West Palm Beach

Downtown faces the calm Lake Worth Lagoon rather than the ocean, so the beaches are a short drive or bike ride across the bridges. On the barrier island of Palm Beach, Midtown Beach and Phipps Ocean Park have soft sand and clear Atlantic water. North, Singer Island and Juno Beach are broader and quieter, and to the south the public beach at Lake Worth is lively and easy to reach. Peanut Island, a short boat ride across the inlet, has sheltered lagoon swimming that suits children and snorkellers.

The Gulf Stream passes unusually close to this stretch of coast, so the sea is about 24°C in winter and close to 29°C in summer. Swimming is possible all year. Late summer brings seaweed on some days, and the hurricane season brings rough surf at times. Beach life is a big part of most stays here, though the city also has a downtown life of its own.

Eating out here is pleasant and comfortable rather than distinctive. Downtown, Clematis Street and the blocks around Rosemary Square have waterfront terraces, steak and seafood rooms and casual spots for a long lunch. The Northwood and Dixie Highway areas are more relaxed and more local. Across the bridge, Palm Beach has formal dining rooms and clubby lunch places for the island's winter crowd.

The best of it is Florida seafood: stone crab claws in season, grouper, snapper and mahi on a plain grill. South Florida's Cuban, Haitian and wider Caribbean communities show up in bakeries and lunch counters away from the centre. There is a Saturday green market by the waterfront in the winter season. Visitors come to relax and eat well, not to explore a food culture.

The main sight is the Norton Museum of Art, a strong collection of American and European painting, Chinese art and photography, set in gardens. Across the lagoon, the Flagler Museum fills Whitehall, the marble mansion Henry Flagler built in 1902. It tells the story of the railway that created this coast. The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens are a quieter stop with large brick sculptures among palms.

Palm Beach is worth an afternoon for its architecture. It has Mediterranean Revival villas, the courtyards and passages off Worth Avenue, and grand estates behind high hedges along the shore road. Downtown West Palm is mostly modern, with a few restored 1920s buildings. There is enough for two or three good days, not a week of sightseeing.

Going out happens mostly on Clematis Street and around Rosemary Square, where a few blocks of cocktail bars, sports bars, rooftop terraces and a couple of dance spots fill on Friday and Saturday nights. Northwood has a few relaxed neighbourhood bars. The crowd is a mix of young professionals, winter visitors and people up from the beaches.

It is a pleasant night out but not a deep scene. Weeknights and the hot summer months are quiet. Palm Beach itself is about private clubs and hotel bars, and its evenings end early. For serious clubbing, people head down the coast to Miami.

The landscape is flat, subtropical and watery, and most outdoor time is spent on or in the water. The Lake Worth Lagoon and the inlet are good for paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing. Offshore, the Gulf Stream brings reefs and drift dives within a short boat ride. The shallow site under the Blue Heron Bridge is one of the best known shore dives and snorkels in the country, full of seahorses, octopus and rays. The Lake Trail along Palm Beach's lagoon shore is a lovely flat cycle or walk.

Inland, Grassy Waters Preserve and the Loxahatchee wildlife refuge give a taste of the Everglades, with boardwalks, alligators and wading birds. To the north, the beaches around Juno and Jupiter are major sea turtle nesting grounds, and Jonathan Dickinson State Park has river paddling and pine scrub. There are no hills, and summer heat and storms limit activity to the mornings.

The big day out is Miami, about an hour away by fast intercity train. Art Deco South Beach, Little Havana, Wynwood and the museums are all there. Fort Lauderdale is closer, with its canals and beachfront promenade. Closer still are Delray Beach, with a lively main street and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, and Boca Raton, with Mizner's pink Mediterranean architecture.

To the north, Jupiter has its red lighthouse and riverfront, and Stuart is an old-fashioned Florida town. The Florida Keys and the Space Coast are both too far for a comfortable day. Most outings within reach are more coastal towns rather than real changes of scene.

This is an easy place for a family beach vacation. Peanut Island's lagoon and the guarded beaches on Palm Beach and Singer Island have warm, often calm water. Lion Country Safari, a drive-through park with giraffes, rhinos and lions, is a big hit with children. The Palm Beach Zoo, the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, and the free Manatee Lagoon centre, where manatees gather in winter, fill the other days.

Downtown has a waterfront splash fountain and playgrounds, and the general atmosphere is relaxed and safe. The limits are the heat and storms of summer, the need for a car for nearly everything, and the lack of any big theme park. Orlando's parks are a long drive away.

Downtown West Palm Beach is compact, flat and easy to walk. A free trolley loops between the waterfront, Clematis Street and Rosemary Square. The city is also well placed for rail, with fast trains south to Fort Lauderdale and Miami and the slower Tri-Rail commuter line.

Beyond the centre it is car country. The beaches, the zoo, the safari park and the towns up and down the coast are spread along wide roads, and local buses are slow and infrequent. Palm Beach is close enough to cycle over the bridges, and the Lake Trail is a good way to see it. Most visitors still rent a car or use ride-hailing.

Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is the reason to shop here. It is a short, palm-lined street of luxury fashion and jewellery houses, galleries and boutiques. Its tiled courtyards and narrow Mediterranean-style passages, known as vias, make it a pleasant walk even without buying. Nearby resale and consignment shops sell designer pieces from the island's wardrobes.

Back on the mainland, Rosemary Square has mainstream brands in an open-air setting. Antique Row on South Dixie Highway is a long strip of dealers in furniture, lighting and decorative pieces, good for an afternoon's browsing. A big regional mall lies a short drive north. There are no markets or local crafts to speak of.

This is an expensive place to stay, especially in the winter season, when wealthy snowbirds and visitors fill the area. Hotel rooms on Palm Beach are among the costliest on the coast, and even downtown West Palm and the beach towns charge high rates from December to April. Restaurants and drinks are priced for a comfortable crowd, and tipping adds to every bill.

The beaches, the trolley and the Lake Trail are free. Summer brings much lower room rates, in exchange for heat, humidity and storms. A car is close to a necessity, which adds to the cost of any stay.

The Kravis Center is the anchor. This large downtown performing arts centre hosts touring Broadway musicals, visiting orchestras, dance companies and the Palm Beach Opera. Palm Beach Dramaworks, a respected regional company, stages serious plays in a small theatre on Clematis Street. On the island, the Society of the Four Arts adds concerts and lectures.

The calendar is heavily seasonal, busy from late autumn to spring and much thinner in summer. A large outdoor amphitheatre west of town hosts big touring rock and pop concerts. Beyond that, live music is mostly cover bands and small jazz nights in bars.

There is no bathing tradition here. Relaxation comes from the large oceanfront resort spas on Palm Beach and along the coast, with treatment rooms, pools and long, unhurried days. Many smaller day spas and massage studios serve the area's comfortable crowd.

The pace of life does much of the rest. Palm Beach is quiet, manicured and slow, and the waterfront promenades on both sides of the lagoon suit an early morning walk or an evening stroll. It is a fine place to slow down for a few days, though nobody travels here for spa culture itself.