Gallery Night Gallivanting: Transportation Around Town

Participating Coral Gables galleries and art venues open their doors for “Gallery Night” on the first Friday of every month so patrons can enjoy live music and fine art. Bouncing between the city’s best local galleries can require some athleticism though, especially if you want to make it from the Coral Gables Museum on Aragon to The Americas Collection on Ponce. We took to the streets last month to time the most popular transportation modes.

Scooter (24 total minutes, $12.10)

We started our night at the Coral Gables Museum, where, after sipping on one of their Gables-themed cocktails, we had enough liquid courage to begin our two-wheeled adventure It took only about two minutes to download and sign up for the Bird scooter app, and then another minute to locate the closest scooters. After a short walk around the corner, we used the app to “unlock” the mini-mobility machines and set up payment. Our ride to The Americas  Collection cost us a total of $12.10 each – a bit steep for the 1.7-mile ride.

We had to make a quick detour around Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Miracle Mile because scooters aren’t allowed there, so we wound around the back of The Plaza before getting back on Ponce. Despite a maximum speed of only 15 miles per hour, these things feel fast! We would not recommend them for the faint of heart. It took us 18 minutes to get to The Americas Collection, and by the end, we were flying along at max speed, crossing Bird Road like seasoned professionals.

Trolley (9 minutes, free)

After perusing The Americas Collection’s newest exhibition, “Gestures: The Action Paintings of Ramiro Lacayo,” which had just opened that day, we began our short one-minute walk to the nearest trolley stop. We were lucky to be able to catch one almost immediately by using the Trolley Tracker (available on the city’s website) to time our stop.

By far the fastest option, the ride itself took only six minutes, but we did have to walk a couple of blocks from the corner of Aragon and Ponce to the museum. All told, we were back at the museum by 7:47 pm, only nine minutes from when we left The Americas Collection. And we rode in comfort, with plenty of seats available.

Freebee (39 minutes, free)

If you’re not in a hurry, the Freebee is another free option for Gallery Night. While the ride itself is usually fast, the wait times can be killer. On this night, we were also assigned three different drivers, since our first two cancelled on us. Not counting those, our third driver, Debra, took 21 minutes to pick us up — actually shorter than the 30-minute estimate the app initially gave us. A 20-minute wait or more is standard for any Friday night, according to Debra. We were also lucky to ride alone, so we didn’t have to drop anyone else off, which can add delays.

Unfortunately, the Freebee doesn’t make it as far as The Americas Collection. Though we made our case to Debra, she stood firm: the Freebee has limits! Instead, we chose a drop-off point at Cernuda Arte, which opens quarterly for Gallery Night, and then walked for 15 minutes to The Americas Collection. With the initial cancellations and the walk, it took us a whopping 45 minutes to get there, though we took six minutes off the total once we had secured a driver.

Looking for ideas on what to do on Gallery Night? Check out our night out on the town. Plus, stop by the Coral Gables Museum to view “Visions from Inside the Walls: Coral Gables Artists Today.”