Desert fashion and a relaxed atmosphere define downtown Palm Springs, where palm trees line streets filled with art galleries, boutiques, and speakeasies. The area is known for its mix of modernist culture and retro style.
The Palm Springs Art Museum is a prominent attraction in the neighborhood. It features four levels of contemporary and modern art, including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Ansel Adams. The museum also highlights Native American art with over 2,000 items such as baskets, textiles, bowls, jewelry, and kachinas. On the lower level is the Annenberg Theater, which hosts Broadway shows, dance performances, and opera.
For those interested in pop culture-inspired art and decor, The Shag Store offers tiki mugs, coasters featuring cats, and prints that reflect the work of illustrator Josh Agle. Visitors can purchase themed merchandise like martini shakers to bring home a piece of retro style.
Birba is a popular spot for outdoor dining. Most tables are on a patio shaded by trees. Guests can start their meal with cocktails such as the Heated Snake before choosing from salads or small plates followed by pizzas or braised meats.
Just Fabulous is a shop curated by Stephen Monkarsh that sells eclectic wall art, large-format books on fashion and architecture, unique magnets, kitsch items from past decades, and clocks crafted by local artisans. There is also access to hidden gardens behind the store.
Ernest Coffee + Bootlegger Tiki operates as both a coffee bar during the day—serving Stumptown Coffee drinks with pastries—and as a tiki-themed speakeasy at night offering rum cocktails during daily happy hours.
Trina Turk’s boutique showcases desert-inspired fashion characterized by bold colors and geometric patterns under crystal chandeliers.
Dazzles specializes in vintage finds including Lucite jewelry, highball glasses from earlier eras, colored glass plates, gold-plated serving dishes designed by Georges Briard, and costume jewelry reminiscent of past generations.
