The palm trees arrived at Palm Beach in 1878, when a ship laden with Cuban coconuts was wrecked here on the offshore barrier island that is only 14 miles (23km) long and half a mile (one km) wide. Some of the world’s wealthiest people arrived almost a century later, and have stayed to make Palm Beach an oasis of beauty and elegance; a premier luxury resort that is a magnet for the rich and famous. Palm Beach has long been the traditional winter home of America’s aristocracy, the Kennedys, Rockefellers, Trumps and other society names filling the fabulous Gatsby-era mansions on the island. Across on the mainland lies West Palm Beach, where ‘ordinary’ folk live and play. Henry Morrison Flagler was the man who started it all in 1894 when he opened the Royal Poinciana Hotel on the island and promoted Palm Beach as America’s premier winter resort. The mansion Whitehall, which he built in 1901 for his wife, is now the Flagler Museum, dedicated to his memory. Today there are many more hotels in Palm Beach, and hundreds of restaurants, some of which rank among the finest in the world. The warm and breezy climate, beautiful coastal waters and breathtaking beaches are just the cherry on the top for those fortunate enough to visit this opulent playground.