Find the Best Things to Do in Coconut Grove
About Coconut Grove
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Many of the earliest arrivals to the area settled in the Coconut Grove region of Miami. Today the area boasts CocoWalk, a huge multilevel entertainment complex with shops, restaurants, and tons of nightlife. A popular destination for locals as well as tourists, the area is trendy, hip and very diverse. Everyone comes here at one time or another to enjoy the ongoing entertainment.
See & Do
Settled by Bahamians and boasting the first hotel in South Florida, Coconut Grove has history to spare. Investigate some of it at places like The Barnacle State Historic State Park, built in 1891 by yacht enthusiast Ralph Middleton Munroe, and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, the Italianate estate and styled European gardens of industrialist James Deering, built in 1916. Check out even more fabulous botany at The Kampong, a National Tropical Botanical Garden with heritage tropical plantings dating back to the 1900s. All three venues function as sites for live concerts, weddings, festivals and shoots for movies and commercials, so it's always wise to call before you go just to make sure it's not privately rented.
Eat
The range of restaurants in Coconut Grove runs the gamut, from fine New American dining on the waterside at places like Gibraltar on Grove Island to authentic Cuban cuisine at mainstays such as Las Culebrinas. In between, countless sidewalk joints, including the people's favorite Green Street, cater to the cafe society. Italian? Sushi? Thai? Greek? Yes, yes, yes and check. Indeed, you can find just about every ethnicity here, ranging from French (George's in the Grove) to Latin American (Jaguar Ceviche Spoon bar and Latam Cuisine) to sophisticated international fare (Lulu in the Grove).
Party
Given its proximity to University of Miami and the upscale factor of its actual Coral Gables address, funkier Coconut Grove is the de facto college town for the students and even the professors who live on campus. So you'll find plenty of places to play with coeds, like Mr. Moe's (which won 2009 Playboy Party School of the Year) and Sandbar Grill. Monty's Raw Bar is a favorite for slightly more adult happy hour drinks and shellfish priced by the piece or by the pound, and for real throwbacks, there's laways Tavern in the Grove, which features--yes--a jukebox.
Stay
From the reliable Residence Inn and comfy Hampton Inn to the ultra-luxe Grand Bay Hotel and Ritz-Carlton Coconut grove, Coconut Grove has an array of lodgings. It isn't so much where in the Grove you want to stay--lodgings, many of them lined up overlooking the Bay, are pretty much within walking or taxi distance of the center of town--but how you want to stay. With hot stone massage or with seaweed facial. With plush robe and slippers or with blazing fire pit. You get the picture. 10Best can help you secure a spot. The amenities are up to you.
Shop
Two words: CocoWalk. Or is that one word? Well, never mind. Just know that it's an elaborate, outdoor, multi-story mall with lots of stores, restaurants and a multiplex movie theatre, and you're good to go. There are similar complexes, such as The Shops of Mayfair, in Coconut Grove, but some of the best shopping is in the streets, which seem to twist in a pretzel shape. It's an eclectic mix here, with some shops hailing to a surf lifestyle, others harkening back to Coconut Grove's bohemian days and still more looking ahead to a high-design future. But no matter what you like to buy, guaranteed there's something here for you.