The 10 Best Things to do in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach and Palm Beach are well-known towns found along the Atlantic side of Florida’s southern coast. Originally created as a humble city for Henry Flagler’s hotel employees, West Palm Beach has become synonymous with wealth and Florida leisure. In this article we’re going to discuss the very best things to do in West Palm Beach.

In the late 1800’s, Flagler’s highfalutin hotels The Breakers and Royal Poinciana, attracted a large, wealthy clientele. The hotels were exceedingly vast, so many employees were necessary, and because the region was hardly developed at this point in time, Henry Flagler built West Palm Beach as a place to meet their needs.

The Royal Poinciana was demolished in 1936. However, The Breakers remains as the most noteworthy landmark in Palm Beach. Perhaps Mar-a-Lago’s owner, President Donald Trump, would take issue with that. We’re almost certainly he would. Nonetheless, the Breakers is as beautiful as it were when first completed in 1896.

Today’s rendition of West Palm Beach is much more metropolitan than its modest beginnings. Yachts are in abundance and condominiums command 7-figure investments. Still, people gather together in this town, whether for holiday celebrations or weekly farmer markets. There are an assortment of attractions in the area, so West Palm Beach has a little bit for everyone.

The following are the 10 best things to do in West Palm Beach by our estimation. We hope you enjoy reading about them.

Must Do: Things to Do in West Palm Beach

Must-Do attractions are typically the reason we’ve decided to visit.

1. Henry Flagler Museum

The Flagler Museum is another spectacular Gilded Age Mansion in South Florida. Henry Flagler was the brains behind Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, and is mostly responsible for developing this part of the country. The inside of the Flagler residence is magnificent in both its architecture and decor. If you love visiting opulent mansions, the Flagler is one of the best things to do in West Palm Beach.

2. WPB Green Market

The West Palm Beach Green Market is considered one of the best public/farmer markets in the USA. The setting is lovely — an outdoor mall splits into a Y like a delta, with a grass lawn park and fountain in the middle, and the booths line both sides of the Y and surround the fountain. The vendor stalls offer a wide range of items, with many of them selling delicious foods.

Be sure to check out Jupiter Beach just 15 minutes north. The Best Things to do in Jupiter, Florida.

3. Palm Beach Mansions, Shopping and Parks

When you cross one of the bridges connecting the city of West Palm Beach to Palm Beach, you are entering a community of exquisite wealth. There isn’t a lot of room for visitors, so don’t expect tourism sectors or beaches w/ vast parking facilities.

Shopping is found on Royal Poinciana Boulevard, Royal Palm Way, Worth Avenue, and South Country Road. The municipal beach is found at the east end of Worth Avenue (MAP). The incredible houses are everywhere. Get lost and look down every driveway if fancy houses are your thing.

Should Do: Things to Do in West Palm Beach

Should-Do attractions receive a strong recommend.

4. Norton Museum

The Norton Museum is one of the best art museums in South Florida. Founded in 1941 by the Norton’s, a wealthy couple that turned their private art collection into a museum. The Museum’s permanent collection now consists of more than 8,200 works, include Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Raphael, Okeeffe, Pollack, and much, much more.

5. Manatee Lagoon

Manatees are referred to as “sea cows”, and it fits so why not. They are gentle creatures who thrive just below the surface of the water, grazing on up to 150-pounds of sea plants daily. Every minute or two they come to the surface for air. The Manatee Lagoon is a beautiful facility where the beasts like to congregate. This is not a zoo or a rescue, so the manatees may not be available from one day to the next. The facility is full of interactive exhibits and is great for children.

Related Article: The 12 Best Things to do in Fort Lauderdale.

6. Mounts Botanical Garden

Once you step off the beach, South Florida can feel like a concrete jungle. The multitude of highways and Freeways and gas stations drag the ambiance down. Enter Mounts Botanical Garden, a 20-acre oasis amidst the traffic chaos. Get lost in these tropical gardens for a couple of hours. It’s the next best thing to sitting on the beach.

Could Do: Things to Do in West Palm Beach

Could-Do attractions are worthwhile, but we don’t strongly recommend them for one reason or another.

7. Clematis Street

In our research this was hyped as the best thing to do in this town — and this type of nonsense is why we started a travel blog. Some people have no imaginations. Shopping streets aren’t special on their own. Even worse are bums smoking weed in broad daylight. Go at night and the lighting makes it appear more interesting than it actually is.

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8. Antique Row

A charming district with over 40 antique shops offering an impressive selection of antiques, art work, period deco, vintage and moderne furnishings, and much more.  All within walking distance, this vast array of quality antiques stores, specialty shops and art galleries make for a fun afternoon of treasure hunting.

9. Ann Norton Sculpture Garden

Ann Norton, of Norton Museum fame, was herself a sculptor. The museum is at a nice home near the water, with many of the pieces in the back yard. If you’re jonesing for more art, this is available. We found it wasn’t necessarily worth the time or $15 price of admission.

10. Peanut Island

Peanut Island rests off the northern tip of Palm Beach Island. This is where you want to go for beach activity, i.e., snorkeling, suntanning, etc., in the area. The problem is, the ferry cost is a rip-off at $20 walk-on for adults and $10 for kids. If you want to make a reservation it’s a confiscatory $25. Other than that, this is a fantastic place to spend your time on sheltered beaches and beautiful landscaping with incredible views of the inlet.

An Honest Conclusion for things to do near West Palm Beach

Other towns along Florida’s southern coast are more accessible than West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. There are better beaches both north and south, and a wider array of shops can be found pretty much anywhere else. The general vibe is more welcoming in other towns as well, so West Palm Beach might not be a great “hangout” place.

West Palm Beach still has its charms. It is beautiful, especially once you cross the bridges to Palm Beach. If you go over there, be patient with yourself as you find places you belong. Much of what you’ll encounter is upscale neighborhood, and it can be intimidating to roll around a well-heeled parish without a plan.

There isn’t much to do on Palm Beach. We just gawk at the houses, Mar-a-Lago, the Breakers, etc., then head back to the hotel employee side of town. If we’re looking splash at the ocean, we’ll land ourselves in Juno Beach or Fort Lauderdale rather than WPB.

The museums and botanical gardens are good for South Florida, but would compare to what we’ve found in other regions.

Be sure to visit the Flagler Museum! And the Saturday WPB Green Market really is special. If you’re here in December/January they build a humongous sandcastle called Sandi at the site of the market, and they have fun-filled activities for visiting families.

Before you move on, check out The 25 Best Things to Do in South Florida!

Thank you for stopping by our website! We are the Hoffmann family, a full-time RV family that has split residence in Seattle, Washington and San Antonio, Texas. We have special needs children that we homeschool, and work travel assignments for the Veteran Affairs Hospital. If you would like to learn more about us, check out our Start Here and Biography pages. In the meantime, God bless and travel happy!

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