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Atlantic Beach is part of the Crystal Coast along North Carolina's southern Outer Banks. Atlantic Beach is home of Fort Macon State Park, a fort from the 1800s captured by the Confederate Army in the Civil War, and Hammocks Beach State Park (near Swansboro), which has high sand dunes along a lovely beach.

Travelers who enjoy traditional beach activities such as swimming, fishing, boating and surfing will enjoy Atlantic Beach. It is a family-friendly beach.

For more information, visit https://www.crystalcoastnc.org.

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Overview

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Overview

Introduction

Along the Sea-to-Sky Highway and 35 mi/56 km north of Vancouver, lies the quiet hamlet of Britannia Beach, British Columbia. In the early 1900s, the isolated place attracted miners and quickly became known as the company town of the Britannia Mining and Smelting Company.

It's named after the nearby swath of white-capped mountains known as the Britannia Range, and today visitors embark on historic tours of the nearby museum and participate in an array of outdoor activities. A popular activity is hiking north of Britannia Beach at the head of Howe Sound in Squamish.

South of Britannia Beach lies the seaside village of Lions Bay, a thriving village of artists, writers and musicians.

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Cannon Beach, Oregon, is a gorgeous beach located about 75 mi/120 km from Portland. It is best known for Haystack Rock, which juts up from the ocean and provides a magnificent view and photo opportunity

Visitors to Cannon Beach will often be rewarded with whale sightings. In addition to the beach itself, other activities to enjoy in the area include golf, hiking, bird-watching, picnicking, shopping, theater and music, and plenty of festivals.

For more information on the area, visit https://www.cannonbeach.org.

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If sand and surf—and sunbathers—appeal to your senses, then visit Daytona Beach, Florida. The self-proclaimed "World's Most Famous Beach" is an epicenter of activity for Florida-bound college students, NASCAR fans and motorcycle enthusiasts from mid-February through March.

The rest of the year, Daytona Beach is a balmy haven appealing to all age groups, from little children assembling sand castles to seniors basking in the ocean breeze. Although lying on the Daytona Beach sand is a time-honored activity, so is driving on the beach—the silica is so hard-packed that vehicles are permitted as long as they don't exceed 10 mph/16 kph. When you tire of the surf and sand, there are plenty of local Daytona Beach haunts where you can eat, party, relax and shop for souvenirs.

Visitors will find that Daytona Beach is in the midst of a major redevelopment campaign, spurred by hurricane damage and the city's reputation as a spring-break destination. When completed, the Atlantic Avenue Enhancement Project will revamp the 1.3-mi/2-km stretch of Atlantic Avenue from Davis Street to Riverview Boulevard into a tropical boulevard, complete with palm trees, gardens and more.

Modern Daytona Beach hotels line the oceanfront, and many other improvements complement the Atlantic Avenue project. Daytona's character as an entertaining mix of high culture and fun-in the-sun remains intact—the elegant Hilton Hotel shares the boardwalk with Joyland Arcade. Unique shops, restaurants, and recreational and entertainment venues welcome everyone from families with young children to retirees to the uber-sophisticated.

Must See or Do

Sights—Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse; the Daytona International Speedway; Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park.

Museums—The portrait of Argentina's Eva Peron at the Museum of Arts and Sciences; vintage traces of John D. Rockefeller's life at The Casements; the Marine Science Center at Lighthouse Point Park; artifacts dating back to 5,000 BC at the Halifax Historical Museum.

Memorable Meals—Chicken Tuscan at Angell & Phelps Cafe; creme brulee at Le Crepe En Haut; breakfast at the 1950s Americana-themed Daytona Diner.

Late Night—Razzles for high-energy dance; Ocean Deck Restaurant & Beach Club for the view and live reggae; Martinis Chophouse for delicious desserts; a ghost tour with Ghost Walk of Daytona.

Walks—Daytona Beach Boardwalk; anywhere along the 23-mi/37-km beach; downtown Daytona Beach.

Especially for Kids—Daytona Lagoon; Joyland Arcade at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk; Daytona USA.

