Welcome to Palm Springs!
A few of our friends have asked us over the last few months, “why Palm Springs?!”
Kaitlyn grew up a couple hours away and frequented the desert for weekend trips with friends and family. We first visited together in December 2021 for a day trip while in San Juan Capistrano for the holidays. It was Chris’s first time and he was instantly taken. The desert modernist architecture! The old Hollywood glamor! Kaitlyn saw Palm Springs through new eyes. There’s nowhere quite like this city; it offers many of our favorite things to see and do and eat and buy with its own special mid-century California spin.
We’ve now returned to Palm Springs several times, and felt this literal oasis would be an ideal place to make new memories with all of you. Here’s a list to get you started with places we’ve been to and liked, but is of course by no means exhaustive.
Eating & Drinking:
Melvyn’s Restaurant & Lounge
200 W Ramon Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92264
A recently revamped classic favorite of Frank Sinatra, Cher, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and many more… nothing says Rat Pack ritz quite like Melvyn’s, a steakhouse with a genuine vibe and live piano Wed-Sun. Save room for the Bananas Foster or Cherries Jubilee, made tableside!
Cheeky’s
622 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The brunch spot. We hear it’s a scene during this high season but apparently they have shooters of house-made frozen yogurt?!
Workshop Kitchen & Bar
800 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
They combine a rather astounding number of cuisines at this nouveau restaurant, and somehow do all of them well. Located in an old movie theater space to boot. They have the swanky Tailor Shop cocktail bar too.
Bootlegger Tiki
1101 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
A cozy tiki bar we plan to frequent during our stay!
Amigo Room @ the Ace Hotel
701 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Another tiki spot, but the scene is louder and more raucous if that’s your scene.
Hadley Fruit Orchards
47993 Morongo Trail, Cabazon, CA 92230
Did you know over 90% of the dates grown in the U.S. come from the Coachella Valley? If you’re driving to Palm Springs, we highly recommend a pit stop at this market, where you can pick up incredible date samplers and their justly renowned date shakes.
Shopping:
Mitchells
106 S Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Opulent vintage clothing worth a lot of money, and the owner knows it. Go to gawk at (and maybe touch, under the plastic coverings) meticulously organized designer gowns of yesteryear, all surely poached from the estates of Palm Springs’ most fabulous. Basically a fashion museum (in the best way).
Antique Galleries of Palm Springs
505 Industrial Pl, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Two stories worth of antique stalls with some real finds buried within; Chris came away with about a dozen amazing vintage matchbooks on his last visit. A higher-quality, more curated selection than the nearby Sunny Dunes Antiques Mall.
Mojave Flea Trading Post
383 N Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Makers and merchants from Joshua Tree, Coachella Valley, and the surrounding environs, this is a nice mix of clothing and home goods, plus a solid vintage book / stationery stall. The people behind this make the Makers Guide, as good a Palm Springs primer as any.
The Frippery
664 N Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
If you are in the market for a boldly colored vintage caftan, boy do we have a store for you.
Activities:
Mid-Century Architecture Self-Guided Tour
Kaitlyn turned a list of notable mid-century landmarks into a Google Map. Click here to access.
Palm Springs Art Museum
101 N Museum Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
We highly recommend making a visit Friday before our welcome drinks in their sculpture garden – let us know if you’d like to go! They have a number of interesting-sounding exhibitions up right now (Graphic Design in Mexico; Bill Owens photos; et al) plus their very solid permanent collection.
PSAM Architecture & Design Center
300 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The architecture and design wing of the art museum, where Kaitlyn and Chris saw a terrific chair exhibition a couple years back. They have a show up on American house framing that we plan on checking out ourselves.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
1 Tramway Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262
The world’s largest rotating tram car! At the top of your journey (8.5k ft elevation) is the Mt. San Jacinto State Park with a couple restaurants, observation decks, and trails for hiking. (Other hiking options are in Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms and the Tahquitz Canyon Waterfall Hike.)
Moorten Botanical Garden
1701 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
A wonderful arboretum specializing in local desert flora, and home to the world’s first Cactarium (a word coined by The Moortens).