Ready to start planning, but not sure where to start? Here are just a few of our favorite Palm Desert vacation ideas to help get you going.

Your First Visit

There’s nothing like your first time in Palm Desert – the smell of the fresh desert air, the warm sun, the stunning scenery. If you’re planning your first Palm Desert vacation, make it memorable with these expert tips.

Book a relaxing room. Whether you choose a boutique hotel or a resort, you’ll want a place to stay that’s rejuvenating and fits your style.

Take a stroll down El Paseo. Whether or not you’re on a couture budget, there’s plenty to see in this shopping haven – even if you’re just looking.

Dine al fresco. Even if it’s winter back home, it’s still great weather for outdoor dining in Palm Desert. With dozens of restaurants offering year-round terrace seating, you’re sure to find great food in the perfect outdoor setting.

Get outdoors. Whether golf’s your game or you prefer a nature hike, make sure to spend some serious time soaking up the warm Southern California sun with your favorite outdoor activity.

Whatever you do, plan to be spontaneous. It’s easy to schedule every minute, but Palm Desert is a great place to sit back, relax and just enjoy the sunshine.

Savor Palm Desert

Looking for a good dose of delicious on your Palm Desert vacation? You’re in luck! Not only is Palm Desert full of fantastic restaurants and cafes featuring cuisine from around the world, but it’s also where you’ll find great culinary events, cultural attractions and other delights. For a trip you’ll savor for years to come, try this itinerary.

Attend a foodie festival. Enjoy the Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert or Palm Desert Restaurant Week. You’ll fall in love with Palm Desert’s great culinary culture.

Stroll the Art Walk. Head to El Paseo on the first Thursday of the month for an evening of great art in dozens of unique galleries.

Take a mid-century modern tour. Palm Desert is home to a wide variety of mid-century modern homes and public buildings by famed architects like Albert Frey, William Krisel and Walter White.

Go wine tasting. You may be in the desert, but you’re still not far from hundreds of California wineries. Take advantage of the Golden State’s wine-producing regions by ending the evening with a glass or two at one of city’s many wine bars and cafes.

Girls’ Getaway

Whether it’s a carefree trip with your best girlfriends, a mother-daughter adventure or a bachelorette weekend, Palm Desert is a great place for your next girls’ getaway. If you’re planning to hit the desert with a group of ladies, make sure you add these essential activities to your escape.

Brunch with the best. Who doesn’t love a good brunch and some even better girl talk? Grab your friends and snag a table at one of the city’s scrumptious outdoor cafes.

Rejuvenate your mind, body and soul. Treat your girls, and yourself, to a facial, pedicure or full day of pampering at one of Palm Desert’s luxurious spas.

Hit the pool. There’s nothing like hanging out at the hotel or resort pool with your best girlfriends. Just grab a magazine, a towel and your sunscreen and you’re on your way!

Retail therapy. If there’s one thing women have in common, it’s a love of shopping. Palm Desert has plenty of retail options to choose from, so make a day of it.

Evening out. Top off a day of extra-girly fun with an evening out on the town at one of Palm Desert’s clubs, classy cafes or wine bars, perfect for letting your hair down – in style!

Easy Escape

Looking for an escape from the bustle of the city? If you live anywhere in Southern California, Palm Desert is just a short drive away – so you can schedule a getaway that’s low on stress but high on fun nearly any time you choose. Try these simple escape techniques.

Take a worry-free weekend. Need a break but don’t have the time? Even if you can only head out on Friday and leave on Sunday, you’ll enjoy a full 48 hours of fun – and never once think about the office.

Spend less, see more. If you want a luxurious vacation without the price tag, there’s no better value than Palm Desert. With plenty of free things to do, as well as a variety of accommodation options, casual dining choices and of course its easy-to-reach location, Palm Desert is the perfect place to get away from it all – including the bill.

Get a breath of fresh air. There’s nothing like a little time outdoors to make your escape more memorable – especially if you’re coming from the city. Palm Desert is home to plenty of great hikes – and all the clean air and blue skies you could wish for.

