The Town of Palm Beach, a 14-mile-long barrier island community only 500 feet to three-quarters of a mile wide, has a total land area of less than four square miles (shown on map in green). But hidden away behind lush foliage, on $5 billion worth of real estate, are the winter homes of some of the wealthiest people in America.

A world away across Lake Worth, a coastal lagoon that forms part of the Intracoastal Waterway, the cities of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens (not shown here) offer the performing arts, vibrant nightlife and upscale shopping customarily associated with much larger metropolitan areas.

But it is the legendary island community, where private clubs and gala dinner parties dominate social life during The Season, that people are thinking of when talk turns to Palm Beach mansions and Palm Beach society. Since the early 1900s, this very small town has been winter home to tycoons with such names as Rockefeller, duPont, Vanderbilt, Whitney, Hutton, Post and Kennedy.

The names on the island's A-List have changed, but Palm Beach has retained its essence and allure.

Increasingly, the mainland Palm Beaches also feature exclusive country-club communities where premier homes run into the millions of dollars, and ultraluxury condos look east from the West Palm Beach Lakefront shore.

And at the southern end of the barrier island, the exclusive town of Manalapan, just beyond South Palm Beach, is home to some of the newest and grandest oceanfront and lakefront estates of the Palm Beaches.

Town of Palm Beach

What does one say about a town of mansions designed by extraordinary architects like Mizner, Fatio and Volk? Only that in an era when magnificant new homes are being created alongside historic mansions, Palm Beach takes great pride in preserving its unique architectural legacy.

The so-called "Estate Section," south of Worth Avenue, features magnificent homes -- built for financeers and titans of industry -- with spectacular ocean and Intracoastal views. Newer homes in this section blend seemlessly with ageless structures.

In the heart of Palm Beach, south of the Breakers, are homes as elegant as those in the "Estate Section," but close by the town's churches, museums, shopping and restaurants.

The north end of the island, long regarded as the quieter, family-oriented end of town, is experiencing a building boom with grand oceanfront estates rising along the beach and luxury homes with deep-water docks joining them on the Intracoastal Waterway.

West Palm Beach

Some of the most spectacular water views in the Palm Beaches are to be had from the luxury condos in downtown West Palm Beach.

From upper floors, these residences not only look across Lake Worth to the beautiful Town of Palm Beach, but enjoy views of the Atlantic Ocean beyond. In the past year, One Watermark Place, a new 15-story tower featuring residences ranging from $4,000,000 to $8,400,000, has trumped the penthouses of the nearby Trump Plaza to become the epitome of luxury condo living in this area.

Beyond the views, these luxury residences are close by the upscale retail shops, restaurants and outdoor action of the new City Place, and only a short hop from the restaurants and vibrant nightlife of Clematis Street.

And for patrons of the arts, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts -- with its plays, operas, symphonies, ballets and a wide variety of concerts -- is only a few minutes away.

To the west, communities like Eagle's Isle -- located on one of the Ibis Golf and Country Club's three Nicklaus-designed golf courses -- are raising the standard for country-club living.

Palm Beach Gardens

Once Palm Beach Gardens was a sleepy suburban community, several miles north of West Palm Beach, best known for its mall anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue. But the area has recently become an increasingly popular spot for golf courses, country club communities and expensive luxury homes.

The newest of these is the Old Palm Golf Club, a luxury community of 294 premier estates built around a golf course designed by former PGA Tour player Raymond Floyd. It joins Frenchmen's Reserve, a community built around two lushly landscaped golf courses including one designed by Arnold Palmer, and the Mirasol development, where people drop the names of golf course architects Tom Fazio and Arthur Hills.

South Palm Beach

The Town of South Palm Beach, a picturesque condominium community, has more affordable residences than the grand estates found in neighboring Palm Beach and Manalapan.

Manalapan

Only a few hundred families have the good fortune of living in the tiny enclave of Manalapan, which boasts some colossal mansions on both the ocean and the intercoastal waterway. Interestingly, the town is divided into two parts contiguous only by water. The better-known part runs along Highway A1a from South Palm Beach to the Boynton Inlet. Luxury estates along this narrow stretch of Manalapan front on both the Ocean and Intracoastal. The more secluded part, gated Point Manalapan, occupies the southern end of Hypoluxo Island surrounded by Lake Worth.