Miami Beach may be where all the action is, but across the causeway, Miami's urban core is quickly catching up. The crown jewel of that revitalization is Brickell City Centre (BCC), the massive live/work/shop complex that promises Manhattan-style living in these steamy parts. Looking to experience a more cosmopolitan side of Miami? The East, Miami, located atop BCC, is the first outpost of the East hotel brand outside of Asia. (The other two locations are in Hong Kong and Beijing.) Housed in a striking Arquitectonica-designed building, East is also home to the first American branch of the legendary Uruguayan asador, Quinto La Huella, and also houses Sugar, an Asian-inspired restaurant and bar on the rooftop. With 352 rooms ranging in size from 300 to 1,800 square feet, East boasts contemporary spaces that offer a quiet retreat high above the busy Brickell streets. Room rates depend upon the time of year, but they can be as low as $200 per night if you know when to look.

You just found out that the Icelandic-based airline Wow Air is offering dirt-cheap fights to Reykjavik and beyond, raising the obvious question that hits locals in the face every summer: Why not get as far away as possible from 200 percent humidity during hurricane season? Look, Europe will always be there, but Miami Spa Month lasts only a limited time. Similar to how the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau tempts locals to eat out in August and September during Miami Spice, Spa Month tries to entice Miamians to take it easy during July and August through special offers at some of the city's most relaxing spots. Last year, favorites such as Lapis Spa at the Fontainebleau, the Tierra Santa Healing House at the Faena Hotel, the Spa at the Setai by Thémaé, Agua Spa at the Delano, the Jurlique Spa at Mayfair Hotel & Spa, and the Spa at Mandarin Oriental offered deals on everything from top-quality massages to muscle-melting sessions in hamams and steam rooms. With some Zen-inducing treatments starting as low as $109, anyone can afford to stick around through the boiling summer heat.

Pull up an episode of Miami Vice and look past the white-linen-heavy fashion and the criminally absurd plots to appreciate, for a moment, the Magic City's skyline in the mid-'80s — or rather, the lack thereof. As Det. Sonny Crockett sits on a bench overlooking what is now the magnificent downtown and Brickell strip, behind him stand just a few squat buildings and a lot of sand. Heck, forget the '80s — just load up DJ Khaled's 2007 video hit "I'm on One." Even ten years ago, the skyline was nascent. It's easy to forget just how explosive the Magic City's upward growth has been over the past ten years. The fact is, Miami today has one of America's most striking skylines — neon and glass, spiking perfectly upward on the edge of a glittering bay. And the perfect way to appreciate it is on a drive west on the MacArthur Causeway. As you ride toward the crest of the purple-light-bathed bridge just before downtown, the condo towers along Biscayne Boulevard rise like glowing beacons of energy and self-aggrandizement. Pérez Art Museum Miami —arguably the city's modern architectural gem — sits just to the south of the causeway, framing a view that stretches down to the American Airlines Arena and Zaha Hadid's under-construction final project. Perhaps all of this will sink into the bay in 30 years, but right now, it makes any Miamian's breast swell with inspiration. Plus, the whole view is flanked by the bluest water you've ever seen.