Palm Beach: Great things to do preseason
Tall palms line Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach, Fla. (Nov. 16, 2009) Credit: MCT / Chicago Tribune
Many of the waterfront mansions are shuttered for the season, and there are few yachts at the private docks along the Intracoastal. The theater season doesn't start until late October, concerts and art exhibits at the Society for the Four Arts are on hiatus until November, and the walking tours of Worth Avenue won't start again until late November.
But that doesn't mean there's not a weekend getaway's worth of music, art, bicycling, shopping, sightseeing, antiquing and dining in Palm Beach and across the Intracoastal in West Palm Beach.
And for those who crave la dolce vita but don't want to spend high-season rates of more than $500 a night at the city's luxury hotels, some of those same hotels are offering rooms at less than $200 in early fall. Some have special deals in their restaurants and spas as well.
Tempted? Here are eight things you can do in the two cities connected by the Royal Park Bridge.
1. ART AFTER DARK
In one room, a painter is demonstrating a few watercolor techniques. In the atrium around the corner, magicians are entertaining the crowd with tricks. In the next room, another artist is demonstrating how to draw comic-book heroes, and in the auditorium, Spock and Darth Vader are arguing over which is better: "Star Wars" or "Star Trek." People -- adults and kids, too -- are wandering through galleries, looking at exhibits.
It's Thursday night, time for the Norton Museum of Art's weekly Art After Dark program, which brings art and artists together with the public in a casual environment that includes live music, food and cocktails. Admission is $12 (561-832-5196, norton.org).
2. GO ANTIQUING
Antique Row along South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach has more than 30 shops. Traffic this time of year is from mostly year-round residents, says Ray Hawkins of Hawkins Antiques. Late in the year, snowbirds send their designers ahead to shop for an antique breakfront or a gilded mirror -- or a whole roomful of antiques.
"The thing that attracts a lot of attention is there are 30 or 40 shops, and very few shops are empty," Hawkins says. He's especially pleased that Cedric DuPont Antiques, known in part for its celebrity clients, moved in February from downtown to Antique Row, where it's drawing new shoppers to the neighborhood (westpalmbeach antiques.com).
3. STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS
Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach has 14 acres of gardens: the butterfly garden, the rose garden, herb and vegetables gardens, a display of succulents, plus some lovely sculptures. Chairs and benches are scattered throughout the grounds ($5 suggested donation, 561-233-1757, mounts.org).
4. SAMPLE A CELEBRITY CHEF'S CUISINE
At Cafe Boulud, James Beard award winner Daniel Boulud's restaurant at the Brazilian Court, the three-course fixed-price menu is $20.11 for lunch weekdays, $45 for dinner Sunday through Thursday (561-655-6060, thebraziliancourt.com/cafe-boulud).
Over at the Omphoy Ocean Resort, local celeb chef Michelle Bernstein has an eponymous restaurant (561-540-6444, omphoy.com).
5. REVISIT THE COLD WAR
On Peanut Island, not far from the former Kennedy estate at Palm Beach, are President John F. Kennedy's bunker and command center, which was in place during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The bunker is 25 feet underground and includes a radio room and decontamination chamber as well as living quarters. The Palm Beach Maritime Museum, in the old Coast Guard station, offers tours of the Kennedy Bunker between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday ($10, pbmm.org).
The island itself is a park that includes campgrounds, picnic shelters and some prime snorkeling spots. It's accessible by private boat or shuttles from the Riviera Beach Marina (561-339-2504) or the Palm Beach Water Taxi (561-683-8294, sailfishmarina.com).
6. BICYCLE AMONG THE RICH AND FAMOUS
Or at least, among their houses. The Lake Trail, built by Henry Flagler so guests at Whitehall, his Beaux-Arts mansion, would have a place to stroll, runs for six miles along the Intracoastal in Palm Beach. It starts at the docks south of Royal Palm Way and extends to the northern tip of Palm Beach.
This wide, smooth strip of asphalt runs between mansions and their docks. Most of the homes have at least a low wall between them and the trail, but parts of many of the houses and backyards are visible. You'll see people jogging, bicycling and just strolling along the trail.
7. CRUISE THE INTRACOASTAL
If you've wondered who could afford those sprawling mansions -- or, better yet, who could afford to live in them just a few months a year -- the captains/tour guides of the Palm Beach Water Taxi will tell you. Some of the owners' names you'll recognize, but many are industrialists and entrepreneurs whose products and company names are more familiar than their own.
If you just want to be out on the water, this 90-minute lap around the Lake Worth Lagoon portion of the Intracoastal Waterway is both entertaining and refreshing -- especially if you hit the 10 a.m. tour before the temperature soars ($28, 561-683-8294, sailfishmarina.com).
8. DANCE TO THE MUSIC
During the past few years, West Palm Beach has turned its waterfront and commons at the end of Clematis Street into an inviting public space where the city schedules all manner of fun, most of it free. Thursday nights are dance parties with live music. There's a jazz concert on the third Friday of the month and family movies projected on a huge, inflatable screen on the green on some other Fridays. Once a month, there's a free concert at the amphitheater (wpb.org/waterfront).
Nearby, CityPlace is an open-air complex with shops, restaurants and live music many Friday and Saturday evenings (cityplace.com).
HOTEL DEALS
Palm Beach's luxury hotels are offering a variety of discounts. Here's a sampling:
The Breakers
888-273-2537
High-season rates start at $499, but in October rooms are priced from $319 (from $389 in November). Rates include unlimited fitness
classes, tennis and Wi-Fi, plus some weekday
benefits such as kids' camp and valet parking.
The Chesterfield Hotel Palm Beach
800-243-7871
The hotel's "Boomer" promotion awards seniors ages 60 and older a 25 percent discount on best available rates through Dec. 31. A two-night stay is required. Rates from $160 for a queen room.
Four Seasons Palm Beach
561-582-2800
In October, the resort is offering $100 resort credit for every consecutive two-night stay -- rates from $319.
The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach
561-533-6000, ritzcarlton.com/palmbeach
The Beauty and the Beach Package is priced from $379 a night (usually $629) for a balcony room and a $200/night credit toward Eau Spa by Cornelia treatments through Dec. 21.