Geography

Daytona Beach is located on the Atlantic coast in east-central Florida. The Halifax River cuts through the middle of the city, running north to south and separating the beaches from the downtown area.

On the north end you'll find Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea, quaint beach communities offering a quieter experience. Ormond Beach extends across the Halifax River, so there are inland and beachside parts of town. This is the first town you'll approach if you're driving south on Interstate 95 toward Daytona Beach.

The central area is the heart of Daytona Beach. It includes the Ladies Professional Golfing Association International golf courses, the Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona Beach International Airport. The beach area extends all the way to the Halifax Harbor Marina and includes such attractions as the Daytona Beach Pier, Ocean Walk Village and the Oceanfront Boardwalk.

The south end extends from Daytona Beach Shores, along 5.5 mi/9 km of sandy beaches, to the quintessential fishing village of Ponce Inlet, home of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and the Marine Science Center.

History

Originally settled by the Timucuan Indians, the Daytona Beach area began attracting the attention of wealthy northern investors in the late 1800s. The first hotel, the Palmetto House, was built in 1874, and more development quickly followed. Entrepreneurs soon began promoting the area's attributes to northerners looking for a winter retreat. John D. Rockefeller was among the first to discover the area's golf courses and built a winter home, The Casements, in nearby Ormond Beach. When Daytona Beach was incorporated on 26 July 1876, it was named after its founder, Mathis Day.

In the early 1900s, automobile racing became a popular pastime along the hard-packed beaches. The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) was founded at the Streamline Hotel in December 1947, earning the city the nickname "Birthplace of Speed." Successful banker William "Big Bill" Henry Getty France moved to Daytona Beach in the mid-1930s to establish a new career in race car promotion. During the 1940s, France established 4.1 mi/6.6 km on the beach and along Highway A1A as a race track. Motorsports gained new ground in 1959 with the opening of the Daytona International Speedway. Since then, the area has attracted millions of racing fans as well as beachgoers looking for a vacation in the sun.

Bike Week became a tradition in 1937, although it was discontinued during World War II. The festival was revived in 1947, and the annual 10-day event continues to flourish.

In recent years, Daytona Beach has attempted to change the blue-collar image it earned from its influx of bikers and spring-breakers. The city has built the Ocean Walk Village vacation and entertainment district, located next to the famed Daytona Beach Pier. In addition to upscale hotels, the village has stores, restaurants and a 10-screen movie theater.

Potpourri

According to local legend, Al Capone, the famed outlaw of the 1920s Prohibition years, played cards in Daytona Beach and owned a home in the area.

In 1897, author Stephen Crane was rescued from a shipwreck off the area's coast and taken to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. His experience inspired him to write the classic short story "The Open Boat."

According to one legend, John D. Rockefeller built his home in Ormond Beach after learning that he was being charged US$5 more than other guests at the Hotel Ormond.

Daytona Beach's one-of-a-kind Broadway Bridge features mosaics of dolphins and other marine life on its supporting pillars.

Parishioners can wear bathing suits and even take their dogs to the Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church, a one-time drive-in movie theater. The church, across the street from the beach, holds services every Sunday morning at 8:30 and 10.

At 175 ft/55 m, the historic Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is Florida's tallest, with 203 interior steps.

Built in 1914, Jackie Robinson Ballpark is the third oldest ballpark in the nation—only Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston are older.

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Overview

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Overview

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Overview

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A quintessential beach town, Huntington Beach, California, is a surfer's paradise located in Orange County, less than 10 mi/16 km up the coast from Newport Beach and about 35 mi/56 km south of Los Angeles. The self-named Surf City, USA, is no longer the sleepy beach town it used to be, as boutiques and cafes line the streets and upscale hotels are flourishing. But you can still usually find a beach volleyball game under way and stop to admire the view. http://www.surfcityusa.com.

Surfing hopefuls can find a place to take lessons or admire the experts while walking on the pier that stretches 1,800 ft/558 m out into the ocean. When you need a break from the great outdoors, the International Surfing Museum is open seven days a week. http://www.surfingmuseum.org.

