Best Things to Do in Delray Beach, Florida

Delray packs an unusual amount into a small city: approximately two miles of municipal beach, a historic arts campus downtown, a Japanese museum and gardens with real local roots, and two wetland boardwalks nearby that plenty of residents take a while to discover.

Here's what's actually worth your time, roughly in the order a new resident should work through it. Hours, closures, tickets and schedules change, so each section points to the official source — check it before you go.

The beach

Approximately two miles of municipal beach along A1A, and it's the anchor of the whole east side.

What makes it stand out is what isn't there. No commercial strip on the sand, no boardwalk of shops, no high-rise wall — just dune, sand, and a road with houses and low buildings behind it. The beach still feels like a beach.

Delray Beach won the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Award for Best Beach in Florida in 2026, the third consecutive year it has taken the title. Nominees are selected by travel experts, and the final results are decided by reader votes.

The main stretch near the downtown is lifeguarded, social, and busy. In our experience it gets quieter as you move north or south from the center.

Practical notes: beach parking is paid, and on good days in season it can fill early. Going early helps, and summer is usually easier. Check lifeguard hours, beach conditions, parking and current restrictions with the City before you go.

Plan your visit: City of Delray Beach — public beaches · Best Beach in Florida announcement

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

West of town, and in our view one of the best cultural outings in the region.

Six distinct gardens spanning different eras of Japanese garden design, a museum, a bonsai collection, a tea house, and a café. The grounds are large enough to spend a half-day in without rushing.

The history behind it is worth knowing. Morikami connects living Japanese cultural experiences with South Florida history: its Yamato-kan preserves the story of the Yamato Colony, a Japanese farming settlement established in what is now northern Boca Raton, south of Delray Beach. George Sukeji Morikami arrived in 1906 as one of the Yamato settlers, and in the 1970s he donated his land to Palm Beach County — the land the museum and gardens stand on today.

Festivals and events through the year can draw large crowds; ordinary weekday mornings tend to be calmer.

Plan your visit: Morikami — hours, admission and events · The Yamato Colony

The wetlands boardwalks

Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a constructed wetland on Jog Road, run by Palm Beach County Water Utilities, with a three-quarter-mile boardwalk over open water. Herons, egrets, anhingas, ibis, turtles and alligators are all commonly seen there, and it's a favorite with photographers — though what you'll see on any given visit varies.

Green Cay Nature Center, a short distance north in Boynton Beach, pairs a 1.5-mile elevated boardwalk through the wetland with a nature center.

Both are easy walking, and early in the day is usually the more comfortable time to go. Late winter into spring is often a busy time for nesting birds, but timing varies year to year. The boardwalks close periodically for maintenance and repairs, so check before you drive out.

If you do one outdoor thing in your first month that isn't the beach, make it Wakodahatchee early in the morning.

Plan your visit: Wakodahatchee Wetlands · Green Cay Nature Center

Old School Square and the downtown arts scene

Old School Square is the historic campus at the heart of downtown and still its cultural anchor — historic school buildings, public open space, and the grounds that host many community events.

Programming there has changed in recent years, so don't rely on an older article's list of what's running. The City's Creative Arts School currently operates from the Crest Theater building, with classes and workshops on its own schedule.

The surrounding downtown adds galleries, studios, and murals, particularly in Pineapple Grove, the arts district north of Atlantic Avenue.

Plan your visit: City of Delray Beach Creative Arts School · Downtown Delray Beach events

The GreenMarket and the events calendar

The Delray GreenMarket is a seasonal downtown market — produce, prepared food, plants, and a good cross-section of the neighborhood. Its season, day and location are set each year, so check the current calendar.

Beyond it, the downtown calendar includes art and craft festivals, food and drink events, holiday programming, and street festivals that close portions of the downtown. What's on, and when, changes year to year; the Downtown Development Authority's calendar is the place to check.

Plan your visit: Downtown Delray Beach events and GreenMarket calendar

The tennis

The Delray Beach Tennis Center, downtown, hosts the Delray Beach Open, a professional ATP tournament held in winter, in a small stadium in the middle of town. It's an unusual thing for a city this size and worth catching at least once — the intimacy of the venue is the appeal.

The center also runs public courts and programs the rest of the year.

Plan your visit: Delray Beach Tennis Center · Delray Beach Open

On and in the water

Beyond swimming, the possibilities:

• Paddling the Intracoastal, often calmer early in the day before boat traffic builds.
• Diving and snorkeling offshore, reached by boat. Delray has no inlet of its own, so offshore trips run through inlets outside the city.
• Fishing from shore, from the Intracoastal where permitted, or offshore by charter.
• Boat tours on the Intracoastal, which are also an easy way to see the waterfront housing stock if you're house-hunting.

Rentals, charters and tours come and go, so confirm what's currently operating. For any time on the water, use qualified, licensed providers, and check current weather, marine and access conditions before you go.

Green space away from the beach

• Lake Ida West Park, a Palm Beach County park on Lake Ida with boat ramps, canoe and kayak access, fishing, walking and bike paths, and a dog park.
• Palm Beach County natural areas nearby preserve native habitat and tend to be quieter than the coastal parks.
• Veterans Park on the Intracoastal downtown, small but well placed, with a playground and waterfront.

Plan your visit: Lake Ida West Park

Seasonal timing

Winter into spring is the busy stretch: the most comfortable weather, the fullest events calendar, nesting activity at the wetlands, the tennis tournament, and the largest crowds of the year.

Summer is hot, humid, and often stormy by afternoon. Do outdoor things early, and use the museum, the gardens' shaded paths, and indoor venues for the middle of the day. In our experience it's less crowded, and parking is usually easier.

Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. Build it into any plan involving a boat, and check conditions before you go out.

Where to start

If you have one weekend: the beach early, the Avenue in the evening, Wakodahatchee early the next morning, and the Morikami after.

That sequence covers four distinct sides of this city, and it'll tell you quickly whether Delray suits you. Once you've done them, the quieter local finds are where it starts to feel like your town rather than a destination.