Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark; also owned by Miami-Dade County and accredited by the American Association of Museums. We invite you to visit this serene and stunningly beautiful retreat in the heart of Miami.
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Contacts for Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Address: 3251 S Miami Ave Miami, FL 33129
Tel: (305) 250-9133 | Website: http://www.vizcayamuseum.org -
Monday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday 9:30 am – 5:00 pmThursday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:30 am – 5:00 pmSaturday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
About the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
It was built in 1916 as a winter retreat for James Deering, co-founder and former vice president of International Harvester. The industrialist was fascinated by 16th-century art and architecture, and his ornate mansion, which took 1,000 artisans 5 years to build, became a celebration of that period. If you love antiques, this place is a dream come true, packed with European relics and works of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Most of the original furnishings, including dishes and paintings, are still intact.
You will see very early versions of a telephone switchboard, central vacuum-cleaning system, elevators, and fire sprinklers. A free guided tour of the 34 furnished rooms on the first floor takes about 45 minutes. The second floor, which consists mostly of bedrooms, is open to tour on your own. The spectacularly opulent villa wraps itself around a central courtyard. Outside, lush formal gardens, accented with statuary, balustrades, and decorative urns, front an enormous swath of Biscayne Bay. Definitely take the tour of the rooms, but immediately thereafter, you will want to wander and get lost in the resplendent gardens.
The early 20th century Vizcaya estate also includes: extensive Italian Renaissance gardens; native woodland landscape; and a historic village outbuildings compound. The landscape and architecture were influenced by Veneto and Tuscan Italian Renaissance models and designed in the Mediterranean Revival architecture style, with Baroque elements.