If surfing is not on your agenda, you can explore the 2,500-acre/1,012-hectare Huntington Beach State Park with nature trails, an education center with aquariums and sea turtle nesting habitat, and a playground. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=643.

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Laguna Beach, California, is a picturesque seaside resort town 55 mi/90 km south of Los Angeles on the southwestern edge of Orange County with easy access to the beach. The streets are lined with art galleries, shops, bars and restaurants. You can spend the whole day in your swimsuit strolling around this casual community.

Twice a year (in summer and winter), the town center hosts the Sawdust Art and Craft Festival, where local artists display and sell their work. If visiting in the summer, don't miss the Pageant of the Masters, in which volunteers pose in elaborate costumes and scenes to recreate live depictions of some of the world's best known works of art. http://www.foapom.com.

Laguna Beach Visitor & Conference Bureau provides maps and visitor guides. 381 Forest Ave. (at Beach Street), Laguna Beach. Phone 949-497-9229. Toll-free 800-877-1115. http://www.visitlagunabeach.com.

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Long Beach, California, is located at the north end of Orange County, just a short drive south from Los Angeles. This hospitable beach town is home to the Queen Mary, the former cruise liner that now serves as a permanently berthed museum and hotel. http://www.queenmary.com.

Watch the trendy, hip people dining at the many outdoor cafes and coffee shops and walking their well-appointed dogs. Stroll through Naples, Long Beach's Italian area, or relax on a gondola (advance reservations required) drifting by the big, beautiful homes along the Naples Canals. During the Christmas season, residents put on a holiday boat parade with decorated small boats and costumes.

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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is the center of the Grand Strand—a 60-mi/97-km strip of clean, sandy shoreline that stretches from Calabash, North Carolina, to Georgetown, South Carolina.

But if you're looking for quiet ambience, be forewarned—Myrtle Beach has more in common with Orlando than Hilton Head, with its Broadway-style theaters, shopping outlets and challenging golf courses.

Myrtle Beach has been described as noisy, tacky and a tourist mecca, but never as boring. The main thoroughfare through Myrtle Beach and neighboring North Myrtle Beach, Highway 17, is called the "strip"—and for good reason. Especially during peak seasons, it is a traffic nightmare.

Some parts of Myrtle Beach—such as the boardwalk and Pavilion Nostalgia Park—hearken back to the classic vacation days of yesteryear, but the city has since gone through a growth spurt. Once strictly a summer destination, Myrtle Beach has added prime deals on accommodations and new attractions to reinvent itself as a year-round vacation hot spot.

Shoppers enjoy the outlet stores, specialty shops, flea markets and shopping malls; golfers love a great selection of more than 100 golf courses; and children thrill at the abundance of almost nonstop activity.

It has also become a popular destination because many area resorts offer package deals and golf vacations. If family fun is your desire, Myrtle Beach gives new definition to the thrill and enjoyment of a family vacation.

Must See or Do

Sights—The great stretch of beaches; Broadway at the Beach; Barefoot Landing; the Myrtle Beach Skywheel.

Museums—The beautiful mermaid and unusual displays at Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum.

Memorable Meals—A romantic meal at Thoroughbreds Chophouse & Seafood Grille; hot dogs at the counter of Peaches Corner; fresh local seafood at Catfish Johnny's.

Late Night—Comedy Cabana with its lineup of well-known and emerging comedians; listening to live bands along Murrells Inlet's Marsh Walk.

Walks—Sunrise or sunset strolls along the beach; the boardwalk.

Especially for Kids—The hands-on displays at The Children's Museum of South Carolina; getting up-close and personal with the sharks at Ripley's Aquarium; getting dizzy at the Backstage Mirror Maze and Escape Games; the rides at Family Kingdom Amusement Park.

Geography

Myrtle Beach is a flat coastal area. It is separated from the South Carolina mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway. On the city's southern border lie Myrtle Beach State Park and South Park Village, site of a former U.S. Air Force base. The separation between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach is almost nonexistent—a sign is about the only way you can tell where one ends and the other begins.

