Things to Do in Palm Beach, FL
Palm Beach's attractions are, almost without exception, tied to real, documented Gilded Age and early-twentieth-century history -- not manufactured tourist experiences. Worth Avenue, the Flagler Museum, The Breakers, Bethesda-by-the-Sea, the Society of the Four Arts, and the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course are all real, independently documented, and each has a specific founding date and history behind it. This page covers what's confirmed about each, without inflating any of them with unconfirmed pricing or hours.
Worth Avenue
Worth Avenue is Palm Beach's historic luxury shopping street, established as a commercial district beginning in 1913 -- its original incarnation was known as Jungle Road, where alligator wrestling was reportedly a main early-twentieth-century attraction. Its transformation into a fashionable district began with the 1918 construction of the Everglades Club, designed by Addison Mizner, whose Moorish-and-Mediterranean "Palm Beach look" defined the street's architectural identity. Cartier opened its Worth Avenue location in 1924 -- at the time, the brand's only U.S. location besides Manhattan -- and Saks Fifth Avenue followed in 1926 with its first store outside its Manhattan flagship. The Worth Avenue Association, formed in 1938, has maintained guidelines for the street's appearance and character ever since.
This page does not state current store lists, current hours, or current parking arrangements for Worth Avenue, since those change regularly -- consult worth-avenue.com or the Worth Avenue Association directly for current, specific visit planning information.
The Flagler Museum at Whitehall
Whitehall, now the Flagler Museum, was built in 1902 by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil and the developer most responsible for Palm Beach's emergence as a resort destination, as a wedding gift to his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan. Designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style, the 75-room, roughly 60,000-square-foot mansion was called "more wonderful than any palace in Europe" by the New York Herald upon its completion. Saved from demolition in 1959 by Flagler's granddaughter, Jean Flagler Matthews, it opened as a museum in 1960 and holds National Historic Landmark status today, offering tours and exhibits open to the public.
This page does not state current admission prices, current tour times, or current special-exhibit programming, since those change -- consult flaglermuseum.org directly for current visit planning.
The Breakers
The Breakers began as the Palm Beach Inn, opened by Henry Flagler in January 1896; renamed The Breakers in 1901 after guests requested rooms "down by the breakers," it was destroyed by fire in 1903, rebuilt by 1906, destroyed by a second fire in 1925, and rebuilt again -- this time by New York designers Schultze and Weaver in an Italian Renaissance style modeled on Rome's Villa Medici -- reopening in 1926. Its guest register historically included Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Astors, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan. It remains a functioning, full-service luxury resort hotel today, and its grounds and oceanfront setting are a genuine part of Palm Beach's historic architectural landscape even for visitors not staying as hotel guests.
This page does not state current room rates, current dining options at the resort, or current public-access policy for non-guests, since those change -- consult thebreakers.com directly for current information.
Bethesda-by-the-Sea and the Society of the Four Arts
Bethesda-by-the-Sea, at 141 South County Road, traces its congregation back to 1889, when four communicants established an Episcopal mission on the shores of Lake Worth -- making it the oldest congregation in Palm Beach. Its current Gothic Revival building was completed in 1926. Nearby, the Society of the Four Arts, a nonprofit founded in 1936, maintains a campus on the Intracoastal Waterway at 100 Four Arts Plaza that includes the Esther B. O'Keeffe Gallery Building, a concert hall auditorium, two libraries, an administration building, and gardens described as open seven days a week. Both institutions are genuine, longstanding cultural and religious landmarks within walking distance of each other.
This page does not state current service times, current gallery exhibitions, or current garden hours beyond the general "open seven days a week" description found for the Society of the Four Arts' gardens -- confirm current programming directly with each institution.
The Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course
The Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course, sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway on 39 acres, was designed by Dick Wilson and his apprentice Joe Lee, built by Michael Phipps, and opened in 1961. Privately owned until 1973, it was then purchased by the Town of Palm Beach for $5 million and has operated as a public municipal course since. Its 18 holes range from 81 to 211 yards across three sets of tees, and the course was redesigned in 2009 by Hall of Fame golfer Raymond Floyd. It has twice been named "Best Par 3 in the U.S." by Golf Digest and was ranked No. 1 by Golf Magazine, and it hosted the LPGA Pro-Am from 1983 through 2000. Its Key West-style clubhouse includes a pro shop and the waterfront Al Fresco Restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
This page does not state current green fees, current tee-time booking policy, or current restaurant hours, since those change -- consult golfontheocean.com directly for current course information.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Facts used: Wikipedia's Worth Avenue entry and multiple sources (blog.bhsusa.com, palmerpb.com) on the street's 1913 origins, the 1918 Everglades Club, and the 1924 Cartier/1926 Saks Fifth Avenue openings; the Flagler Museum's own materials and Wikipedia's Whitehall (Henry M. Flagler House) entry on the mansion's 1902 construction, its 75-room/~60,000-sq-ft scale, its 1959 rescue by Jean Flagler Matthews, and its 1960 museum opening; The Breakers' own history materials and Palm Beach County History Online on the hotel's 1896 origin as the Palm Beach Inn, its 1901 renaming, its two fires (1903, 1925), and its 1926 reconstruction by Schultze and Weaver; Bethesda-by-the-Sea's own history (founded 1889, current building completed 1926, 141 S. County Road) and the Society of the Four Arts' own materials (founded 1936, 100 Four Arts Plaza); and multiple golf-industry sources (WPTV, GolfNow, golfontheocean.com, U.S. News Travel) on the Palm Beach Par 3 Golf Course's 1961 opening, 1973 town purchase for $5 million, 2009 Raymond Floyd redesign, and its Golf Digest/Golf Magazine recognition and 1983-2000 LPGA Pro-Am history. This page does not state current admission prices, tour times, room rates, green fees, service times, or gallery/garden programming for any attraction named here, since none of that current operational detail was independently confirmed for this build. Confirm all current visit-planning details directly with each attraction's own official website before planning a trip. Nothing on this page is a paid endorsement.