Hidden World Of Miami Design District - Small Group Tour!

We had the best time exploring the Miami Design District with Marjorie! This was my second time in the area, but there was so much I had overlooked previously and never would’ve noticed without her guidance. I was especially excited to see ELASTIKA, as I am a big fan of Zaha Hadid. Highly recommend!

A fun and informative experience. I now feel like one of the few people who have had the pleasure to experience the Design District from an architectural and artistic viewpoint. Margery, our guide was fun and knowledgeable. The tour ran about 1.5 hours, leaving plenty of time to explore the shops before or after. Highly recommend.

I would say contact the operator before arriving to the tour I did and no one ever contacted me back. By the time me and my friend arrived there was no one there at the meeting point we end up doing our own tour spent $100 for nothing waiting on the refund

Tour Guide Lady was great but was very dissatisfied with the presentation. We thought this was a museum of art tour not outside walking in the heat. I would never book this again

I booked this tour for my family and me because I thought it was an art tour, specifically about Design, which interests me. This tour takes place in a gentrified area of Miami called the Design District. It is filled with expensive, high-end stores like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Celine. In between these stores are parking garages and commissioned pieces of art. The tour is 1 hour long and ends in the Dior cafe. To get into this cafe, you must walk through the Dior store to the back and take the elevator upstairs to the outdoor cafe. Yes, it is cute, but it is tiny. I would say there are maybe six tables in total. Our guide asked us if we wanted to go to the cafe. We said yes because we wanted a cup of tea and thought it would be a nice way to end the tour. Our guide walked us in front of the line outside of Dior, which was filled with people. The woman at the door knew her name, so she obviously goes there a lot. I got the sense that she gets some kind of discount or kickback for bringing people to the Dior cafe. Once up there, our guide left. We looked at the menu. To give you some perspective of what to expect, a cup of tea was $15. I am not joking. It was a $. 70 Rishi Chamomile Medly tea bag and some hot water in a mug. They didn't even open the tea bag and put it in the water. There were three of us and we had one cup of tea, one cup of coffee, one lemonade, and one croissant. Our bill was $85.00. If I would have known how expensive this place was, I would never have agreed to go up there. Once up there, it feels odd to just leave because everybody is staring at you. The service was also lackluster. We waited 20 minutes for a server. Apparently, people go there to take pictures. If you are not into impressing people on Insta with a big Dior sign behind you, skip this part. This part of the tour left a bad taste in my mouth. Even though our tour guide was very sweet and good-natured, I think there are some things are missing and should be addressed. One, be clear about what this tour is. If it's an art tour, say that. Otherwise, say what it is: a luxury shopping tour. Two, If this is an art tour, it is important to study art & architecture. Every art tour guide should know the pieces of art inside and out and not just the names of the artists, but the meaning behind each piece, the materials used and the style. It is also important to know how long it took the artists to make each piece and to mention it throughout the tour. Three, if you are going to talk about how the developers gentrified the area and pushed out the people that used to live there, then talk about what the developers are doing to keep a sense of community in this space. If they are doing nothing, do not mention them at all. Four, bring an ipad. This iPad should have pictures of each artist and pictures of their other pieces. Use this to connect the art pieces you are showing on the tour with their other artwork. Go into the meaning of the piece. People are paying you for your experitise when going on an art tour, so give it to them. Five, be enthusiastic and inquisitive. When I spend money on a tour, I like it when the tour guide is enthusiastic and drops in a joke here or there. I also like when they ask questions like, who is your favorite artist? What brings you to this tour? And what are you hoping to get out of the tour today? It goes a long way. Six, have a QR Code that people can scan, linking them to a site where you list each piece you show on the tour (name of artist, name of piece, meaning behind the piece) and a photo of the piece in the daytime and at night so people can see the differences. Many of these pieces activate in the sunlight or light up at night, and we could not see the magic in them because it was an overcast afternoon. Seven, end the tour at the free Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, not the Dior Cafe. Just a warning. This area attracts many tourists and a lot of entitled visitors. For example, a group of tourists bombarded the street and blocked us from getting by. As I maneuvered around them, I was bumped into without apology. It turned me off, to be honest, but this is not the tour guide's fault.  If you are into high-end, luxury shopping, check this area out.

Our guide, Marjorie, was exceptional. She knew names of installations, artists, and different vantage points that were off the beaten path.

I was hoping for more art galleries. The area is mostly just high-fashion stores. It’s also very busy, and if you like to people-watch it can be interesting.

Margery is delightful! She is knowledgeable and lead a tour filled with information we would never have discovered on our own. The behind the scenes of the design district is fascinating and worthwhile. Highly recommend.

Marjorie was excellent. Knowledgeable, personable and made the tour both interesting and enjoyable. We have ahopped the District many times without noticing mosr of what she showed us.

We had an excellent time and really got to appreciate the artwork and area. We would never have been able to have the same experience on our own. It’s amazing how many things you don’t see that are in front of you. Our guide gave us a lot of history and showed us items we would have missed or simply not appreciated to the same degree. Bonus was vip treatment to get a table within the Dior cafe.