Highway 17 snakes through Myrtle Beach, intersecting with Highway 501 about midway through the city. Highway 501 forks off toward Conway, and Highway 17 continues down the coast toward Charleston. Other Grand Strand cities, such as Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, are also located off Highway 17.

Myrtle Beach may look like a maze, but it's really simple to navigate. As Highway 17 enters North Myrtle Beach, you'll travel through Restaurant Row—a strip of the roadway lined with every imaginable eatery. Highway 17 eventually splits into a business thoroughfare and a bypass. The business side parallels the ocean (it is also referred to as Kings Highway), and the bypass follows the Intracoastal Waterway. The roads merge into one highway again on the opposite side of Myrtle Beach, in the town of Murrells Inlet. Ocean Boulevard, one of the main (and busiest) thoroughfares in Myrtle Beach, contains most of the oceanfront hotels and beach-access points.

History

The Waccamaw and Winyah tribes occupied the area of Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand before Europeans arrived in the mid-1700s. Landowners in the Grand Strand became wealthy from crops of indigo, cotton and lumber. Before the Civil War, plantation owners from South Carolina's Low Country would vacation in the Grand Strand to escape the deadly diseases that thrived in the swampier areas.

Landowners farmed and leased timber rights until developers in the early 1900s became interested in the Grand Strand. A railroad to the beach was constructed, and Myrtle Beach saw its first hotel, the Seaside Inn, in 1901. Originally referred to as New Town, residents renamed the city Myrtle Beach after the wax myrtle shrub found throughout Horry County. By the 1920s, businesspeople began building resorts there for affluent society members. Golf courses and health clubs soon followed. By 1936, the Intracoastal Waterway was open for pleasure boats and shipping.

Myrtle Beach was incorporated in 1938. Myrtle Beach Air Force Base opened in the 1940s and was active in World War II. The first Sun Fun Festival was established by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce in 1951, and it is still a popular and fun event.

Hurricane Hazel descended upon Myrtle Beach in 1954, destroying large sections of the city and the rest of the strand. The city rebuilt, and more golf courses opened in the area. Despite Hurricane Hugo's destruction to the beaches in 1989 and further brushes with tropical storms, construction continued through the 1980s and '90s, shaping Myrtle Beach into the year-round mecca for shoppers, vacationers and golfers that it is today.

In addition to its love of new attractions, Myrtle Beach has a respect for its past. After the Air Force Base closed in 1993, Myrtle Beach developed the site for residential use. The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park, the historic 11-acre/4-hectare attraction that played an integral role in Myrtle Beach's development and helped make it a popular area for family vacations, closed permanently in 2006. But the memories of the Pavilion are preserved at Nostalgia Park at Broadway at the Beach.

Potpourri

In 1953, 67 Time-Life employees gathered at the clubhouse of Pine Lakes International Country Club. There they planned the mission of a new sports-oriented magazine that eventually became Sports Illustrated. The magazine and the National Parks Association has bestowed the title of "Sportstown USA" to Myrtle Beach for its abundance of golf courses and parks.

Myrtle Beach is where the country band Alabama got its start, performing at the Bowery Bar.

The water along the Grand Strand is about 20 degrees F/7 degrees C warmer than the water along the New England coast.

Before she cheered on contestants on Wheel of Fortune, Vanna White cheered on the Chiefs at North Myrtle Beach High School.

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Located 4 mi/6 km from the village of Thandwe (Sandoway) in Rakhine state, Myanmar's most famous beach has become a tourist hot spot as the palm-thatched bungalows make way for high-end resorts. Lined by palm trees and deep blue waters, the 1.8-mi/3-km white-sand Ngapali Beach is said to be named for Naples, Italy, by a homesick Italian. Snorkeling, fishing and golf outings can be arranged at most hotels; the fresh catch there reportedly ranks among the country's top cuisine.

The nearby airport at Thandwe serves all domestic carriers. (There are rumors this may be upgraded to an international terminal, bankrolled in large part by Tay Za, Myanmar's richest tycoon.) Ngapali Beach is 175 mi/281 km northwest of Yangon.

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Palm Beach, Florida, unlike many Florida beaches, is not a party beach; Palm Beach is a place for strolling and luxuriating.

