The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a step back in time. Don’t miss the Gilded Age estate on Biscayne Bay surrounded by ten acres of formal gardens, a mangrove shoreline and rockland hammock. It was built in 1914 and finished in 1922 by businessman and conservationist James Deering, The mansion is set on a full 50-acre estate which features 10 acres of formal European-style gardens inspired by landscape design from the 17th and 18th centuries. You won’t want to miss the walled Secret Garden and the Theatre Garden, both of which showcase the garden’s abundance of architectural structures and antique sculptures.

Vizcaya’s European-inspired gardens are among the most elaborate in the United States. Similar to gardens created in France and Italy, the overall landscape is designed to mimic a mansion in itself and is conceived as a series of rooms.

The middle of the garden has a pattern of low hedges, or parterres, in a geometric arrangement. Past that is the hidden Secret Garden, the intimate Theater Garden, the playful Maze Garden and the moist Fountain Garden, which was at one time submerged in water. Flanking the sides of the beautiful center garden, James Deering preserved the native forest in its purest form.