Be spontaneous. If you want an escape that’s truly easy, sometimes it’s best not to plan a thing. Just pack some comfortable clothes and an open mind – and see where the weekend takes you.

Outdoor Adventures

What’s better than a day in the great outdoors? A sunny day in the great outdoors! Whether you like to hike, bike or just get close to nature, you’ll find plenty of outdoor activities in Palm Desert. Start planning your trip with these exciting activities.

Take a hike. Located in the scenic Coachella Valley, Palm Desert is surrounded by beautiful foothills, mountain ranges and even Joshua Tree National Park – all of which offer great places to hike.

Tee off. Palm Desert is a great place to improve your golf game – or just enjoy good times on unforgettable greens. Check out Desert Willow Golf Resort for championship golf and your best round ever.

Head out for a ride. Whether you’re a fan of mountain trails or roadside rides, Palm Desert has plenty of places to enjoy the views on two wheels.

Play at the park. Even in the heart of winter you can still enjoy a day at the park in Palm Desert. From a simple stroll to basketball, disc golf, skate boarding and more, Palm Desert parks are a great way to enjoy the sunshine.

Joyfully exuberant, Bangkok embraces modern development and present an initial picture of thrusting office towers; of world-class hotels offering deluxe comforts; of glittering shopping plazas; of restaurants serving Thailand’s acclaimed spicy specialties, as well as virtually all other great cuisines East and West; of entertainment spots where the fare ranges from classical Thai dance to modern jazz.

Amazingly, in the midst of this dynamic modern world, Bangkok miraculously manages to preserve its cultural heritage to a marked degree. In the soaring roofs and gleaming spires of the Grand Palace and the city’s many historic temples - Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of Dawn and other evocative shrines - the visitor is presented with a picture of classical oriental wonder. In addition, contained within Bangkok’s monuments and sights are treasures of the nation’s artistic and cultural endeavor that typify the land and the people.

The influence of the past is not limited to major monuments and it continues to color daily life. Files of saffron-robed monks making their early morning alms round, for example, present a scene essentially unaltered by the passing of time. Today’s backdrop of high-rise buildings only adds wonder to this and other traditional sights from which the city continues to draw definition.

Ultimately, it is from the people that Bangkok derives its unique flavor. Fun-loving and easy going, the people possess a rare tolerance which imbues the city with a real sense of freedom. It may appear at times hectic, yet what finally comes across is Bangkok’s good natured acceptance of life with all its idiosyncrasies.

Thailand’s “City of Angels” is, indeed, a place where possibilities are limited only by the imagination. You’ll marvel at the glories of the past, and delight in the golden opportunities of the present.

Patterned after 1920s Hill Country houses our guest rooms are created out of native stone, rough board-and-batten siding and corrugated metal roofs. Equipped with porches and rocking chairs for taking in the incredible Lake Buchanan view, these Texas hill country accommodations will guide you to relaxation.

Equipped to handle business travelers, couples, groups and families of all sizes the 64-room Lodge rooms are scattered about the grounds. Some of our rooms are located in cottages; some are situated near the pool which has its own rock waterfall. Some rooms provide spectacular views over the Lake from their spacious porches. No matter the reason or the size of your party Canyon of the Eagles can accommodate your needs.

Family vacation, corporate retreat, family reunion or for your special destination wedding, whatever the reason your visit to Canyon of the Eagles will be one to remember. Sounds like an ideal getaway, a getaway like none other, a getaway with no boundaries … naturally.

Paris’ museums and monuments are by far its highest-esteemed attractions, and tourist interest has been nothing but a benefit to these; tourism has even motivated both city and State to create new ones. The city’s most prized museum, the Louvre, sees over 8 million visitors a year, being by far the world’s most visited art museum. Paris’ cathedrals are another main attraction: its Notre-Dame cathedral and Basilique du Sacré-Cœur receive 12 million and 8 million visitors respectively. The Eiffel Tower, by far Paris’ most famous monument, averages over 6 million visitors per year and more than 200 millions since its construction. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris, but to Europe as well, with 12.4 million visitors in 2004.

