ROCK 'N' ROLL RETURNS
This is a dance-club town for sure, but if house music isn't your thing, you're also in luck, as the latest nighttime trend in South Beach is the rock club. The newest among them is Snatch
(snatchmiami.com), conveniently located on Washington Avenue in the heart of the action and home to Louie, South Beach's only mechanical bull.

TASTE GLOBAL FUSION
Miami has always been a delight for the taste buds, especially those fond of seafood and Latin American cuisine, and several new upscale restaurants are furthering the city's culinary tradition. Michy's, arguably the hottest table in town (Gourmet recently named it one of the 50 best restaurants in the country), is located in the up-and-coming Upper Eastside neighborhood and reflects the global influences of chef/owner Michelle Bernstein, who has classic French training and a taste for American comfort food (305-759-2001). For modern cuisine with flavors from countries throughout the Far East, try the Restaurant at the Setai, which is one of South Beach's hippest hotels (setai.com).

TRY THE WATER SPORT OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Among the great beach cities, Miami stands out for its lack of a bona fide surf break. But it more than makes up for that with ample wind that has long been luring sailors and windsurfers from around the globe to Key Biscayne and South Beach, where kiteboarding (a.k.a. kitesurfing) has now become a year-round, full-time leisure pursuit. According to Christophe Ribot, the owner of Miami Kiteboarding (miamikiteboarding.com) on Key Biscayne, a few years ago there were just a handful of kiteboarders in Miami, but now the sport is growing about 100 percent a year. Why? "You can be in the water 10 months out of the year and not have to wear a wetsuit," Ribot gushes. "The weather's great, and there's always a light to medium wind." The Florida Kitesurfing Association's website (fksa.org) has discussion boards on everything from where to go to tips for beginners.

SLEEP ON OCEAN DRIVE
The Regent South Beach (from $550; theregentsouthbeach.com), on Ocean Drive at 14th Street, is a brand-new five-star boutique condo-hotel designed by the big modernist firm Arquitectonica. It has 80 units, a European-style spa, and a glass-bottomed pool. Penthouses come with secluded rooftop gardens with wet bars and Romanesque hot tubs. The Regent is also home to an outpost of hot L.A. restaurant Table 8; book in advance and chef Govind Armstrong will design and present your meal himself.

GALLERY-HOP IN WYNWOOD
Near South Beach but a world away in terms of vibe, the gritty Wynwood Art District is home to working studios, cutting-edge galleries, and private collections, including the Emmanuel Perrotin gallery (galerieperrotin.com), the Bakehouse Art Complex (bakehouseartcomplex.org), and the Rubell Family Collection (rubellfamilycollection.com), with works by Jeff Koons, Keith Haring, and others.