The island of Palm Beach has long been a playground for the wealthy, dominated by estates such as the Bath and Tennis Club (known locally as the B 'n' T), the Woolworth Donahue home, John Lennon's former estate (which actually is the southern half of the former Vanderbilt mansion), the posh Breakers Hotel and the former Kennedy compound.

Along with the opulent digs, Florida's "Gold Coast" features shopping along Worth Avenue, with some of the ritziest boutiques in the world—and even a sidewalk-level drinking fountain for pampered pups.

Palm Beach's South County Road, housing additional shops, runs perpendicular to Worth Avenue. The thrift shops on Sunset Avenue to the north are full of bargain-priced clothes, accessories and other discarded luxury items.

Must See or Do

Sights—Stunning views of the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean.

Museums—Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.

Memorable Meals—Wiener schnitzel at Cafe L'Europe.

Late Night—Live music at the Leopard Lounge.

Walks—Walking in and out of upscale shops along Worth Avenue.

Especially for Kids—The playground at Phipps Ocean Park; the railroad car at the Flagler Museum.

Potpourri

Mansions abound in Palm Beach, but one property of special note is the 118-room, Mediterranean-style Mar-a-Lago estate, once a getaway for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and now owned by President Donald Trump, who was married there in a celebrity-studded extravaganza.

In 1878, a Spanish ship sailing from Trinidad ran aground on the island and emptied its cargo of coconuts on the shore. The few residents planted the coconuts, which grew to create the palm tree-lined beach.

Ta-boo restaurant on Worth Avenue is heavy on celebrity legends—including being the supposed birthplace of the Bloody Mary as a hangover cure for heiress Barbara Hutton (although at least two establishments in Paris would beg to differ on the drink's origin).

Mary Lily Kenan, Henry Flagler's third wife, is listed in Guiness World Records for not wearing the same dress twice in a 12-year period. Her dresses are on display at Whitehall, the mansion that was her home and is now the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum.

Location

Oddly enough, the cargo-centered port does not accommodate cruise liners longer than 700 ft/217 m, even though it is accessed through the 300-ft-/93-m-wide Palm Beach Inlet and boasts a terminal with VIP lounge and federal inspection facilities. Rather, it ranks as one of the busiest container ports in the continental U.S. For information about the Port of Palm Beach, visit http://www.portofpalmbeach.com.

Port Everglades, about 50 mi/80 km south of Palm Beach in Greater Fort Lauderdale, offers cruises aboard luxury liners from most of the major cruise lines. For information about Port Everglades, call 954-523-3404 or visit http://www.porteverglades.org.

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Poipu is a burgeoning visitor getaway on Kauai's South Shore. The area has much to offer visitors. Poipu is sunny much of the time, earning it the nickname of Sunny Poipu. Beaches are ideal for swimming, surfing and sunning.

Snorkelers are attracted to Poipu because of its variety of fish, including angelfish, striped damsels, Moorish idols, black tangs and yellow butterfly fish. Other recreational options in Poipu include shopping, hiking, boat and helicopter tours, and golf.

Accommodations are varied and include luxury hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, condominium resorts, villas, vacation rentals and time-share options. Most are on the ocean or within a short walk.

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A year-round beach community 78 mi/125 km south of Wilmington, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was originally a site for Methodist camp meetings. The name Rehoboth is biblical in origin and means "room enough."

Today, there's probably still room enough, but things get a bit crowded during summer, when large numbers of vacationers descend on the town. Many of them are politicians and government workers from Washington, D.C., so Rehoboth is often referred to as "the nation's summer capital." The town attracts a fair number of gay vacationers as well.

Rehoboth is well-maintained, with many old houses, tree-lined streets, a wide beach and a mile-/kilometer-long boardwalk lined with games and amusements. The largest of Delaware's beach towns, Rehoboth has several great restaurants, plenty of shopping and an active nightlife.

Sporting activities available on or near the beach include fishing, boating, bicycling, kayaking and surfing. Annual events include Spring Sidewalk Sale in May, Rehoboth Sandcastle Contest in August and the Sea Witch Festival in October.

