Discover West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach offers a range of interests to shape your travel plans: art and history, seasonal performing arts programs, wetlands and scientific experiences. If you’re looking for a hotel, your trip’s focus can help guide your choice of activities. The collections, venues and natural areas below represent different sides of the destination—from a museum to an ecosystem that also serves as a source of freshwater.

Art Collections and Regional History

The Norton Museum of Art was founded in West Palm Beach in 1941. Its permanent collection includes more than 8,900 works across five curatorial departments: European, American, Asian and contemporary art, as well as photography. The collection therefore brings together different areas of art and a dedicated focus on photography. The Sculpture Garden extends beyond traditional gallery spaces with landscaped “garden rooms,” adding another focal point alongside the collection’s departments.

The permanent collection of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County offers a different perspective on the region. It includes objects and images relating to more than 12,000 years of Palm Beach County and Florida history. This geographic and historical scope reaches beyond West Palm Beach. While the Norton Museum’s collection is organized by areas of art, the Historical Society focuses on the history of the county and Florida. This gives you the option of choosing between an art-focused and a regional-history focus.

Performing Arts and Events

The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is home to Alexander W. Dreyfoos Concert Hall, the Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse and Helen K. Persson Hall. Dreyfoos Hall presents performances during the season, including concerts, comedy and dance. The program encompasses various types of events, but is seasonal. If a particular performance is shaping your travel plans, check the specific dates in advance. For reference, the Kravis Center is about three blocks south of the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail station.

Wetlands and Wildlife

Grassy Waters Preserve is a 23-square-mile wetland ecosystem and serves as a source of freshwater for the City of West Palm Beach, South Palm Beach and Palm Beach Island. It is an original remnant of the Everglades system and consists of wetlands, tree islands and forested hammocks. Here, the landscape and its water-supply function go hand in hand: the preserve is both an ecosystem and part of the water supply for the places named above.

The Palm Beach Zoo focuses on different aspects of nature. Spanning 23 acres, the zoo offers shaded paths and hundreds of animals from around the world. The focus differs accordingly: wildlife and paths are central to the zoo, while the Grassy Waters Preserve is defined by its wetland ecosystem, landscape features and water-supply function.

Animal Experiences and Science

The Aquariums of the Atlantic are located in West Palm Beach and offer hands-on experiences with young alligators and invertebrates. The Fisher Family Science Trail offers another scientific focus: it is a quarter-mile long and connects immersive exhibits. The topics described are therefore clearly distinct—hands-on animal experiences in one case, and a trail linking exhibits in the other.

When choosing what interests you on your trip, there is more than one cultural focus to consider: you can explore art collections and regional history, as well as seasonal performances, an expansive wetland ecosystem or offerings centered on wildlife and science. If you’re looking for a hotel in West Palm Beach, these different themes can help guide your travel plans without assuming that every stay has the same focus.

Discover more destinations: Manalapan, Lantana, Greenacres, Wellington, Atlantis, Palm Beach, North Palm Beach, Haverhill

Back to the main travel overview: Palm Beach.