Visit Palm Springs

Flat-roofed glass villas, palm trees lined up against the mountains, a tramway climbing from the desert heat to snowy pines: Palm Springs is best enjoyed slowly, from pool to canyon. Three days are enough, in winter or spring.

Why visit Palm Springs?

Palm Springs holds one of the densest concentrations of mid-20th-century modernist architecture in the United States, built for Hollywood stars. About two hours from Los Angeles, it gives access to the Cahuilla palm canyons, Mount San Jacinto and Joshua Tree National Park.

Palm Springs' must-sees

Mountain, canyons and museums, all within an hour's drive of the centre.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Rotating cars that climb in about ten minutes to some 2,600 m. At the top, forest trails and temperatures often twenty degrees lower than in the valley.

Indian Canyons

Canyons of fan palms on the land of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, with streams and marked trails. Tribal entry fee and reduced hours in summer.

Joshua Tree National Park

Stacked granite boulders and forests of Joshua trees, about an hour north. Set off at dawn: the trails have no shade and there is no water on site.

Palm Springs Art Museum

Modern and contemporary art, glass and Native American art right in the centre, complemented by an architecture and design centre devoted to local modernism.

Sunnylands

The former Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, where presidents and heads of state have stayed. Desert gardens free to visit, house tours by reservation.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

A museum opened in 2023 in the heart of town, devoted to Cahuilla history, next to a spa fed by the hot spring that gave the city its name.

What to see in Palm Springs, area by area?

Downtown and the Uptown Design District

Palm Canyon Drive, the main street, lines up hotels, restaurants and shops over just over two kilometres. On Thursday evenings the street goes pedestrian for VillageFest, a market of craftspeople and producers. To the north, the Uptown Design District gathers vintage furniture and design shops, galleries and restaurants set in former 1950s motels. The visitor centre occupies a petrol station designed by Albert Frey, at the foot of the tramway road. Allow half a day on foot, ideally in the morning or after 5 pm outside winter.

The modernist neighbourhoods

Movie Colony, Vista Las Palmas, Twin Palms and Racquet Club Estates preserve hundreds of houses from the 1940s to the 1960s, by Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, William Krisel or Donald Wexler. Most are private and can be seen from the street, by bike or on themed guided tours. In February, Modernism Week opens normally closed villas for about ten days, with talks and coach tours; a shorter edition takes place in October. Book interior tours as soon as ticketing opens: they sell out within days.

The Coachella Valley and the surrounding desert

Palm Springs is the best known of the Coachella Valley towns, which stretch east through Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Indio, some forty kilometres away, where the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals take place in April. To the north, Joshua Tree National Park is about an hour's drive. From June to September, highs often exceed 40 °C: keep the October to May season for a trip through the West of the United States, and always carry water in the car.

Frequently asked questions about Palm Springs

Can you go inside the modernist villas of Palm Springs?
Rarely outside Modernism Week in February and its October edition, which open private houses to ticket holders. The rest of the year, a few guided tours enter one or two villas, and Frey House II belongs to the art museum, which runs occasional tours.
Do you need a jacket for the San Jacinto tramway?
Yes, even in summer: the top station sits at about 2,600 m and is often twenty degrees cooler than the valley. From December to March, snow frequently covers the summit trails, and you can go snowshoeing there with suitable footwear.
Where is Elvis's Honeymoon Hideaway?
It stands in the Vista Las Palmas neighbourhood, at the foot of the mountain. This futuristic villa with circular rooms, where Elvis and Priscilla Presley spent their honeymoon in 1967, can sometimes be toured by reservation. Otherwise, you can see it from the street, respecting the neighbours.
Is Palm Springs a good base for the Coachella festival?
Yes, provided you book very early: Indio is about forty minutes away, and shuttles serve the site from several hotels in the valley. The two April weekends push prices up and often require a minimum stay of several nights.
Joshua Tree or the Indian Canyons for a single day of hiking?
The Indian Canyons, fifteen minutes from the centre, offer palm oases and streams on short trails. Joshua Tree takes an hour's drive but offers more varied scenery. With a single winter day, you can combine both: canyons in the morning, Joshua Tree at sunset.
Can you bathe in hot springs in Palm Springs?
Yes: the Agua Caliente tribe's spa downtown is fed by the historic mineral spring. About fifteen minutes north, Desert Hot Springs has many small hotels whose pools are filled with natural hot water, often open to day visitors.

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