Maybe you’re in town for business and want to spend a few extra days exploring the downtown area. Or you’re booked on a cruise and have time to kill before you embark. Or you’re a local who wants to find new and exciting ways to enjoy your hometown. Either way, Downtown Miami is the city’s urban core, and it has many historic buildings, cultural institutions, and public spaces to entertain both tourists and residents alike. With the Metromover rail car, navigating the neighborhood by public transportation is a snap, but walking is also an option. Although your choices are many, the following are some suggestions for spending a few days Downtown.

Friday Late Afternoon

Photo courtesy of Area 31

Located on the 16th floor of the Kimpton EPIC Hotel, Area 31 offers sweeping views of the Miami skyline, an ocean-inspired menu, and a Friday happy hour that lasts from 5 p.m. until midnight. On Fridays, you can “chase the clock” with drinks priced by the hour—so at 5 p.m., they are $5 but at 8 p.m., the price is $8. Local bar bites, which are $8, include local goat cheese croquetas, truffle fries, classic ceviche, and pork belly steamed buns.

Friday Evening

Photo courtesy of The Capital Grille

After having whet your appetite at happy hour, you can have dinner at The Capital Grille, located a short walk away in Brickell, with a menu that can please most palates, including vegetarians. If you want to stick to seafood, you might try the jumbo sea scallops with asparagus and parsnip puree or roasted swordfish. For beef, options include the dry aged porterhouse steak or filet mignon. Among chef suggested entrees are the seared tenderloin with butter poached lobster tails and the veal tomahawk chop.

Saturday Morning

Photo courtesy of Pérez Art Museum Miami

You can start your Saturday at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). Considered Miami’s flagship art museum, it offers year-round rotating exhibits and educational programming for children in a building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron. Free tours, led by a museum guide, are offered at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., and private tours are available by reservation. On your way out, you may want to visit the gift shop, which sells wearables, decor, books, and toys, or try a Pérez chopped salad and a pomegranate sangria at the restaurant Verde.

Saturday Afternoon

Photo courtesy of Bayfront Park

A short stroll down the Miami Baywalk will get you to Bayfront Park. Life in an urban environment can be hectic, so spending some time at the park, a 32-acre site overlooking Biscayne Bay, is a good way to relax and take a break from tall buildings and traffic. Among park features is a sand beach, tropical rock garden, waterfall, playground, fountain, and monuments. Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, managed by Live Nation, regularly hosts celebrity performances.

Saturday Evening

Photo courtesy of E11even

Even if staying out all night isn’t in your schedule, you may want to visit E11even to catch a glimpse of the spectacle inside. Located in the heart of Downtown, not far from Museum Park, it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This 20,000-square-foot mega club features 600 square feet of LED video walls and intelligent lighting, as well as the newest “Funktion-One” Resolution 6 sound system, which serves as a backdrop to the club’s Cirque du Soleil-style performances, with elaborate costumes, choreographed go-go dancers, aerialists, contortionists, and interactive characters.

Sunday Morning

Photo courtesy of American Social

You can start your Sunday morning with brunch at American Social, located on the Miami River, in Brickell. If your Saturday night involved a bit more imbibing than planned, you may opt for the “hangover” breakfast sandwich or for the mimosas if you’re an adherent to the “hair of the dog” philosophy. Whatever you choose to eat and drink, you’ll enjoy the waterfront views, but beware—you may want to call ahead for reservations.

Sunday Afternoon

Freedom Tower photo courtesy of Tom Schaefer

You can wrap up your weekend with a trip to the Freedom Tower located near the AmericanAirlines Arena nearby. Added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the tower is now the home of the MDC Museum of Art + Design (MOAD). Originally the offices of the Miami News, the Freedom Tower became a headquarters for the government to process and document the influx of Cuban immigrants to Miami in the 1960s. That history is reflected in the tower's Cultural Legacy Gallery, which is permanently dedicated to work that explores the impact of Cuban culture in South Florida. On display since July 2015 is Eduardo del Valle’s Childhood Memories From the Other Side of the Water, a visual autobiography of the artist’s memories in Cuba. Open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., the admission is free.