Our New Favorite City Is SO Close

If you think Miami is just another club hub for spring breakers and sun worshippers, you need to meet Lily Kwong. The urban planner (and model) is one of the busy bees behind the renaissance that's turning the metro into a mecca for artists and creatives.

As a project director at Island Planning Corporation, Kwong is not only helping revive the city's historic Design District, but also transform it into a luxury retail destination and cultural epicenter — all while keeping its distinctive style intact. And, while everything about Lily says (new) Miami, she actually hails from San Francisco and calls NYC home. Yet, she spends enough time in the buzzing beachside city to qualify as a local, and all that back and forth adds up to some serious jet-setting.

We invited ourselves down to not only see the streets through her eyes, but also mine her arsenal of travel tips. And, Lily definitely knows her stuff. From what shoes merge fashion and function (Jimmy Choos) to how to snap back from jet lag to the hole in the wall that serves local-approved empanadas, this on-the-go pro has it all figured out.

Ahead, flip through Kwong's Miami in her photo diary, and don't blame us if you want to cancel your trip to Ibiza.