Palm Springs is a desert city in Southern California, about 150 kilometers as the crow flies east of Los Angeles at the foot of Mount San Jacinto.
Palm Springs is a desert city in Southern California, about 150 kilometers as the crow flies east of Los Angeles at the foot of Mount San Jacinto. You go there for Mid-Century architecture, palm oases in the Agua Caliente canyons, and over 300 days of sunshine a year.Since the 1930s, Hollywood stars built weekend homes here, and architects like Albert Frey, E. Stewart Williams, and Richard Neutra turned the city into an open-air museum of Desert Modernism. Add to that pools, cocktail bars with Rat Pack history, and a cable car that takes you from the desert to the mountain forest in ten minutes.The best time to visit is from autumn to spring, when the population roughly triples with winter guests. In summer, it gets extremely hot; then early mornings and the mountain station of the Tramway are the most pleasant destinations. Joshua Tree National Park is located northeast, a day trip away.
Palm Springs has around 45,000 residents and is a flat, sprawling city whose center, called The Village, stretches along Palm Canyon Drive. Here, restaurants, bars, shops, and the Palm Springs Art Museum are close together, and on Thursday evenings, the street fair VillageFest takes place. To the north, the Uptown Design District follows, with shops, restaurants, and bars. East of the center lies the Movie Colony, where stars settled from the 1930s onwards. For the canyons, the Tramway, and the architecture in the residential areas, you'll need a car or a bicycle.
Sights in Palm Springs
Discover the most important sights and attractions
Attraction
1Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
The rotating gondolas travel in about ten minutes over four kilometers from the valley station at 806 meters up to the mountain station at 2,596 meters. Up in Mount San Jacinto State Park, it is up to 22 degrees cooler, and over 80 kilometers of hiking trails begin directly at the station.
The canyons on the city's southern edge are home to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and house one of the largest natural oases with California Fan Palms. The loop trail in Andreas Canyon is easy; the hike through Murray Canyon is longer.
Moorten Family's private desert garden exhibits around 3,000 cacti and desert plants, region-sorted. The Cactarium also grows two Namibian Welwitschia.
The museum at the foot of the mountains showcases its collection and changing exhibitions; on Thursday evenings, admission is free. Its Architecture and Design Center on Palm Canyon Drive is dedicated to Desert Modernism.
The 2023-opened museum downtown sits on the original hot spring site, telling the Cahuilla story. Next door is The Spa at Séc-he, with spring mineral water.
The 1965 Tramway Gas Station by Albert Frey and Robson Chambers, with its cantilevered, curved roof, is a landmark of Desert Modernism. Since 2003, it's where you'll find maps and info for architectural tours.
Palm Springs' culinary scene is defined by Coachella Valley dates, retro-style burger joints and brunch spots, and a bar scene still steeped in the glamour of the 1950s and 60s.
Date Shake
Date shake with crushed dates, invented around 1930 in the Coachella Valley. Try one in town or drive to the date gardens near Indio.
Medjool Dates
The soft, caramel-like variety came to the Valley in 1927 as a Moroccan offshoot. Almost 90% of US dates come from the Coachella Valley.
Deglet Noor
The firmer, less sweet Algerian date has been grown here since 1903 and is ideal for baking and as a hiking snack.
Tiki Cocktails
Rum cocktails like the Zombie are part of the city's history: On Palm Canyon Drive, a Don the Beachcomber opened in 1953; Bootlegger Tiki mixes there today.
Cocktails in Rat-Pack style
Martini and piano bar instead of craft beer: Classic drinks in historic hotel bars like Melvyn's are part of an evening in Palm Springs.
History and Culture
The Cahuilla have used the hot springs in what is now the city center for thousands of years. To this day, over a tenth of the city's area belongs to the reservation of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which was laid out in a checkerboard pattern of alternating square miles, with the remaining plots going to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Since November 2023, the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum has been telling this story at the site of the original spring.In 1938, Palm Springs became an independent city. Hollywood discovered the place as a retreat, Frank Sinatra had E. Stewart Williams build the Twin Palms house for him and was a regular guest at Melvyn's. The clear architecture of this period, with flat roofs, glass, and steel, still characterizes entire neighborhoods today and is celebrated every year in February during Modernism Week.Palm Springs is also a center for the LGBTQ community: in 2017, the city was the first in the USA to elect an entirely LGBTQ-member city council.
AirportPalm Springs International Airport (PSP) is located just three kilometers east of the city center. The terminal is partly open-air. Many connections, such as to Canada and the Midwest, are only available seasonally in winter.Train and BusThe Amtrak station is located far outside the city to the north and is only served three times a week by the long-distance train Sunset Limited. For most travelers, it's not a practical option. In the Coachella Valley, buses are operated by SunLine Transit.Car and ParkingFrom Los Angeles, you can take Interstate 10. In the city, a car is the most convenient solution, especially for Indian Canyons, Tramway, and excursions to Joshua Tree National Park.Getting AroundThe Village and the Uptown Design District are easily explored on foot. For architecture tours through the residential areas, a bicycle is suitable. Always carry water in summer and avoid the midday heat.
