Things to Do in Palm Springs, United States: Walking Guide

Palm Springs is a desert city in California known for modernist architecture, cultural museums, historic downtown streets and striking desert scenery. The city brings together Cahuilla heritage, Hollywood history and distinctive buildings at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains. Neywo has a free audio guide for Palm Springs with 34 narrated places.

What to See in Palm Springs

Frey House II

High on the mountainside of the San Jacinto Mountains, Frey House II is one of Palm Springs’ most distinctive modernist residences. Swiss American architect Albert Frey designed it as his personal second home, completing it in 1964.

The compact house is built around the landscape rather than imposed on it. A large boulder becomes a divider between the bedroom and living area, while a minimalist steel frame, concrete podium and painted corrugated metal express the restraint of modernist design. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass walls open the living spaces towards views of the Coachella Valley.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum explores the heritage of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Its curved building was inspired by traditional Cahuilla basketry, specifically the beginning of a basket’s first coils.

The museum’s collections include baskets, pottery and artwork by Cahuilla artists and other Southern California tribes. Archives preserve oral histories, photographs and documents. The museum forms part of the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, which also includes the sacred Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring, a modern spa and bathhouse, tranquil gardens and an oasis trail.

Palm Springs Art Museum

At the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains, the Palm Springs Art Museum combines contemporary art, desert science and archaeology. It began in 1938 as the Palm Springs Desert Museum, initially focusing on Native American art and the natural desert environment.

Today, its collections include contemporary paintings, photography, sculpture and glass sculpture, alongside objects from the natural sciences. About half of the museum’s collection of 24,000 pieces is devoted to desert biology, geology and archaeology. The institution also runs the Annenberg Theater, the Architecture and Design Center on Palm Canyon Drive and an art museum in Palm Desert.

Forever Marilyn

In front of the Palm Springs Art Museum stands Forever Marilyn, a giant sculpture of Marilyn Monroe. Created by Seward Johnson in 2011, it recreates the famous pose from Billy Wilder’s 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.

The sculpture shows Marilyn standing above a subway ventilation grate, capturing the instantly recognisable scene from the film. It is one of the city’s most prominent public artworks and a stop on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

La Plaza and Plaza Theatre

La Plaza is an open-air shopping centre in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. Its Spanish Colonial-style buildings, shops and places to dine sit between South Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive, with the San Jacinto Mountains in the background.

Opened in 1936 as Palm Springs Plaza, it was among Southern California’s first shopping centres developed by a single developer. The historic Plaza Theatre remains its anchor. Designed in the Spanish Colonial style, the theatre opened with 800 seats and hosted films, live performances and local events. Its opening programme was Camille, with Robert Taylor and Greta Garbo appearing for the occasion.

Cornelia White House and Village Green Heritage Center

The Cornelia White House is one of Palm Springs’ oldest surviving structures. Built in 1893 entirely from railroad ties from the abandoned Palmdale Railroad, the small wooden house offers a glimpse of nineteenth-century life in the city.

The Palm Springs Historical Society restored the building and added period artefacts, including exhibits about Hollywood visitors from the 1930s through the 1950s. The house stands within the Village Green Heritage Center, which also includes the McCallum Adobe, Ruddy’s General Store, a green space, a fountain and the bronze sculpture Standing Woman by Felipe Castaneda.

Ruddy’s General Store

Ruddy’s General Store is a museum recreating a 1930s town general store. Its shelves are filled with original items dating from 1890 to 1945, most still containing their original products.

The collection was assembled by Palm Springs resident Jim Ruddy after he discovered a museum of Depression-era merchandise during a trip to the Midwest in 1983. He donated the entire store to the city in 2003. This is a museum rather than a working shop, so the value lies in examining the preserved details of everyday shopping from another era.

Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum brings aviation history to life through aircraft and helicopters displayed in five themed, air-conditioned hangars and outdoor areas. Opened on November 11, 1996, it occupies 17 acres beside Palm Springs International Airport and includes 86,000 square feet of indoor space.

More than 75 aircraft and helicopters represent the Second World War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the Global War on Terror. Many remain in flyable condition. The museum also includes a resource centre, library, temporary and permanent exhibitions and flight simulators. Its relatively open displays allow visitors to get unusually close to the aircraft.

Architecture and Design Center

The Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center occupies a former bank building in downtown Palm Springs. Its changing exhibitions focus on either architecture or design, making it a compact stop while exploring the city centre.

The building retains details from its banking past, including the original vault and teller drive-through. The former vault now serves as the museum gift shop. Docents and video tours provide additional background to the exhibitions.

Stewart Galleries

In the historic La Plaza District, Stewart Galleries brings together art, antiques and design. Its collection includes historic and contemporary oil paintings, sculptures, bronzes, chandeliers, antique furnishings and rare decorative accessories.

The gallery specialises in Californian and American Impressionist, Modernist and Plein Air painters, as well as sculpture by European and South American artists. It was established in 1986 by Kevin and Diane Stewart and later relocated to Palm Springs.

Tramway Gas Station

The former Tramway Gas Station is one of Palm Springs’ most recognisable modernist landmarks. Built in 1965 and designed by Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers, it is distinguished by a broad, wedge-shaped canopy described by a historic marker as a hyperbolic paraboloid.

The building now serves as the Palm Springs Visitor Center. After closing by the mid-1990s, it was purchased in 2000 and converted into an art gallery before becoming the visitor centre in 2003. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium

Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium is a shaded desert garden covering one acre. It contains more than 3,000 specimens of cacti, succulents, mesquite trees and other desert plants, including rare varieties.

Patricia and Chester Moorten established a nursery here in 1939, and it became a botanical garden in 1955. The historic Moorten residence, known as the Cactus Castle, was built in a Mediterranean style by photographer Stephen H. Willard. It became the Moortens’ base for collecting rare plants, including specimens from Guatemala.

Palm Springs Surf Club

Palm Springs Surf Club is a water destination that opened in 2024 on the site of earlier water parks. It includes five pools, jacuzzis, spa areas and several sauna styles, including Russian, Finnish, infrared and Turkish hammam.

The site offers both active and quieter ways to spend time, from slides and whirlpools to lounging and spa experiences.

First Church of Christ, Scientist

The First Church of Christ, Scientist is a historic building in Palm Springs and a worthwhile stop for visitors interested in the city’s built heritage.

Explore Palm Springs with Neywo

Neywo offers a free Palm Springs audio guide with 34 narrated places. It includes 2 walking tours and 1 bus route, with narration available in 11 languages:

• Downtown Palm Springs: From Railroad-Tie Pioneers to Marilyn — a 2.55 km walk lasting 89 minutes, with 11 narrated stops.
• Neutra, Sinatra and Elvis: Palm Springs Modernism — a 6.28 km walk lasting 107 minutes, with 4 narrated stops.
• SunLine Route 4: Downtown Palm Springs to the Tramway Gateway — a 10.9 km bus route lasting 47 minutes, with 5 narrated stops.

Download Neywo and explore Palm Springs at your own pace. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule.