Get to know Bal Harbour

The “Bal” in Bal Harbour is a mashup honoring the two blue attractions at the end of the island: Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Bal Harbour was developed in the 1950s as a tiny village built on reclaimed swampland to lure vacationers to beachfront hotels. Nowadays, resorts and residential palaces bound the fringes of the area’s shores. Meanwhile, the community has developed into a seaside urban paradise — all the amenities of the Upper West Side but with better weather. Sitting at the edge of an island, Bal Harbour enjoys more seclusion than the Miami Beach neighborhoods to its south. However, the Bal crowd isn’t afraid to sample the best of that world-class destination at the other end of Collins Avenue. But on nights they choose to stay in their stately homes above white sand beaches on the edge of the world, you can certainly understand why.

Appropriately, Bal Harbour Shops is the center around which Bal Harbour shopping revolves. Opened during the 1960s, the open-air mall feels like a botanical garden, is home to many familiar and exotic brands, and carries a reputation rivaling Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue. The shopping areas of Bal Harbour also shelter fantastic eateries and cafés serving up delicacies and stores brimming with treasures. Exceptional restaurants live throughout the village, but the presence of prestigious hotels means that you’re sure to find someone’s signature restaurant, as well as stylish cocktail lounges, rotating art exhibits, and a high concentration of fantastic spa experiences. And, of course, those hotels contain their own galleries and designer showrooms, making the best of everything available just about everywhere in Bal Harbour.