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Drink · Miami
Cafecito
Cuban coffee: a short, strong espresso sweetened during preparation, with a sugar foam on top. It’s the everyday coffee of Miami’s Cuban community, served in small cups at café windows.
Music · Miami
Ultra Music Festival
A three-day electronic music festival at Bayfront Park, beside Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami; the highlight of a week when the city hosts parties and DJ shows from around the world.
In the photo: Miami
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Ultra Music Festival — Miami
When
Over three consecutive days in March, from Friday to Sunday, usually in the last week of the month.
March
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
What is Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival is one of the best-known electronic music festivals in the world and takes place every March in Miami. Over a three-day weekend, Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, on the edge of Biscayne Bay, hosts stages set up among palm trees and buildings, featuring DJs and producers from many electronic music styles, from house and techno to trance and drum and bass.
The festival began in March 1999 as a one-day event in Collins Park on Miami Beach, created by two local promoters; the name came from an electronic music album of the time. It grew quickly: it moved to Bayfront Park in 2001, spent some years at the nearby Bicentennial Park (now Museum Park), returned to Bayfront in 2012 and had an edition on Virginia Key in 2019. After two editions canceled during the pandemic, it returned to Bayfront Park in 2022. Since 2011 it has been a three-day event.
Ultra is the highlight of Miami Music Week, the week when the city fills with club parties, hotel pool parties, music industry gatherings and electronic music performances, from South Beach to Wynwood and downtown. The Winter Music Conference, a professional industry meeting that now belongs to the same group as the festival, takes place the same week. Many people travel for the entire week, fitting the festival among other events.
The main stage faces the bay with downtown skyscrapers in the background, and the festival has a large-event structure with several themed stages, food areas, bars and raised viewing platforms. One area is dedicated to techno and underground music with its own lineup. The brand has held editions in dozens of countries across South America, Asia and Europe, but the Miami edition remains the main one and the one that gathers the biggest names in the genre. Entry is restricted to people 18 and over, and some areas are 21 and over.
The crowd comes from dozens of countries, and many people wear colorful outfits, flags and light-up accessories. The festival runs sustainability programs, including separated waste collection and encouragement of reusable bottles. Miami usually has warm, clear weather at that time, making the week a combination of beach by day and music by night for those who travel for the festival.
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What not to miss
The main stage at sunset, with Biscayne Bay and the downtown skyscrapers in the background. The smaller stages and the area dedicated to techno, where artists outside the mainstream can be discovered. Closing night, on Sunday, with the final main-stage show. The light, laser and pyrotechnic effects of the nighttime shows. During festival week, the Miami Music Week parties in clubs and hotels in Miami Beach, Wynwood and downtown. A walk along Bayside and the downtown waterfront before entering the festival. By day, a morning on South Beach, where the festival began.
How to enjoy it
A ticket usually covers all three days and is issued as a single wristband; check the usage instructions sent with the ticket. There are ticket categories with reserved areas restricted to people 21 and over. Bayfront Park is in downtown Miami, and traffic around it is heavy on festival days; the Metromover, the elevated train that circles downtown, and ride-hailing services are the most practical ways to get there, and staying in downtown allows you to walk. Bring photo ID. The heat and humidity in March call for light clothing, comfortable shoes, sunscreen and water throughout the day; there are refill stations for reusable bottles. Arrange a meeting point with your group because cell service often fails in large crowds, and check the official website for what you can bring and the stage map.
Plan ahead
Tickets are usually sold in batches starting the year before, and the cheapest ones sell out first; buy in advance from the official website or its authorized sellers. Festival week is one of the busiest of the year in Miami, and accommodation in downtown and Miami Beach becomes expensive and competitive; book early. The festival is for people 18 and over. If you want to take advantage of Miami Music Week, arrive a few days before the festival’s Friday.
In the city
Make the most of Miami
Flavors of the United States
To try in Miami
March
Around the same time
February/March
Popular festival · San Francisco
San Francisco Chinese New Year
On a Saturday night, a few weeks after Lunar New Year, between February and early March; the celebration in Chinatown lasts several days.
San Francisco Lunar New Year nighttime illuminated parade organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce: floats, lion dance, acrobats, bands and, at the end, the Golden Dragon carried by dozens of people, amid firecrackers and lanterns.
March
Popular festival · New York
St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York
On March 17, St. Patrick’s Day; if the date falls on a Sunday, the parade is moved to Saturday, March 16.
Irish parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on St. Patrick’s Day: bagpipers, bands, Irish associations and groups from across the country march on foot, with no floats, passing in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
March/April
Culture · Washington, D.C.
National Cherry Blossom Festival
From mid or late March to mid April, lasting about four weeks, following the blooming of the cherry trees in Washington.
Spring festival in Washington that celebrates the cherry trees donated by Tokyo in 1912: weeks of events around the Tidal Basin and the National Mall, including a kite festival, a parade on Constitution Avenue, fireworks and a big Japanese street festival.
Your questions
Questions about Ultra Music Festival
When is Ultra Music Festival in Miami?
Every March, across three consecutive days from Friday to Sunday, normally in the last week of the month. The official website announces the dates for each year.
Where does Ultra Miami take place?
At Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, facing Biscayne Bay.
What is the minimum age for Ultra Music Festival?
The festival is restricted to people 18 and over; some ticket categories with reserved areas are limited to people 21 and over.
Festivals and events in the United States
Other festivals
January
Popular festival · Tampa
Gasparilla Pirate Festival
On the last Saturday in January; the children’s parade takes place on the previous Saturday.
Tampa’s pirate festival in Florida: a pirate ship sails into the bay with hundreds of boats, the pirates take the key to the city and march along Bayshore Boulevard, throwing beaded necklaces to the costumed crowd.
January
Popular festival · Pasadena
Rose Parade
On the morning of January 1; if the 1st falls on a Sunday, the parade is held on Monday, January 2.
New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, featuring floats completely covered with flowers, seeds and other natural materials, marching bands and mounted units along Colorado Boulevard. On the same day, the Rose Bowl stadium hosts the college football game of the same name.
April
Music · Indio
Coachella
In April, over two consecutive weekends, Friday through Sunday, with the same lineup both weekends.
A music and arts festival in the Coachella Valley desert at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California: two April weekends with stages for rock, pop, hip-hop and electronic music, large art installations, and on‑site camping.
April/May
Culture · Virgínia
Historic Garden Week in Virginia
For eight consecutive days, usually in the second half of April and sometimes into early May; each locality opens its houses and gardens on specific days.
For eight spring days, private homes, gardens and historic properties across Virginia open to the public, decorated with floral arrangements made by garden clubs; proceeds fund the restoration of the state’s historic gardens.
June
Popular festival · San Francisco
San Francisco LGBT+ Pride Parade
On the last full weekend of June; the celebration runs Saturday and Sunday, and the parade takes place on Sunday morning.
One of the world’s largest LGBT+ pride events: on the last weekend of June, San Francisco hosts a festival with stages and booths at Civic Center and, on Sunday morning, a parade along Market Street featuring hundreds of groups from the city.
July
Popular festival · Washington, D.C.
July 4 on the National Mall
On July 4, Independence Day in the United States.
Independence Day in the U.S. capital: a parade on Constitution Avenue, a concert on the Capitol lawn and, at night, one of the country’s largest fireworks displays over the National Mall memorials.