If you spend enough time at the world’s major art and antiques fairs, it’s inevitable that the conversation travels south to … Miami? That’s right. This fast-growing city, with its vibrant multicultural art and antiques markets, quirky museums and miles of powdery sands, seems to be on both buyers’ and sellers’ lips in New York, London and Basel, Switzerland.

Indeed, in the last five years Miami has landed itself on every globetrotting culture vulture’s A-list. It has no fewer than 125 galleries, dozens of antiques shops and the singular, most important emerging contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach. Steamrolling into its third year this December 2 to 5, Art Basel Miami Beach brings with it a smorgasbord of arts events that will leave even the most culturally ravenous satiated. And the bonus for those who visit Miami during the rest of the year? There are plenty of leftovers.

While out-of-towners might think of Miami as one big city, locals divide it into one of the many districts or towns that make up the whole. For art and antiques lovers, that means seven different areas: Miami Beach, the Miami Design District, Wynwood, Coconut Grove, Little Havana, Coral Gables and North Miami.

Never more than a 25-minute ride by car from one another, each area offers its own snapshot of the Miami arts scene and is best navigated with one of the comprehensive Art Circuits guides available in galleries and museums. When planning a trip, try to experience the art districts’ monthly gallery walks—lively art-centric evenings that spill into the streets with wine and live music.

When heading out to shop, start with the smattering of galleries in the downtown Miami and neighboring Coconut Grove area, especially the AJ Japour Gallery, 1000 South Pointe Drive, tucked into the owner’s condo, exhibitions might feature works by contemporary artists along with Keith Haring and Roy Lichtenstein. At Beaux Arts, 2451 Brickell Avenue, sculpture collectors can snap up bronzes by Cuban artist Manuel Carbonell. Maquettes begin at $5,000 and commissioned monumental sculptures top off at $500,000.