While many flock to the sands and party scenes of Miami Beach and the other barrier islands of Miami Dade County, the more culturally minded head to mainland Miami to watch cigar rollers at work in tabacaleras; gray-haired men and women loudly slapping dominoes onto tables, seemingly interested more in who can produce the loudest bangs than in how the game turns out; shop for guayabera shirts; and feast on Cuban delicacies while being serenaded by salsa and old-timey boleros. Welcome to Calle Ocho (aka Southwest Eighth Street) in the neighborhood know,n as Little Havana, settled by Cuban refugees in the 1960s after Fidel Castro seized power in their homeland, this several-block stretch is lined with restaurants, shops, galleries, and bars.

Read more in Tripatini member Victor Block's post 7 Swell Spots to Travel the World without Leaving the USA.

Victor Block