The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne. Lastly, art and artefacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d’Orsay respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.

Many of Paris’ once-popular local establishments have metamorphised into a parody of French culture, in a form catering to the tastes and expectations of tourist capital. Le Lido, The Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, are a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret’s former atmosphere. All of the establishment’s former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris’ hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism, with results not always positive for Parisian culture.

The town of Bartow was named in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first Confederate officer to die in the American Civil War. Residents of the city are known as Bartowans. While Bartow itself is not a very large city - the Polk County cities of Lakeland and Winter Haven have larger populations - Bartow does have the distinction of being the second largest in geographical area . The city has been called The City of Oaks, The City of Oaks and Azaleas and The Capitol of Imperial Polk County.

Geography:

Bartow is approximately 38 miles east of Tampa, 55 miles southwest of Orlando, and 15 miles west of Lake Wales. The cities of Bartow, Lakeland, and Winter Haven form an equilateral triangle pointed downward with Bartow being the south “point”, Lakeland the west “point”, and Winter Haven the east “point”. The city is located near the headwaters of the Peace River at Lake Hancock. The major roads which go through Bartow are U.S. Highway 17, U.S. Highway 98, and State Road 60.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the city had a total area of 29.4 km² (11.4 mi²). 29.1 km² (11.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.23%) is water. Since then, the city has annexed much land, quadrupling in size. Much of that land is undeveloped, although the city has rezoned much of it for residential use and it is estimated that the population of Bartow may increase threefold in the next couple of decades.

Climate:

The climate of Bartow, like most of Florida, is humid subtropical. Most of the inland areas farthest away from the ocean tend to have more extreme temperature ranges than those areas on the coast. Since Bartow is one of the cities furthest from the coast in peninsular Florida, it can be among the hottest places in the state on some summer days, and during the occasional winter Arctic blast, it has had temperatures in the teens (Fahrenheit).

While Bartow’s distance from the coast has offered protection from most of the effects of landfalling hurricanes which occasionally cross the state, Bartow has on rare occasion been affected severely, most recently in 2004 when Hurricanes Charley, Francis and Jeanne crossed the state with the center of all three storms coming close to Bartow. The most severe of these, Charley rapidly crossed Polk County as a Category 3 storm, destroying up to a third of Bartow’s famous oak trees.

Demographics:

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,340 people, 5,531 households, and 3,777 families residing in the city. The population density was 527.4/km² (1,366.5/mi²). There were 6,099 housing units at an average density of 209.7/km² (543.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.91% White, 28.39% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 2.22% from other races, and 2.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.11% of the population.

There were 5,531 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,568, and the median income for a family was $44,093. Males had a median income of $31,716 versus $21,309 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,487. About 9.7% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Historic Buildings and Landmarks:

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church- 205 East Stanford Street. Built in 1926;Neogothic styling. One of the largest church buildings in Bartow.
Conant House- 1010 South Broadway. Example of Colonial revival style.
First Methodist Church- 310 South Broadway. Build in 1907, this is a fine example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. One of the first two churches in Bartow.
Hugh Wear House- 310 South Orange Avenue. Built in 1889, but burned to the ground in the 1990s.
Redeemer Lutheran Church - 390 East Parker Street. Gothic Revival architecture with a cross-shaped floor plan.
South Florida Military Academy- 1140 South Broadway. This school was eventually amalgamated into the University of Florida.
Stuart Hotel- 145-195 South Central Avenue. Three-story brick building built in 1914.
Swearingen-Langford House- 690 East Church Street (in Church Street Historic District). Neoclassical brick home built in 1925; location for a movie and several commercials.
Thomas Lee Wilson House- 555 East Stanford Street. Was used as the Funeral Parlor in the movie My Girl.
Windsweep- 935 South Oak Avenue. Built in 1909, this house was the residence used in the movie China Moon.
The Wonder House- 1075 Mann Road. Features natural air-conditioning (using rainwater), secluded outdoor bathtubs, and numerous mirrors that let residents see who was at the door from other parts of the home.