Coral Gables Things to Do

I have spent many delightful hours at this art museum,since I moved to South Florida in 1979.This art museum has a small,but splendid collection of Late Medieval and Renaissance Italian paintings with splendid paintings by Master of the Blessed Clare,Sano di Pietro,Lippo Vanni,Guidoccio Cozzarelli("Scenes from the Life of the Virgin"),Bernardino Fungai,Ambrogio Borgognone,and Bacchiacca("Ghismonda with Heart of Guiscardo"),among others.It has a nice,but not large collection of Late Renaissance and Baroque paintings by painters such as Adrien Isenbrant,Jacob Jordaens,Domenico Campangnola,and Sofia Anguissola.among others.Their fine paintings by Guisseppe Ribera,El Greco,Goya,Jean Desbosses,Claude Monet,and Alfred Sisley were not on display today.It has a nice,but not large collection of Modern Art,including fine works by Frank Stella,David Park,Roy Lichtenstein,and Purvis Young.Today,I also enjoyed its extensive collection of Glass Art,including splendid creations by Robert Arneson("Self Portrait"),Ginny Ruffner("Arizona"),Erwin Fisch,Dale Chihuly,Christine Federighi,and Hank Murta Adams("Val").Their collection of Glass Art is this art museum's forte.I also liked the temporary Paul Stankard exhibit featuring his glass creations which emphasize the beauty of flowers.Cosidering the quality of works in this University of Miami campus art museum,it is clearly a less discovered gem.

This is one of my daughter's favorite places. She is now at a magnet art middle school, and so she did a bromeliad picture for their bromeliads show

In addition to all the plants, there are sculptures throughout the garden

Hours
Garden hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m
The garden is closed on Christmas Day, December 25

Admission
Admission to Fairchild includes all of the garden exhibits and a narrated tram tour (subject to availability).
When available, walking tours and shuttle service are also included in admission.

Daytime Fees
Adults $25
Seniors (65 and over) $18
Children 6-17 $12

Coral Gables, The City Beautiful, stands out as a rare pearl in South Florida, a cohesive community built on a grand scale that blends color, detail, and the Mediterranean Revival architectural style to create a timeless grace and grandeur perfectly in harmony with the environment.

Whether you are a first-time visitor or a long-time resident, Coral Gables is a great place to live, work, and explore. Discover Coral Gables, and the many amenities The City Beautiful has to offer.

Consider Coral Gables, The City Beautiful, as your tourist destination. The City offers 22 parks, 33 public tennis courts, two public golf courses, and other recreation amenities such as the largest tropical botanical garden in the continental United States, a spring-fed grotto swimming pool made of native coral rock with underwater caves, bike paths, walking trails, and more. Here's a glimpse of what you and your family can expect:

Matheson Hammock Park is a beautiful beach. It has a marina, boat launch, picnic area, snack bar, and beautiful sandy swimming area. Like nothing I have seen before. Wonderfully quiet during the week.

Coral Gables has the greatest concentration of restaurants in Miami (except for possibly South Beach), all clustered within just a few blocks on the streets around Miracle Mile. Here you will find everything from old guard bastions like Christy's -- consistently ranked in the nation's top 10 steak houses -- to the latest in New World fusion and Nuevo Latino cuisines such as Cacao. In between are Italian, Spanish, traditional and nouvelle French, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, Thai, sushi and just about anything else you can think of. But bring your gold card -- prices aren't cheap.

Fairchild Gardens is south of Miami near Perrine, but it has a Coral Gables address. The 83 acres gardens were established in 1938 and are among one of the world's best. There are palms (photo 2), cycads (photo 3), flowering trees and vines (photo 5). There are also greenhouses with orchids and other tropical plants (photo 4) In addition to to being a popular visitor attraction it offers a variety of programs in environmental education, conservation and horticulture and is an international leader in tropical plant research with an important part in preserving the biodiversity of the tropical environment.

Included in the admission price, there is a tram tour of the garden where the driver will explain the various plants, and there are frequently exhibit of art in the garden. The statue in the first picture is of Marjory Stoneman Douglas who has been called the "Mother of the Everglades"

Down Town Coral Gables. This is a down town you can actually shop at, walk around at night, and has within it many well known restaurants. Recommend you just walk around and enjoy the atmosphere.