Travel Blog

When I heard that the Miami Herald was looking for suggestions for South Florida's best block I immediately thought of Espanola Way in South Beach. But, while it may be South Florida's most picturesque block, it is made up almost entirely of restaurants, with a few shops, so it doesn't have the cultural weight a great block should. (The same failing that rules out any block of visually stunning Ocean Drive.)

Next I thought of the westernmost block of Lincoln Road Mall, which has a bookstore, a movie theater, restaurants, shops and the world's most acclaimed parking garage. But the bookstore sells mostly coffee table books, and the theater shows mostly Hollywood movies.

You see where I'm headed.

Aragon Avenue, in Coral Gables, between Salzedo and Ponce de Leon. The anchor here is Books & Books - not only the best bookstore in South Florida (not a lot of competition there) but one of the great bookstores in the United States. It is a local institution, a lodestar for readers, the darling of authors around the world. And in the middle of it, serving delicious food, is a courtyard cafe.

Across the street is the Coral Gables Art Cinema, showing foreign, independent and classic films. Discuss the movie afterwards, over glasses of wine, in the courtyard of Books & Books.

Down the street is the fairly new Coral Gables Museum, providing the block with the unbeatable trifecta of books, movies, and history. There are also some shops - including a chocolatier the last time I looked - a sushi restaurant up on the corner, and the Colombian consulate for a bit of international flavor. And behind the cinema is the back entrance to JohnMartin's Irish Pub & Restaurant. With its tight concentration of riches, this block is the equal of any in Manhattan. Not bad for a city built for the automobile.