West Palm Beach
By Anna Lynn Sibal
West Palm Beach, the largest city in Palm Beach County in Florida as well as its county seat, first started out as a settlement for servants working at the hotels and the mansions of the wealthy and the affluent living in the adjacent city of Palm Beach. Now, West Palm Beach is one of the biggest and the most beautiful cities in Florida.
Just like in most cities standing along the coastline of Florida, be it on the Gulf side or on the Atlantic side, tourists are attracted to West Palm Beach because of the mild tropical weather, the sugar-fine sand of the beaches along the coast, and the vibrant city life. West Palm Beach is a good place to get some swimming and some sunbathing done, along with jet skiing, wind surfing and other water sports.
Of course, there is more to West Palm Beach than just the beach. The city has a lot to offer for every kind of tourist.
If you want to do some nature tripping, there are a number of good places to go in West Palm Beach. One of these places is the Grassy Waters Preserve. The Grassy Waters Preserve is a nature park sitting at the edge of a portion of the Everglades wildlife sanctuary. You can explore this sanctuary by hiking on the trails or through guided trips on a canoe.
Another place to enjoy nature in West Palm Beach is the Mounts Botanical Garden. This botanical garden spreads across 14 acres and showcases various plant specimens from all over the world. It is meant to be a display of just how Florida’s climate allows a diversity of plants to grow.
If you have a passion for art and history, as well as an inclination to visit museums, there are three places that you should visit, namely: the Norton Museum of Art, the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, and the South Florida Fairgrounds. The Norton Museum of Art was established by Ralph Norton and houses many exemplary pieces of art from the 19th and the 20th century. The Ann Norton Sculpture Garden, on the other hand, is a display of the sculptures and artworks of Ann Norton, Ralph Norton’s wife. More than that, the sculpture garden is also a sanctuary for birds local in Florida.
The South Florida Fairgrounds is home to various exhibit buildings that showcase the history of West Palm Beach. The two most notable exhibit buildings to be found here are Yesteryear Village and the Bink Glisson Historical Museum. Both display relics from the past of West Palm Beach and of Florida as a whole.
There are so many places to go for some fun and recreation and to get some sightseeing done in West Palm Beach. If you want to see it all but you cannot afford to spend all that time wandering by yourself or with someone else, you should take a ride on the Diva Duck. The Diva Duck is an amphibious tour. From land, and from city, you can explore the city in record time.
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