The area is easily accessed by car from 5th Street (I-395), Collins Avenue (A1A) and Washington Avenue. Parking is available in the 7th Street Municipal Parking Garage located between Collins and Washington Avenues. The district has excellent pedestrian access from all directions. Eight Street, the heart of the shopping district, is one of the primary pedestrian avenues to and from the beach.
Miami Beach is known as the playground to the Elite, it has also become one of the world's premier tourist destinations. Visitors from Europe, South America and Canada frequent South Beach's ~18,000 hotel rooms (most of which are located on Collins...). In 2006 Miami generated 19.7 million visitors.
Collins Avenue is among the most popular destinations for visitors to South Miami Beach. Since 2000, Collins Avenue, from 5th street to about 10th street, has gradually evolved into a one-of-a-kind shopping district. What makes this shopping district special, along with the world class beach one block away, numerous restaurants, trendy boutique hotels, lounges, and bars, is that many stores occupy entire Art Deco boutique hotels and apartment complexes. As shoppers walk the Collins Avenue Shopping District, which the City of Miami Beach considers part of the Fashion District, they are, in effect, walking through an architectural showcase.