El Paseo is the mile-long boulevard that gives Palm Desert most of its identity — a palm-lined strip of designer boutiques, art galleries, restaurants with patios, and the occasional gleaming Bentley parked at a meter. The Rodeo Drive comparisons are inevitable but a bit of a stretch; this is more relaxed, more spread out, and substantially less self-important.
The galleries are the real surprise: more than twenty serious art dealers line the street, with monthly art walks on the first Thursday of each high-season month. The Palm Desert Public Art programme also installs a rotating set of large outdoor sculptures along El Paseo every two years — works are scattered along the median and at intersections, free to wander. Best enjoyed on foot in the cooler months.