Clematis Street and the West Palm Waterfront in One Evening
Here is the short answer. Park in a city garage a block off Clematis Street, where the first two hours cost $1, then walk east toward the water. Clematis runs straight to Flagler Drive and the downtown waterfront, where the Great Lawn, the Centennial Fountain and a paved path along the Intracoastal cost nothing. On a Thursday, add Clematis by Night, the city's free concert on the Great Lawn from 6 to 9 p.m. One thing has changed since most guides were written: the free downtown trolley is gone. Its replacement, West Palm Move, costs $1 a ride. Every rate and hour below came off a City of West Palm Beach page this week.
We are Brad and Justina, founders of Yours Truly Hospitality. We manage vacation homes across Southeast Florida, and West Palm Beach is one of our home markets. Our guests there stay in the Northwood area, about five minutes from downtown. When they ask where to spend an easy evening, Clematis Street is usually the first answer.
Why Clematis Is the Easy Night
Clematis Street is the city's original main street. It is lined with restaurants and bars from the waterfront on up, and it ends at the water, which is the whole point. You can park once, eat somewhere on the street, walk to the Intracoastal for the breeze, and be back at the car without ever needing a plan.
A few blocks south, The Square (many locals still call it Rosemary Square) adds more dining, shopping and open-air plazas. Between the two, you could eat somewhere different every night for two weeks. For a nicer night out, our team suggests Elizabettas along the downtown waterfront. For something lively without a dress code, Bradley's is the downtown standby.
Where to Park, and What It Costs
The city runs five garages downtown. Four of them are on Clematis or one block north on Banyan Blvd.:
Clematis Garage, 500 Banyan Blvd.
City Center Garage, 400 Banyan Blvd.
Banyan & Olive Garage, 200 Banyan Blvd.
Sapodilla Garage, 645 Clematis St.
The fifth is Evernia Garage, 333 Evernia St., one street south of Clematis.
All five charge the same posted rate. The first 2 hours cost $1. After that, it is $2 for each additional half hour, up to a $20 daily maximum. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are $5 all day. The exception is special events, when the city can charge up to $100, so check the sign on a big weekend.
Do the math before you circle for a curb space. A three hour dinner in a garage is $5. Four hours is $9. That is the posted rate, worked out: $1 for the first two hours, then $2 for every half hour after.
Street meters work differently. The city splits them into zones. Zone A, the highest demand blocks, costs $2.50 an hour with a 2 hour maximum. Zone B is $1.50 an hour for up to 4 hours. Zone C is $1.00 an hour for up to 6 hours. The city publishes an interactive zone map, and the meter itself shows the rate. If you plan to linger past two hours, a garage beats a Zone A meter on both price and stress.
Garages take cash and card. Meters take cards, quarters, dollar coins and the ParkMobile app.
The Walk to the Water
From any of the Banyan garages, walk one block to Clematis and turn east. The street ends at Flagler Drive and the Intracoastal Waterway.
At the bottom you reach the Waterfront Commons at 100 N Clematis St. The city lists it with shade, picnic tables, restrooms and paved walking paths. The open green space here is the Great Lawn, and it is where the Thursday concerts happen.
Right beside it is the Centennial Fountain at 150 N. Clematis St., in Nancy M. Graham Centennial Square. The city tags it as water play, which in practice means kids run through it. If you are traveling with small children, this is your built-in stop.
Then cross to the seawall. The downtown waterfront faces east across the Intracoastal to Palm Beach. There is a wide promenade with a public dock and a straight view of the island. The sun sets behind downtown, so in the last hour of daylight the light lands on the water and on Palm Beach across it. It is the best free evening walk in the city, and it is why we tell guests to time dinner around it rather than the other way around.
Thursday Night: Clematis by Night
Clematis by Night runs every Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. on the Great Lawn and Centennial Square. It is free. The city describes it as a weekly concert series on the waterfront, with local, regional and national bands playing everything from rock and reggae to country, blues and Latin. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket.
The city's posted lineup for this fall includes a few you can plan around:
Thursday, October 1, 2026: Clematis by Night Celebrates Oktoberfest.
Thursday, October 29, 2026: Clematis by FRIGHT, the Halloween week edition.
Thursday, November 26, 2026: no concert, for Thanksgiving.
Every other Thursday through November has a named band on the city's page. Lineups change, so check the page the week you visit.
Getting Around Without the Car
Older guides, and a few local sites still online, describe a free downtown trolley. That service is gone. The Downtown Development Authority says its trolleys ended May 31, 2023, and West Palm Move says the city's RideWPB service that followed ended May 31, 2026.
The current service is West Palm Move, which started its fixed route on September 8 and its on demand rides on September 15. Here is how it works, straight from the operator's page:
Fixed route: $1 a ride, every 10 minutes, on a north and south line between the Norton Museum of Art and Northwood Village. Stops include downtown and Clematis, and CityPlace. No app needed. Tap a card, phone or watch when you board. Cash is not accepted.
Hours: Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On demand: $2 a ride, booked in the West Palm Move app, corner to corner in branded vans. A transfer between the two is free, so a combined trip is $2 total.
Not included: the airport. West Palm Move does not serve it.
One timing note for Thursday nights. The fixed route stops at 9 p.m. on weekdays, the same time the band does. If you want to stay for the last song, plan your ride home ahead of time.
For our guests in Northwood, the fixed route is the useful part. It runs between Northwood Village and downtown, so if your stay is near a stop, you can leave the car at the house and ride in for $1.
A Simple Plan for the Evening
Arrive about an hour before sunset. Park in a Banyan Blvd. garage.
Walk Clematis east to the water. Let the kids hit the Centennial Fountain.
Walk the seawall while the light is on Palm Beach.
Walk back up Clematis for dinner.
On a Thursday, swap step 4 for the Great Lawn, then eat after 9 p.m.
On a weekend, the $5 all day garage rate makes it easy to add a morning on the water or an afternoon at the Norton before you ever move the car.
Updated September 2026. Every rate, hour and route above came off a City of West Palm Beach or West Palm Move page, not a travel site. Rates and schedules change, and the posted sign always wins over any website, including this one.
When guests staying with us in West Palm Beach ask what to do with a free evening, this is the plan we hand them. If you are planning a stay, start with our South Florida vacation homes, and save this page for the drive in.
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