Margery was an amazing and personable guide, pointing out all the hidden details behind artworks in the design district. I left with an understanding of how much thought and appreciation was put into the design there. Surprise at the end was perfect, thank you Margery!!

Margery was great and really knows the history of the District. Definitely pointed out things that we would have missed on our own. I would suggest making the restaurant drop off at the end optional. Pretty place, very expensive even for just water. We left b/c we had a dinner res elsewhere. TA needs to change this picture; the sloths are gone!

Wonderful tour with so much kind personality and great knowledge! My daughter and I got so much more out of the design district with your insights. Thank you!

Margery took us all around the design district pointing out different facades of buildings and who the architect was, and the thought process behind it. She knew a lot about the architects themselves. Without her guiding us we definitely would not have noticed nor really understood the reasoning behind certain design elements. A bonus to one member of our party was her interest in the fashion designers. All and all an informative tour. Be wary of being taken up to the Dior cafe at the end of the tour. It's really just a roof top garden and very expensive. Kind of an odd goodbye to leave us at an overpriced cafe.

Margery gave us a fascinating tour of the Design District. It was so interesting and informative. We saw many things, that despite having walked past numerous times, I hadn’t seen or noticed and lots of background on things I had.

We loved being. Educated on the architecture and the design concepts that surround the beautiful space. And the luxe cafe pop in was the cherry on the top . Margery was great!

We had a great time walking around the design district of Marjery. She showed us so many interesting views and designs that we couldn't have appreciated otherwise. She knew a lot about each piece and told us just enough to relate the design and the intent. Though it's a 2-hour tour, it's about 1: 15 of walking with Margery and then you're on your own in the cafe. The cafe, which was secluded and exclusive as described, was open air and too hot in July for us to enjoy. Even with that, we loved the tour.

This tour was awesome! Learned a lot. Had a great time. My kids loved it! I would recommend this your . You won’t be disappointed.

Tour guide was very personable and knowledgeable. We really got to experience the beauty of the design district!

Started right in time. Although we live in Miami and been to design district couple of times, this was like first time with open eyes! So much stuff left unseen when you just stoo by. Marjie is great guide, interesting i fo given, very thankful.

Fantastic! The best way to see Miami’s design District. Margery was great and we loved the tour. It was so interesting to learn about the different art and architecture in the area.

Family absolutely enjoyed it! Margery does a phenomenal job at answering and taking care of her clients. Highly recommended and will be back with my in laws! :)

A wonderful tour through the design district! We had seen the area before but Margery added so much extra information, the stories behind the buildings, the architects, designers and explained things we would have never noticed. The architect visiting with our group found it particularly interesting!

Good knowledge , pace and attention Lots to see and absorb treat at the “high end” cafe .. Energy of the area was fun and upbeat

Fantastic Tour, I had walked past certain buildings and not realized the history or appreciated the beauty, Margery pointed out all the Hidden Features of the Architects, being a Developer I can really appreciate the Artistic design. I do have 1 question about the Clay tile walls, if you can reach out to me via email. Thanx!

We had so much fun with this tour! Our tourguide Marjory was so nice with a good sense of humor and very knowledgeable. We highly recommend this tour!👍😊

The tour was informative and swift. Our tour guide Margery was informative, funny and kept the activities moving forward.

It was a good experience to see the art district and learn about the current and previous history of how it got to where it is now.

Marjory was awesome with her storytelling and tidbits that she shared about the design and history and purpose behind the Miami Design District. And as an interior designer on her birthday, my wife truly enjoyed everything about this tour.

We had a wonderful Tour with Margery recently. She is so knowledgeable and showed our group of 4 all the eye-popping sights, buildings and unbelievable architecture. We all felt the length of the Tour was just right - we booked the early morning time slot which worked out perfectly in the South Florida heat. The pace was leisurely and we stopped for tons of photos - the art installations are amazing along with the back stories that Margery shared with us. The last hour of the Tour was to be spent on our own at the Dior Cafe, but we opted out of that part as it was just too hot to sit outside. We appreciated that Reservations had been made for us, but if we had known of this plan in advance we would’ve let Margery know we weren’t interested in sitting outside. Overall a very cool and interesting way to spend an hour and 1/2 in South Florida/Miami!

We very much enjoyed our tour of the design district. The background information was interesting and helped to understand how it all came to be. I don’t know how you could really see all of it without a guide. There are endless nooks and crannies that would make navigating on your own difficult.

Margery at MC2 was our tour guide and even tho we live here in Miami, was interesting to learn about Design District and its importance in our arts and culture world. Fun and easy walk. Good job MC2!

Marjorie was very knowledgeable, pleasant and fun to be with. We had an excellent tour would recommend her highly.

Excellent experience! Marjorie is full of knowledge in fashion, art and architecture pieces. We really enjoy learning about the story of the beginnings of that part por the city. It ended with cheers at an especial luxury rooftop bar. Really worth it!

This tour is amazing! The guide is absolutely amazing. During the tour you’ll be provided with information that really makes you appreciate the beauty and story behind the design district. I was so shocked but grateful for the experience!

It is a nice place where you can find great designer shops, parking included cheaply we stayed two hours and paid three dollars, something economical for the parking lots I have met in America. Good option to walk, meet and distract yourself