more than 20 courses in the area) a big part of daily life.

Nowhere else in the country has architecture like Miami's. The homegrown MiMo styles along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach encapsulate the jokey optimism of the atomic era in its colorful facades. South Beach contains one of the world's largest and best preserved concentrations of Art Deco and Art Moderne buildings in the world. The Design District and its culturally inclined surroundings are also becoming a popular draw. The area's Art & Design Night, on the second Saturday of each month, opens the door to a hive of creative activity in former warehouses that now contain photography studios and contemporary art exhibits. As for the city's cultural offerings, the Adrienne Arsht Center, built in 2006, houses the city's opera, symphony, and ballet. The most buzzworthy event alights in early December in the form of Art Basel, when the beau monde of the international art world turn Miami into jet set central for a few extra-decadent weeks.