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State FLORIDA PALM BEACH (airport) (hotel guide) (regional info) > Tourism & Travel Guide: Palm Beach BRADLEY HOUSE HOTEL BRAZILIAN COURT HOTEL DOUBLETREE PALM BEACH GARDENS FOUR SEASONS RESORT PALM BEACH HEART OF PALM BEACH HOTEL INNS OF AMERICA THE BREAKERS THE COLONY HOTEL PALM BEACH GARDENS (regional info) EMBASSY SUITES PALM BEACH OAKWOOD AT MIRA FLORES Palm Beach is an upscale incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth. As of 2000, Palm Beach had a year-round population of 10,468, with an estimated seasonal population of 30,000. As of 2004, the year-round population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 9,860. A small island town of palatial homes and gardens, and streets so clean you could eat your dinner off them, PALM BEACH has been synonymous for nearly a century with the kind of lifestyle only limitless loot can buy. The nation's nobs began wintering here in the 1890s, after Henry Flagler brought his East Coast railroad south from St Augustine and built two luxury hotels on this then-secluded, palm-filled island. Since then, tycoons, sports aces, aristocrats, rock stars and CIA directors have flocked here, eager to become part of the Palm Beach elite and enjoy its aloofness from mainland, and mainstream, life. Joe Kennedy - father of John, Robert and Edward - bought the so-called Kennedy Compound here in 1933. Summer in Palm Beach is very quiet, and the least costly time to stay. The winter months, from November to May, see a whirl of elegant balls, fundraising dinners and charity galas, as well as the polo season - watching a chukka or two is the only time Palm Beach denizens show themselves in the less particular environs of West Palm Beach (on the mainland). Worth Avenue , close to the southern tip of the island, is filled with designer stores, high-class art galleries and ultraformal restaurants, and cruised by Rolls Royces, Mercedes and Jaguars. Its most appealing aspect is its architecture : stucco walls, Romanesque facades, and passageways leading to small courtyards where miniature bridges cross nonexistent canals and spiral staircases climb to the upper levels. Where Cocoanut Row and Whitehall Way meet, the white Doric columns fronting Whitehall are those of the Flagler Museum (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm), the most overtly ostentatious home on the island - a $4 million wedding present from Henry Flagler to his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan. As in many of Florida's first luxury homes, the interior design was lifted from the great buildings of Europe: among the 55 rooms are an Italian library, a French salon, a Swiss billiard room, a hallway modeled on St Peter's, and a Louis XV ballroom. All are stuffed with ornamentation, but they lack aesthetic cohesion. Informative 45-minute guided tours depart frequently from the 110ft hallway and provide a background for Flagler's fascinating rise to success and a glimpse of the Gilded Age in which he flourished. Built in 1926 in the style of an Italianate palace, The Breakers hotel, on South County Road off the main strip (tel 561/655-6611 or 1-888/273-2537), operates as the last of Palm Beach's swanky resorts. Its design includes elaborate painted ceilings and huge tapestries. Take the free guided tour on Wednesday at 3pm (call 561/655-6611 ext 7560 for information). read full wikipedia reference about Palm Beach, Florida OTHER POPULAR DESTINATIONS IN FLORIDAAlachua Altamonte Springs Boca Raton Bonita Springs Boynton Beach Bradenton Brandon Clearwater Clermont Cocoa Coconut Grove Coral Gables Coral Springs Crestview Crystal River Davenport Daytona Beach Deland Deerfield Beach Defuniak Springs Delray Beach Destin Ellenton Florida City Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Fort Pierce Fort Walton Gainesville Hollywood Islamorada Jacksonville Key Largo Key West Kissimmee Lake Buena Vista Lake City Lake Mary Lakeland Leesburg Marco Island Marianna Melbourne Miami Naples New Port Richey Ocala Orlando Ormond Beach Palm Beach Panama City Pensacola Plantation Pompano Beach Port St. Lucie Sanford Sanibel Sarasota Silver Springs Singer Island St. Augustine St. Cloud St. Petersburg Tallahassee Tampa Treasure Island Venice Vero Beach Wesley Chapel West Palm Beach Winter Haven |
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