This was a beautiful place to visit. It is alway nice to see how people lived in the past. This was an awesome garden and a very unique home. It is well worth the visit. If you are military or a veteran you get in for Free. Thank You for honoring our service members and veterans. Excellent visit!
Built in 1914-16, displays furniture of that period. Dade County has let it run down,although with the prices that they charge it should be kept better. The gardens are nice but it is not worth the price of admission.
I visited Vizcaya with associates years ago but returned with spouse and friends this trip. Entrance fees not too bad and is free for military and vets. Very beautiful and historic mansion built in early 1900s by John Deering founder of Int’l Harvester. We took the tour which is $5/person and were shown around by very personable Katherine. Spent about 2 hours but could have stayed longer. Loved it.
When I last visited here in the late '70s, the house was exposed to the elements. Now it has glass doors and a glass roof for the courtyard, which protects it from the hurricanes. It's also airconditioned now. Spend an extra $5 for an hour-long tour led by one of the docents--it's well worth the money for the littl,e tidbits you learn. In the 70's they described the owner as "a life-long bachelor" which back then was basically code for being gay. There's apparently not enough documented about him to say for certain, but to their credit they did identify Paul Chalfin, "the artistic director" as openly gay. The house is beautiful, but much of it is items taken out of European houses or copied from them. The gardens are just wonderful. To go through all of the house and gardens quickly would be about an hour and a half; at a leisurely pace, about 3 hours.
In the house there is an eclectic collection of curios, the gardens are well laid out and easy walking encapsulating both formal and wild areas. Look out for the man made island in the shape of a boat and Venicesque landing area.
