American Airlines Flights from Paris, France (CDG) to Miami (MIA)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Paris, France (CDG) to Miami (MIA) regularly scheduled to depart at 11:05am and arrive at 3:20pm. Usually a Boeing 767-300 is flown for this route, with in-seat power sources available. Generally, a movie is offered on this route, as well as audio programming and telephone service. The average travel time from Paris, France to Miami, FL is 10 hours and 15 minutes.
During your Miami vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Sea Grass Adventures
Even better than the Seaquarium is Sea Grass Adventures, in which a naturalist from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center will introduce ($10 per person) kids and adults to an amazing variety of creatures that live in the sea grass beds of the Bear Cut Nature Preserve near Crandon Beach on Key Biscayne. Not just a walking tour, you will be able to wade in the water with your guide and catch an assortment of sea life in nets provided by the guides. At the end of the program, participants gather on the beach while the guide explains what everyone's just caught, passing the creatures around in miniature viewing tanks. Call for available dates, times, and reservations.
The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Sometimes referred to as the "Hearst Castle of the East," this magnificent villa is more Gatsby-esque than anything else you'll find in Miami. It was built in 1916 as a winter retreat for James Deering, co-founder and former vice president of International Harvester. The industrialist was fascinated by 16th-century art and architecture and his ornate mansion, which took 1,000 artisans 5 years to build, became a celebration of that period. If you love antiques, this place is a dream come true, packed with European relics and works of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Most of the original furnishings, including dishes and paintings, are still intact. You will see very early versions of a telephone switchboard, central vacuum cleaning system, elevators, and fire sprinklers. A free guided tour of the 34 furnished rooms on the first floor takes about 45 minutes. The second floor, which consists mostly of bedrooms, is open to tour on your own. The spectacularly opulent villa wraps itself around a central courtyard. Outside, lush formal gardens, accented with statuary, balustrades, and decorative urns, front an enormous swath of Biscayne Bay. Definitely take the tour of the rooms, but immediately thereafter, you will want to wander and get lost in the resplendent gardens.
Parrot Jungle and Gardens
This Miami institution took flight from its lush, natural South Miami environment and headed north in the winter of 2003 to a new, overly fabricated, disappointing $46 million home on Watson Island, along the MacArthur Causeway near Miami Beach. While the island doubles as a protected bird sanctuary, the jungle's former digs (in a coral rock structure built around 1900 in the heart of South Miami) had a lot more charm and kitsch. The new, overpriced 19-acre park features an Everglades exhibit, a petting zoo, and several theaters, jungle trails, and aviaries. Watch your heads because flying above are hundreds of parrots, macaws, peacocks, cockatoos, and flamingos. But it's not all a loss. Be sure to check out the Crocosaurus, a 20-foot long saltwater crocodile who hangs out in the park's Serpentarium, which also houses the park's reptile and amphibian collection. Also a pleasant surprise here is the Ichimura Miami Japan Garden (see the "A Japanese Garden" box, below). Continuous shows star roller-skating cockatoos, card-playing macaws, and numerous stunt-happy parrots. There are also tortoises, iguanas, and a rare albino alligator on exhibit. The park's website sometimes offers downloadable discount coupons, so if you have Internet access, take a look before you visit, because you definitely won't want to pay full price for this park. If you do get your money's worth and see all the shows and exhibits, expect to spend upwards of 4 hours here. Note: The former South Miami site of Parrot Jungle is now known as Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Rd. (tel. 305/669-6942), which features a petting zoo, mini water park, lake, natural hammocks, and Banyan caves. Open daily from 9am until sunset, admission is $5 adults, $3 kids, and $4 seniors.
Mermaid Guesthouse
There's something magical about this little hideaway tucked behind tropical gardens in the very heart of South Beach and less than 2 blocks from the ocean. You won't find the amenities of the larger hotels here, but the charm and hospitality at this one-story guesthouse keep people coming back. Owners Ana and Gonzalo Torres did a thorough cleanup, adding new brightly colored fretwork around the doors and windows and installing phones in each room. Also, the wood floors have been stripped or covered in straw matting, one of the many Caribbean touches that make this place so cheery. Rooms have four-poster beds with mosquito nets. There are no TVs, so guests tend to congregate in the lush garden in the evenings. The owners sometimes host free impromptu dinners for their guests and friends. Ask if they've scheduled any live Latin music during your stay; you won't want to miss it. What you also don't want to miss is a preview of your room before you put down a deposit, as some rooms tend not to be as tidy as the quaint garden.
Days Inn Oceanside
One of the most economical choices for travelers, this hotel has been refurbished in splashy pastels and bright lavenders. It's clean and cheap, and children under 17 stay free. A kosher Chinese restaurant is on the premises.
La Flora Hotel
It's hard to keep up with the number of Art Deco, streamlined hotels turned boutique hotels these days, but attention should be paid to La Flora, one of the quieter members of the club. A minimalist 28-room hotel located 1 block from the ocean, La Flora is a very peaceful alternative to the sceney boutique hotels that surround it. Rooms are extremely comfortable and stylish, with damask linens, soothing beige tones, and fabulous black-out curtains that come in handy when you've come in at the crack of dawn. As with many hotels on Collins Avenue, there's no pool, but La Flora's lobby bar, with frequent happy hours, is sporadically swimming with interesting people.
