Sunnylands Center and Gardens
In Rancho Mirage, the former estate of Walter and Leonore Annenberg known as Sunnylands is a grandiose display of mid-century modern design at its finest. Under a pastel pink roof, the grand foyer opens to an indoor atrium encircling Auguste Rodin's Eve, a bronze sculpture inspired by Dante's Inferno made by the French artist in the late 19th century. The Annenberg's appreciation for art, culture, and design can be felt within those first breath-taking steps into the home, as glass walls and natural sunlight envelop you into its heart.
Designed by renowned modernist architect A. Quincy Jones, the home reflects choices that are equal parts functional and chic, such as the exposed framework and the wrap-around outdoor trellis. The interiors, on the other hand, bring a different perspective to the Sunnylands story: Hollywood Regency designer William Haines rejected traditional mid-mod style altogether, opting instead for flashy colors and vibrant textures that brought his signature flair to the desert. Between 1963 and 1966, Haines produced over 450 custom pieces for the home — sofas, chairs, desks, decor, tables, and more — infusing the space with surprising patterns, dimensions, and velvet fabrics that will awaken your senses.
On a Sunnylands estate tour, it’s impossible not to marvel at the sheer scale of it all — 25,000 square feet of pure architectural wonder. During a tour, learn which room in the guest house was Ronald Reagan’s favorite (complete with his signature stash of jelly beans) or step inside Sinatra’s paparazzi-proof wedding that took place on July 11, 1976, in the Annenbergs’ living room.
Design-Forward Eateries
Lola Rose Grand Mezze at Thompson Palm Springs.
Eating out is never just about the food — a little ambiance goes a long way in making a meal an experience. Greater Palm Springs delivers on both fronts, boasting an abundance of restaurants where the atmosphere is designed to be just as delectable as the menu.
In Palm Desert, Porta Via is a modern, relaxed dinner spot lined with warm wood walls and plushy sage green seats. For food, options range from refreshing sushi plates such as their Salmon avocado roll with soy paper, spicy mayo, and toasted sesame scallion to a savory vodka pasta. Lively outdoor seating options invite conversation to linger under the warm desert air of El Paseo, often called the “Rodeo Drive of the Desert,” and known for its expansive collection of luxury boutiques and restaurants.
If you find yourself in Palm Springs, spending a night perched at Bar Issi is a must. Owners Marissa and Matt Hermer drew inspiration for the Italian-inspired maximalist space from unexpected places — including HBO’s Season 2 of The White Lotus set in Sicily, as well as San Luis Obispo’s iconic and unforgettable Madonna Inn. The result: a swanky, ornamented space with vibrant music and eclectic energy, photogenic enough that you'll want to capture every corner.
After you’ve devoured your branzino or wood-fired mushroom pizza (and topped it off with an order of the seasonal sorbet, of course), head upstairs to Lola Rose Grand Mezze, also located at Thompson Palm Springs. A newcomer to the Greater Palm Springs hotel scene — it opened in October 2024 — Thompson is worth lingering at for its relaxed, mod-ish upstairs lounge. Here, guests can indulge in Mediterranean spreads including tzatziki, grilled octopus, falafel, and a grand mezze feast for two from morning to moonlight. As an added bonus for the design-minded, the hotel’s walls are lined with eye-catching modern art from both local and international artists.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Away from the stellar mid-mod homes and restaurants that have put Greater Palm Springs on the map, there's somehow always more to find. Miraculously engineered into the side of the San Jacinto mountain range, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway brings visitors 8,516 feet up in the sky for a new outlook on design.
As the world's largest rotating aerial tramway, this attraction glides along a system of cables strung between mountainside support towers. As you journey up and up for 10 whole minutes, the slight swinging of the tramcar and 360-degree viewpoint is sure to remind you of the journey’s height.
Francis Crocker, the Tramway's ideator, first conceptualized the project in 1935, though his big idea faced years of setbacks. Crocker and his team never gave up on their vision to scale the mountain in search of cooler air. Decades later, the project broke ground in 1961, with an estimated 23,000 helicopter missions taken to build four of the five metal towers bolted into the earth.
The project was completed alongside two notable architects within Greater Palm Springs: Albert Frey, who designed the Valley Station, and E. Stewart Williams, who designed the Mountain Station. Frey's Valley Station design serves as a practical first stop, its simple colors and design blending into the natural mountain range, encapsulating Frey's appreciation for the land seen throughout his other work. Williams' Mountaintop Station serves as the final stop in your ascent. Having recently undergone a $13 million renovation in 2023, the tramway’s first-ever restoration brought the station back to Williams' original modernist cabin design. Frey and Williams both worked on other notable sites within Greater Palm Springs, including the groovy Palm Springs City Hall, the Loewy House, and the famous Frank Sinatra House.
Experience the intersection of engineering, architecture, and nature during a morning on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway — the view at the top is not one to forget.
Palm Springs Art Museum: Architecture and Design Center
Round out your visit at the Architecture and Design Center of Palm Springs, where the city's legacy gets its proper due. Dually serving as the museum’s research space, its impressive collection of architectural and design-focused photographs, models, drawings, and more is constantly growing. The building itself is also another one of E. Stewart Williams’ original creations, a 13,000-square-foot project of glass and steel, floor-to-ceiling windows filling the space with radiance.
The museum’s newest exhibit, Alternative Palm Springs, brings light to the experimental, unbuilt, and private sectors within Palm Springs’ communities. Open until Jan. 4, 2027, this collection curated by Robert J. Kett draws upon the vast design identity of Greater Palm Springs: an amalgamation of creativity, dreaming big, and challenging the status quo.
Kett, an anthropologist and curator, holds a focus on the implications of design within societal culture, his work drawing on complex anthropological theories alongside the histories of design, art, and science. Curating a handful of other thoughtful exhibits for the Palm Springs Art Museum, such as Eso es la Vida/This is Life, and So Near, So Far, and To Move Toward the Limits of Living, Kett’s newest exhibit inspires viewers to ponder the future of Palm Springs’ constantly evolving space.
The Palm Springs Art Museum collection also includes Frey House II, willed to the museum upon Albert Frey’s death in 1998. Perched to overlook a stretch of Coachella Valley, Frey’s second Palm Springs home is small but extremely thought-out: Camouflaged into the rocky mountainside, Frey harmoniously blends nature with design with a blue ceiling and a large boulder that divides the bedroom and living room.
Within the thriving design and architectural culture alive in Greater Palm Springs, this list only scratches the surface of what’s to find. Lavish, one-of-a-kind furniture collections, a courageous ascent into the mountains, and a showcase of midcentury-modern design's roots are only the beginning — the rest is for you to discover. So get packing, and prepare for an adventure bound to widen your horizons and challenge what you thought was possible of architecture and design.
