Focused on exhibitions of international contemporary art, the Bass is housed in a 1930s-era art deco building that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The art offerings at this South Beach institution are more than skin deep, though. Before you even enter you’ll spot such striking public art pieces as Ugo Rondinone’s towering, multicolored Miami Mountain in the surrounding Collins Park and Sylvie Fleury’s Eternity Now neon sign on the museum’s facade.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the art deco masterpiece that houses the Jewish Museum of Florida’s main building is an attraction in its own right. Completed in 1936, the building features dozens of stained glass windows, a Moorish copper dome, art deco chandeliers, and marble bimah used for Torah reading during services. Here, visitors can explore Florida’s Jewish history and culture through the museum’s audiovisual presentations, films, photos, documents, and artifacts.

Learn about the art and culture of Haiti with a visit to the Haitian Heritage Museum, located just steps from Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. This small museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the Caribbean nation’s culture in all its aspects—from music and movies to literature—via art exhibitions, cultural events, and educational activities.

Visitors to Wings Over Miami Air Museum can see the evolution of flight through the small museum’s surprisingly large collection of restored and maintained military and classic aircraft. You’ll also learn about the pilots who flew them and, if you’re lucky, maybe even see a plane restoration in process, or catch a special event during which some of the planes take to the skies.

If your interest skews toward trains rather than planes, head for the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, which is home to more than 40 passenger cars, freight cars, locomotives, and antique railway equipment. The historic rail cars on view include Ferdinand Magellan, the private car built for President Franklin Roosevelt. You can also explore the vast collection of model trains while learning about the region’s locomotive history.

This bafflingly large and complex limestone structure in Homestead, a 40-minute drive from downtown, was built single-handedly, using only homemade tools, under the cover of darkness by Edward Leedskalnin over a period of 28 years—and no one is quite sure how. Legend has it that Leedskalnin started building the "castle" the day after his fiancée called off their wedding; locals claimed that he used supernatural powers. However he did it, the result is certainly striking.