Española Way, Miami, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

Española Way is a pedestrian-friendly street of Mediterranean Revival buildings in South Beach, Miami Beach, just off Washington Avenue. Built in the 1920s as a Spanish-style village, it is one of the most photogenic corners of Miami and a reminder that Miami Beach has more to its architecture than Art Deco.

The story behind it

Española Way was developed in the mid-1920s by Newton B. T. Roney, a Miami Beach builder and hotelier. He imagined a Mediterranean village of artists and craftspeople, with Spanish and French Quarter touches, in the middle of a growing resort town. The buildings were designed in the Mediterranean Revival style that was fashionable in Florida during the land boom years.

The street later went through busy and quiet periods, and in the decades since it has been restored and protected as part of Miami Beach's historic fabric. Today it works as a small outdoor promenade of cafés, restaurants, boutiques and hotels, with the Spanish village idea still clearly visible in its design.

What to look for

• Look up at the upper floors, where small balconies with decorative ironwork overhang the street in the style of a Spanish town.
• Notice the barrel-tile roofs and the textured, warm-colored walls that give the block its Mediterranean look.
• Find the arched entrances and the stretch of the street where an archway frames the view from one end to the other.
• Compare it with the Art Deco buildings a few blocks away: the curves and pastel streamlining nearby make a clear contrast with the older Spanish-inspired style here.

Tips for your visit

• The street is outdoors and free to walk. Cafés, shops and hotels are open to customers, so check current opening hours for any place you want to enter.
• Allow 20 to 30 minutes to stroll and take photos, longer if you stop for a meal or coffee.
• Late afternoon and early evening usually give softer light for photography and a livelier atmosphere, while mornings are quieter.
• You are close to Lincoln Road, the Art Deco buildings along Ocean Drive and the beach, so it combines easily with a longer walk around South Beach.

Explore it on a quest

Española Way is best seen as part of a wider walk, and Questo's self-guided quests make that simple. Start any time on your phone, follow the app from place to place, hear about what you are looking at and solve puzzles in the streets themselves. Discover the area on one of the quests in Miami.