For more information about activities in the area, visit the town's website at https://www.cityofrehoboth.com.

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Treasure Beach, 70 mi/115 km west of Kingston and encompassing a string of sleepy fishing villages, offers a relaxing, no-frills, offbeat experience in a place where tourism hasn't flourished. The community remains friendly and rooted in a life attached to the sea.

It is interesting to note that there is no place that is actually named "Treasure Beach." The name originated in the 1930s when a Canadian opened a hotel on Frenchman's Bay and named it The Treasure Beach Hotel. The name caught on and was given to four bays in the surrounding area—Frenchman's Bay, Calabash Bay, Billy's Bay and Great Pedro Bay. The sleepy "town center" of Treasure Beach is around Frenchman's Bay, and the other three bays are mainly composed of private residences, villas and guest houses.

The Santa Cruz Mountains that rise up from the sea to the east protect the region from rain clouds and provide a majestic backdrop and cool escape when the heat of this arid region becomes overwhelming. Treasure Beach has one of the driest climates in Jamaica, and cacti and acacia trees abound.

There are no large resorts in the area, and amenities and nightlife are limited—you can hop a 25-minute canoe ride from Frenchman's Beach out to Floyd's Pelican Bar, a rustic saloon perched on stilts in the water off Parrotee Bay. (Call to arrange a transfer by boat to the bar. Phone 876-250-3073.)

The area's top activities are swimming, fishing or hanging out on the beach and watching the world go by. With a little luck, you might see marine turtles crawling ashore to lay their eggs.

Overview

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Fidel Castro stated that tourism would save socialism, and his vision is best represented by Varadero Beach, Cuba. This magnificent stretch of sand is 12 mi/19 km long and just 75 mi/120 km east of Havana. It spreads out on a peninsula on the northeastern coast and is both the best-known and most developed of Cuba's resort areas: About two-thirds of all hotel rooms in the country are here.

It offers dozens of hotels (many of them mediocre), plus nightclubs, cabarets, a golf course and a wide choice of restaurants (although few, if any, are remarkable). Some of the places are a few years beyond their glory days, but they're kept up well for the most part. Newer, all-inclusive resort hotels are continually being built, and they get better every year—the latest additions are truly deluxe, although service remains an issue. Most are east of the spread-out community of Varadero (which evolved in the mid-20th-century as a resort for the then rich and famous).

Most of the all-inclusive resorts are filled with fun-loving Canadians and Europeans. In general, the name-brand hotels don't quite live up to their sibling properties on other islands. Live entertainment is presented nightly.

The snorkeling and diving (including to sunken vessels and aircraft) are both reasonable near Varadero (the best reef is a mile/kilometer offshore), although there is much better diving elsewhere on the island. Those who don't want to get their feet wet can visit a dolphin aquarium or take boat tours that visit the reef.

We found the atmosphere at Varadero somewhat artificial: Its beach is spectacular but it feels sterile compared with much of Cuba, despite the fact that many Cubans (who were previously barred from Varadero) now vacation here. The same is true even if you stay in one of the modestly priced downtown hotels. Visitors seeking a more authentic experience can stay at casas particulares (private room rentals).

For a view into the real Cuba, the sleepy little town of Cardenas is only a few miles/kilometers away. You'll see horse-drawn carts and decrepit buildings and sometimes get a whiff of the foul smell of the local oil refineries. Nonetheless, Cardenas has one of the finest regional museums in Cuba, as well as a museum dedicated to Elian Gonzalez (the little boy plucked from the sea in 2000 and the source of a political and legal tussle between the U.S. and Cuba): Most tourists on organized day excursions gladly return to the resorts after a few hours.

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This major East Coast resort attracts college students and other travelers with a bustling boardwalk crowded with ice-cream shops, fast-food outlets, nightclubs and places to rent watersports equipment. There are good beaches north of town and thousands of hotel and motel rooms to suit every budget.

