Whispered secrets, massive fortunes, billionaires, heiresses, and presidential retreats. Aside from traveling, she's also a pilot, scuba diver, bookworm, and fourth-generation Floridian. One of the most moneyed zip codes in America, Palm Beach is the destination of choice for thousands of the world's wealthiest snowbirds. A secluded sanctuary for the jet set and around 40 billionaires , Palm Beach is geographically separated from sultry, anything-goes Miami by a mere two hours — and only one on the Brightline — but in reality, it's worlds away.
The barrier island making up Palm Beach proper is notoriously hard to penetrate, but peeking behind the shimmering and seemingly untouchable curtain is half the fun of visiting.
Unravel the island's web of intrigue for yourself and explore these nine hidden gems of Palm Beach that will immediately elevate your status from tourist to in-the-know insider. It's odd for an island to hold just two gravestones, and it's odder still that they're located side by side in the palm-shaded, bougainvillea-shrouded courtyard of Worth Avenue's swankiest pizza place.
Strange as it is, the tiny tombstones of Johnnie Brown and Laddie are hidden amidst the outdoor elegance of Pizza Al Fresco. It's a bit less bizarre, however, when you consider the fact that Johnnie Brown was a monkey. Or does that make it more bizarre? Addison Mizner, eccentric architect of Palm Beach's signature Mediterranean Revival style, carried his pet spider monkey everywhere and even hand-stitched him a silk-lined sombrero with a chin strap, so it's only appropriate that Johnnie Brown received a prominent burial site.
His gravestone reads, "Johnnie Brown. The Human Monkey. Died April 30, Socialites Rose and Morton Sachs, who later purchased Mizner's iconic villa and lived there for nearly 50 years, sought and received special permission from the town to bury their dog, Laddie, next to Johnnie Brown. Rub elbows with the glitterati at island favorites. A classic soda fountain, Green's is more than just a nod to nostalgia; it's still a working pharmacy with house accounts and a drugstore.
