Miami Layover: Wynwood Walls Street Art
Part of the full Miami in One Day: Biscayne Boulevard
Miami’s Wynwood Walls, a ticketed garden of murals on NW 2nd Avenue in the Wynwood Arts District, has been painted by more than 130 artists from 30 countries since 2009, and the warehouse blocks around it are covered in street art that’s free to see.
Wynwood Walls, the mural garden on NW 2nd Avenue
Wynwood Walls is a block of six low warehouses at 2516 NW 2nd Avenue that the property developer Tony Goldman bought and opened up in 2009, inviting street artists to paint their outside walls. Shepard Fairey and the Brazilian twins Os Gêmeos were among the first round, and the walls have been repainted in waves ever since, so what’s up now won’t match photos from a few years back. Goldman’s daughter, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, curates it today. It’s open daily from 10:30am to 6:30pm, and admission tickets for Wynwood Walls can be bought ahead.
The warehouses face inward onto a lawn and a shaded courtyard with tables, so each mural is seen across open ground rather than from a sidewalk with cars parked in front of it. That’s the main difference from the rest of the neighborhood.
Outside the gate, the streets running off NW 2nd Avenue are painted wall after wall, on former warehouses, body shops and loading docks, and none of it charges. Without a guide it’s hard to tell a commissioned mural from a tag. A 75-minute guided street art tour of Wynwood covers who painted what and how the walls get assigned. The Museum of Graffiti, at 276 NW 26th Street, puts the history of the form indoors; it opens at 11am and is closed on Tuesdays.
The murals are spread across a grid of blocks rather than gathered in one place, so the walk doubles back on itself constantly, and each backtrack takes longer pulling a suitcase.
The free Wynwood trolley doesn’t run on Sundays
The City of Miami’s Wynwood trolley runs along NW 2nd Avenue Monday to Saturday, 6:30am to 11pm, free, and stops at the School Board and Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover stations. From either, the free Metromover runs to Government Center downtown. That’s also the quickest way to the downtown Miami itinerary along Biscayne Boulevard, whose museums sit on the same Metromover loop.
From Government Center, the Metrorail Orange Line reaches the Miami International Airport (MIA) station in about 15 minutes on weekdays, for a flat $2.25, the only paid leg of the trip. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it runs only as a two-stop shuttle between the airport and Earlington Heights, so take the Green Line and change there. The free MIA Mover then takes about four minutes to the terminals. Trolley, Metromover, train and people mover together come to well over an hour; on a Sunday, with no trolley, it starts with a walk of 15 to 20 minutes down to the School Board station, or a taxi covers the roughly six miles in far less time. Leaving Wynwood three and a half hours before an international departure keeps all of that comfortable, and picking the bag up on the way to the trolley means it only joins you for the ride.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near the Wynwood Arts District in Miami?
Start at Wynwood Walls on NW 2nd Avenue, a ticketed garden of murals that more than 130 artists have painted since 2009, then walk the warehouse blocks around it, where the street art on the outside walls costs nothing to see. The Museum of Graffiti on NW 26th Street covers the history of the form indoors. Wynwood Walls tickets are worth buying ahead; the museum is the stop to skip if time is short.
Is Wynwood Walls worth paying for when the street art outside is free?
It depends on what you came for. Inside, the murals are commissioned and curated, painted by invited artists from around the world, and set around a lawn and courtyard so you see each one across open ground rather than from a narrow sidewalk. Outside, the coverage is wider and changes more often, and it's free, but it's spread across many blocks with traffic and parked cars in front of a lot of it. With an hour or less, the free streets around NW 2nd Avenue give the better sense of the neighborhood; with longer, the Walls are the curated core of it.
Can you get from Wynwood to Miami International Airport on a Sunday without a car?
Only with a walk added. The free Wynwood trolley doesn't run on Sundays, so the public-transport route starts with a walk of roughly 15 to 20 minutes south to the School Board Metromover station, then the free Metromover to Government Center and the Metrorail. On Sundays the Orange Line runs only as a shuttle between the airport and Earlington Heights, so take the Green Line from Government Center and change there; the fare for the train is a flat $2.25. Allow well over an hour door to door, or take a taxi or rideshare for the roughly six-mile drive.