Lincoln Road

The story

Lincoln Road is South Beach's car-free shopping street, a pedestrian mall that runs west from Washington Avenue to Alton Road. Morris Lapidus closed it to cars in 1960, laying six blocks with geometric paving, open-air shade structures and fountains, and a seventh block was added at the west end in 2010. It is still the easiest place in Miami Beach to shop on foot.

The 400 to 700 blocks at the east end hold vintage, swim and photography galleries, the 800 to 1000 blocks are the national flagships, and the 1100 block ends at TASCHEN and the Herzog & de Meuron parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road. The bigger home and department stores sit just off the mall on the north-south cross streets: Meridian, Jefferson and Michigan.

What to Expect

The middle blocks hold Apple, Nike, lululemon, Sephora and Havaianas. The more Miami shopping is swim: Luli Fama (635 Lincoln Rd) is the Miami-born, Latin-owned label known for bright prints and ruched bikinis, and Liliana Montoya Swim (1113 Lincoln Rd) sells the Colombian designer's handcrafted swim and resortwear. Romero Britto's flagship gallery has been at 1102 Lincoln Road since 1993, LUMAS and Peter Lik sell limited-edition photography, and Oolite Arts (924 Lincoln Rd) shows its resident Miami artists for free. Off the mall are Anthropologie, Macy's, CB2, West Elm and Williams-Sonoma.

Best Time to Visit

Shops open between 10 and 11am and most stay open until 8 to 10pm, so there is no reason to start early. A weekday late afternoon works best: you skip the midday heat and can keep going into the evening, when Apple is open until 10pm Monday to Saturday and Valiant Paris until midnight on weekends. Oolite Arts is open only Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 5pm, and TASCHEN closes at 7pm, 5pm on Sunday. On Sundays the Lincoln Road Farmers Market sets up between Meridian and Washington from 9am to 6pm, which makes Sunday morning the busiest time on the east end.

If You Only Have an Hour

Start at the west end at TASCHEN (1117 Lincoln Rd) for art books, then go a few doors over to Liliana Montoya Swim (1113 Lincoln Rd, Store #6). Cross to the Romero Britto Fine Art Gallery (1102 Lincoln Rd), then walk two blocks east to Oolite Arts (924 Lincoln Rd). On Monday or Tuesday, when Oolite is closed, end at Havaianas (831 Lincoln Rd).

Where to Eat

Osteria Da Fortunata (607 Lincoln Rd), the Roman osteria's first location outside Italy, is the sit-down pick; order the carbonara. A block off, Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza (1680 Michigan Ave) is in the MICHELIN Guide's Miami selection for Renato Viola's three-day-proofed thin crust. For something quick, The Taco Stand (1211 Lincoln Rd) does burritos, and Salt & Straw (749 Lincoln Rd) scoops until midnight.