PALM BEACH -- Visiting here, you'll see a lot of Mercedes and
Rolls-Royces,
but don't expect to get them serviced in this city. Car dealerships are not
allowed.
Everyone
agrees exclusive Palm Beach has changed in recent
years, but it still has its touches of old money. It's the kind of place
where the only supermarket in town has a resident sommelier to help choose
wines.
There are no funeral homes or cemeteries in Palm Beach, either. It's a place
only for the living, but it's no longer limited to the rich. Anyone can go.
Palm Beach and the lesser-known, palm-lined beach towns that gave the area
its name are easily recommended for all visitors.
For golfers, Palm Beach County is a haven with more than 150 courses
(though, typically, only five are in the town of Palm Beach).
You might also take in a polo game while here, but to do it, you'll have to
go to West Palm Beach, started a century ago to house workers for the
wealthy. Polo is a winter event only, my dear, and you should know that the
preferred drink is not beer but Pimm's Cup or champagne.
As you might expect, the Palm Beach area that includes 37 towns has its
share of culture. There's no better example than the decade-old Kravis
Center for the Performing Arts, which has a diverse schedule of musicals,
modern dance, opera, classical, jazz and pop music performances. It draws
almost a half a million people each year.
For eco-types, there are numerous scuba diving trips and more than 30
eco-tourism attractions. Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a fine place to
hike. Visitors can canoe on the Loxahatchee River and camp in Florida's vast
pinewood forests.
Palm Beach is known for The Breakers, the exclusive five-star oceanfront
resort, but in recent years the area has also drawn its share of Best
Westerns and Days' Inns. If you stay overnight, you'll find many of the
hotels are reasonably priced. A small hotel, for example, the Studio 6 in
West Palm Beach advertises room as low as $41 in the off-season.
Most of the nightlife found here is in West Palm Beach, where the
once-blighted Clematis Street in downtown underwent a revival in the 199s.
Some recommended attractions in the Palm Beach area:
---City/Place, a 55-acre, $550 million shopping, entertainment and
residential complex has vibrant streetscapes, plazas, fountains and outdoor
terraces. There are ten restaurants and a 20-screen Muvico cinema.
---The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach offers a look at his personal railcar
and has items from the Gilded Age when the rich came on down to South
Florida via upscale trains.
---Dine outdoors at one of the many restaurants in West Palm Beach's
Clematis Street, which is known for its mixture of energy, culture, arts,
shopping, cafes, dance clubs and bistros. There's a real Irish pub feel at
Rooney's Public House.
---One of the county's best beaches is Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach,
which also offers many open-air cafes, coffeehouses, eateries and shops.
More upscale food is available at Dakotah 624 and 32 East.
---The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach is a home for many famous
artists. You'll find some familiar names here such as Monet, Gaugin,
Picasso, Cézanne, Bellows, O'Keefe, Hopper and Pollack.
---Restaurants, cafes and a multiplex theater surround the
Mediterranean-style Mizner Park in Boca Raton. Gourmet wine, bread and
desserts can be bought here. Top it off at Steve and Edie's Ice Cream Shop.
---The Morikamo Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach is a 200-acre
park dedicated to Japanese culture. It has nature trails, ponds, waterfalls,
bonsai garden and a teahouse, among other attractions.
----Visitors can watch candy being made weekdays at Hoffman's Chocolate
Shoppe & Gardens in Lake Worth. Over 70 varies of candy are made here.
Visitors can also stroll through a lush tropical garden.
---Lion Country Safari has two parks with a 4.2-mile drive where visitors
can see more than 1,000 roaming animals. There's also boat tours and bird
feeding.
---Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach is the county's oldest public
garden. You can stroll through 13 acres of exotic tree and plants and a
rainforest area.
---The National Croquet Center is the world's largest croquet complex and is
the headquarters of the national association. There's a restaurant on-site.
---Bet on year-round Greyhound racing at the Palm Beach Kennel Club and
Entertainment Complex. Stud and draw games are offered in the Poker Room.
The food is upscale at the Paddock Restaurant.
Some must-sees:
----Palm Beach's Worth Avenue, the world-famous Rodeo-Drive of the East
Coast. Look for celebrities to hang out here, mingling with millionaires and
everyday visitors amidst an Old World Décor. There are more than 200 shops
with familiar names such as Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany and Saks Fifth
Avenue. There's gourmet dining at Bice, Renato's and Ta-Boo.
---The Gulfstream Polo Club in Lake Worth.
---The Museum of Ragtops in Palm Beach is a three building complex that has
autos dating back to 1927.
---The Loxahatchee Everglades Tours. An airboat ride shows how Florida used
to be.
---The historic Jupiter Island Lighthouse in Jupiter.
---Take a ride on the Palm Beach Water Taxis, which have daily narrated
sightseeing, nature, sunset and moonlight cruises. Shuttle service runs from
downtown west Palm to Singer Island and other areas.
---And The Breakers, a touch of elegance.
A good time to go:
The winter, of course, which is the case throughout Florida. But keep in
mind that from mid-April to mid-December, the county promotes Value Season.
Many hotels reduce rates and participate in the "Seventh Night Free"
program. There are free outdoor concerts and festivals throughout thecounty.
Keep also in mind that there's are a dozen members of the Palm Beach County
Bed & Breakfast Association (www.bedandbreakfastpalmbeach.com) available.
People who have called this place home include Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh,
Jimmy Buffett and Roxanne Pulitzer. You can try to see their homes, but good
luck, because most of them are like Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate --
hidden behind high walls or hedges.
If it's any
consolation, you can visit Green's Drug Store where
John F. Kennedy bought his newspapers.