Visit the landing site where the first Jamestown colonists touched shore (called First Landing Cross). A 300,000-gallon/1,135,560-liter shark and stingray aquarium, a nature trail and hundreds of interactive exhibits at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center let you experience various marine habitats. In winter, the museum organizes trips to see the humpback whales that congregate off the coast. Nearby, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and First Landing State Park are excellent places to ride bicycles, look at the migrating waterfowl and explore coastal dunes.

For something different, check out Edgar Cayce's Association of Research and Enlightenment, devoted to the promotion of spiritualism. The center offers free lectures, tours, movies and ESP training.

Virginia Beach stages seaside events year-round. One of the best known is the annual Neptune Festival with a variety of competitions and entertainment in September.

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West Palm Beach, Florida, was supposed to be the final stop on tycoon Henry Flagler's railroad through the state in 1893 and the commercial center for Palm Beach. West Palm has turned into its own city, however, where historic homes mingle with ultramodern high-rises, and the downtown area segues into suburbia.

Palm Beach, West Palm's sister island, is just across the Intracoastal Waterway, so visitors have seemingly endless options when it comes to fine dining, upscale hotels, sandy beaches and shopping.

In and around the area are theaters, restaurants, hotels, museums, historic sites, zoos, golf courses, tennis courts, parks and preserves, and watersports activities.

Clematis Street, the historical heart of downtown, is a popular area for concerts, films and street parties. There are activities there year-round.

Must See or Do

Sights—Clematis Street downtown.

Museums—Norton Museum of Art.

Memorable Meals—Chateaubriand at Okeechobee Steakhouse.

Late Night—Copper Blues Rock Pub & Kitchen.

Walks—Strolling along the waterfront on Flagler Drive.

Especially for Kids—Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee; Palm Beach Zoo; Rapids Water Park; South Florida Science Center and Aquarium; Yesteryear Village.

Geography

Streets in West Palm Beach run north to south and east to west, and are named in alphabetical order for native plants. The exceptions are Highway 1, which runs from Maine to Key West, Florida, and Flagler Drive, which parallels the Intracoastal Waterway.

Palm Beach is just across the Intracoastal Waterway, and it is known for its upscale shopping and dining, beaches, luxury accommodations (such as the famed Breakers Hotel) and posh estates, including the family home of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago and Henry Flagler's Whitehall. The island is accessed by the Flagler Memorial, Royal Park or Southern Boulevard drawbridges.

West Palm Beach is also within an hour's drive of several destinations in Palm Beach County—Boca Raton and Delray Beach are both at the county's southern boundary, and Jupiter and Tequesta are municipalities to the north. To the west is the polo capital of Wellington, as well as the more rural communities of Loxahatchee and the Acreage.

History

The Palm Beach wilderness was transformed into a posh resort destination after industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler visited the island in 1892. Although Europeans had settled in Palm Beach in the 1870s, cultivating fruits and vegetables, tourists spurred growth there after finding their way to Flagler's elaborate Breakers Hotel by way of his Florida East Coast Railway.

Flagler launched a construction boom in the area. By 1910, Palm Beach County had been created, with West Palm Beach as its county seat. The next decade saw high-rises and homes, from modest to grand, sprout on the landscape. However, real estate scams and hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 stifled further development.

Then in the 1950s and '60s, city residents began abandoning West Palm Beach for the suburbs. It was not until the 1990s that the city experienced a rebirth, with the revitalization of historic buildings, the development of Rosemary Square and major renovations along Clematis Street.

Potpourri

At one time construction workers outnumbered the general population in West Palm Beach. The workers who built Henry Flagler's two magnificent hotels in Lake Worth (The Royal Poinciana) and Palm Beach (The Breakers) were housed in West Palm.

West Palm Beach is the largest of 37 municipalities in Palm Beach County, both in population and area.

Because of the Palm Beach County "butterfly ballot" and the infamous "hanging chad," the county and West Palm became the center of the controversy over whether Al Gore or George Bush had won the 2000 presidential election.

Society architect Addison Mizner is credited with creating the old-world style of Florida's Gold Coast. He used untrained workmen to lay the roof tiles crooked on The Everglades Club and was known to spray condensed milk onto walkways to create grime.