The Best Authentic Experiences

Best Museum: A collector's dream come true, Miami's Wolfsonian is a treasure trove of miscellany (a matchbook that once belonged to the King of Egypt) and artifacts hailing from the propaganda age of World War II.

Best Spa: The Spa at The Standard Hotel (South Beach; tel. 305/673-1717) What used to be an old school, Borscht Belt-style Miami Beach health spa is now one of the hottest, trendiest places to take a Turkish bath in a bona fide Hamam, let out steam in a cedar sauna or get spritzed in the hotel's sublime Wall of Sound Shower.

Best Cultural Experience: A walk through Little Havana is a fascinating study in the juxtaposition and fusion of two very vibrant cultures in which pre-Castro Cuba is as alive and well as the McDonald's right next door.

Best Cheap Thrill: Riding the Metrorail in Miami. Originally created to relieve traffic congestion, the city's billion-dollar transportation network is hardly used by commuters and is little more than Miami's own version of Disney's Monorail. Nonetheless, for little more than a dollar, you can tour many of Miami's neighborhoods and see much of its skyline without having to stop, look at a map, or ask for directions.

Best Snorkeling Spot: Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary, Bahia Honda State Park. With 5.3 square miles (8.5 sq. km) of gorgeous coral reef, rock ledges up to 35 feet tall, and a colorful and motley marine community, you may never want to come up for air.

Best Public Golf Course: Miami's Biltmore Golf Course, Biltmore Hotel. If it's good enough for former President Clinton, it's good enough for those of you who don't travel with a bevy of Secret Service agents. But the real question is: Are you good enough for the course? The sixth hole is notoriously difficult, with distracting water hazards among other difficulties. Nonetheless, it's an excellent course with picture-postcard setting.

Best Dive Bar: Jose Cuervo Underwater Bar. In May 2000, the legendary tequila company celebrated Cinco de Mayo by submerging an actual, $45,000 full-size bar and six stools about 600 feet off South Beach's First Street beach. For expert divers, this bar is more than your average watering hole.

Best Place to Satisfy Your Morbid Curiosity: The Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem Bus Tour. Not that we're implying anything here, but Miami is a haven for people like O. J. Simpson and, at one time, Al Capone. It's a place where shady characters come to reinvent themselves. However, at times, they also tend to reincriminate themselves. See the spots where some of these criminals fell off the wagon -- it's morbidly delicious.

Best Latin Club: Although the predominant language spoken at Miami's La Covacha is Spanish, the only word you really need to know here is agua, because you will certainly need it after working up a sweat on the dance floor. Music -- the best Latin music in town -- is, in fact, the common language at this rustic, open-aired Latin dance club that features salsa, merengue, and Latin rock.

Best Dance Club: You know you're in a serious dance club when patrons are fawning all over the star DJ who flew in from Germany rather than Britney Spears, who has been seen sipping champagne in the club's VIP room. The aforementioned happens all the time at crobar, South Beach's proven dance club champion.

Best Offbeat Experience: Although it's little more than a tropical shantytown, Jimbo's, located at the tip of Virginia Key, is consistently fantastic, with no-frills smoked fish, beer out of the bucket, and colorful locals, all of which make it the best offbeat and off-the-beaten-track experience in South Florida.