Don’t Miss a Visit to Vizcaya in Miami

When you think of Miami, historic museums probably aren’t the first thing that come to mind. Vizcaya wasn’t on my radar when planning our Florida road trip. In fact, I’d never even heard of it. I originally had a day centered around south beach attractions, but I’m so glad we explored Vizcaya instead. In this post I’m going to show you why you should include a visit to Vizcaya on your to Miami itinerary.

History of Vizcaya

Initially built in 1916 as the vacation home of wealthy businessman James Deering, this estate was built to resemble an eighteenth-century Italian villa. The interior boasts 45,000 square feet, has several floors, and 34 rooms (including 9 guest bed rooms). Not bad for a winter home! Originally the estate included the main house, gardens and the Village on 180 acres, however much of the surrounding land has been sold and the current land is around 50 acres.

Vizcaya cost 9 million to build and is currently valued at 9 billion! In 1953 this estate opened as Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. In 1994 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Visual Tour Vizcaya

The Vizcaya Museum and Garden’s is by far the most beautiful, opulent place I’ve ever been. With old world European architecture and furnishings, you will feel like you’ve been transported to a European Villa without ever leaving Florida. Many of the art pieces and furniture were imported directly from Italy. In fact, Vizcaya has one of the greatest collections of Italian furniture in the United States.

I did my best to photograph everything, but many of the rooms were dark which proved to be challenging…so, without further ado, here is a photographic tour of my favorite rooms in the main house.

The Courtyard

Originally the courtyard was open to the outside, but a glass ceiling was installed to protect the interior from frequent storms.

East Loggia

This was one of my absolute favorite spaces. Gorgeous neoclassic architecture, grand columns and carvings accented by pink walls, I was in Heaven!

James Deering, chose the Caravel ship as the symbol of his winter home to reflect his love of exploration. Here you can see the ship hanging from the ceiling of the East Loggia.

Enclosed Loggia

This room is also referred to as the Tea Room and is my second favorite space. The ceiling is so incredible I spent most of my time looking up instead of at the beautiful painted walls.

Another Caravel is shown in the middle stained-glass windows in the Enclosed Loggia.

This marble mosaic was shipped from New York in pieces and assembled on site.

Living Room

The living room is filled with larger than life furnishings and ornate carvings, including this massive fireplace that was imported from France and dates back to the 1600’s.

The pipes for the pipe organ in the background are hidden behind the painting which was cut in half and crafted into doors. Fun Fact: In 1987 President Ronald Regan and Pope John Paul II met at Vizcaya and sat in these chairs.

Breakfast Room

The gate entrance and fireplace are the show stoppers in the breakfast room, highlighted by the floor-to-ceiling maritime wall paintings. These paintings continue the exploration theme using ship motifs throughout the estate. While they appear to have been painted on site, the paintings were actually painted in the 18th century by a French painter long before Vizcaya was built.

The Espagnolette Guest Bedroom

This is one of nine guest bed rooms and is easily my favorite. Back in the day, it was common for guests to stay over for weeks, so James Deering had each room designed with unique furnishings so they would have a cozy place to stay.

Spiral Staircase

Fun Fact: This spiral staircase is a great example of the golden ratio. This mathematical concept describes the ratio between two numbers that equal approximately 1.618, seen in the relationship between the width of each step and the distance between them. This precise or “divine proportion” gives the staircase eye-pleasing symmetry.

Map of the Main House

The Gardens at Vizcaya

Secret Garden

The Tea House Gazebo

This gazebo had the most gorgeous lattice-work.

A close-up of the Caravel ship carved into the archway of the Tea House entrance.

Map of the Gardens

Our visit to Vizcaya was part of a long travel day. We started in Coco Beach and only spent a partial day in Miami on our way to Homestead. Vizcaya was my top choice for things to see in Miami and I’m so thankful we took the time to visit. Unfortunately, due to time restraints, we didn’t see the entire garden property (and some of the rooms in the house). We were able to see most everything from the main house over to the number 2 on the map below. I would re-visit Vizcaya again in a heartbeat, but plan to start earlier in the day to take in all the areas we missed.

Planning Your Visit to Vizcaya

Location: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, FL 33129.

Museum Hours: Wednesday through Monday from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Tuesdays.

Cost of Admission: Adults: $25, Children: $10

Plan to arrive early. You may spend anywhere between two to four hours exploring the grounds.

Tours: Both self-guided and guided tours are available daily. Guided tours are an additional $5 and are offered daily at 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm. The audio tour is free, just download the Viscaya app (remember to bring your headphones).

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Photography Tips at Vizcaya

Vizcaya is a photographer’s dream location. There are fantastic backdrops and gorgeous scenery everywhere you turn. Here are some suggestions for capturing the best photos.

Wide Angle Lens

The scale at Vizcaya is enormous, so the wider the angle the better. For this trip I used my 17-40mm lens. The image on the left is shot at 21mm and the image on the right is shot at 17mm. As you can see, you get much more height, but the doorway is a little distorted. One perk of wide angle lens distortion is it makes you appear taller (and thinner)!

If you have an iPhone, switch it to .5 for the widest angle.

Wait for people to move out of your frame

I know it looks like there is hardly anyone at Vizcaya in the main photos I posted, but that is far from the truth. Here’s an example of what it was actually like inside the gazebo. How many Instagram husbands do you see?

The key here is to wait patiently for people to move out of frame…or get creative with angles and cropping as seen in the photo on the right.

Dark Rooms Require High ISO

Many of the rooms are very dark when we visited. Since you’re not allowed to use a flash, increasing your ISO will help out significantly. The image below was shot with an ISO of 8000 and I still had to lighten it up quite a bit in post. High ISO images do tend to look a little muddy, but you will have better luck with this method compared to using a low shutter speed.

Avoid Shooting in the Direct Sun

Shooting in the heat of the day or when the sun is high in the sky is never ideal. Squinting only makes your forehead creases and eye wrinkles more noticeable. Harsh shadows are never flattering, so try to avoid direct sunlight whenever possible. If you absolutely have to, throw sunglasses on to avoid squinting.
Mid-day Miami in May was pretty humid. The chance of you feeling sweaty in your photos is high during this time of day. If you have long hair, I would suggest keeping your hair up in a clip when you are not posing for photos. Another way to avoid glaring sun is to shoot the out door scenery earlier in the day. This was our first visit to Vizcaya, so we really didn’t know what to expect. If I could do this over again I would start much earlier in the day…and ideally, in the cooler months.

Change locations to avoid the sun. Sometimes just walking around the corner you will find an alternate location with the same feel, but with less direct sun.

As you can see, the photo above is in the direct sun while the photo below, has shade provided by the wall. The scenery is virtually the same, but the lighting is more flattering in the second shot.

Capture the Details on Your Visit to Vizcaya

Taking photos of each room is great, but the true opulence is better apprecated when you get in close and capture the details. Luckily, there is no shortage of ornate carvings, embellished ceilings and whimsical lighting. These were my favorite things to photograph at Vizcaya.