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Orlando is a diverse town. The Downtown area, though small, is dynamic, thanks to an ever-changing skyline of high-rises, sports venues, museums, restaurants, nightspots, a history museum, and several annual cultural events—including film festivals and a world-renowned theater fest. Downtown also has a central green, Lake Eola Park, which offers a respite from otherwise frantic touring.

Neighborhoods such as Thornton Park (great for dining) and College Park (an outpost of great dining) are fun to wander. Not too far to the north, you can come in contact with natural Florida—its manatees, gators, and crystal clear waters in spring-fed lakes.

Closer to the theme-park action, International Drive, the hub of resort and conference hotels, offers big restaurants and even bigger outlet-mall bargains. Sand Lake Road, between the two, is Orlando’s Restaurant Row, with plenty of exciting dining prospects.

Getting Here and Around

Orlando is spread out. During rush hour, car traffic crawls along the often-crowded Interstate 4 (particularly now that the multibillion-dollar upgrade, expected to end in 2021, has begun), which runs to both coasts. If you’re heading east, you can also take Route 528 (aka the Beachline), a toll road that heads directly for Cape Canaveral and points along the Space Coast; no such option leads west.

If you avoid rush-hour traffic, traveling to points of interest shouldn’t take too much time out of your vacation. Winter Park is no more than 20 minutes from Downtown; International Drive and the theme parks are about 30 minutes away in heavier traffic. Orlando International Airport is only 9 miles south of Downtown, but it will take about 30 minutes via a circuitous network of highways (Interstate 4 west to Florida’s Turnpike south to Route 528 east).

Visitor Information

Contacts
Orlando Visitors Bureau. | 8723 International Dr., Suite 101 | 407/363–5872, 800/972–3304 | www.visitorlando.com.

Central Orlando

Fodor’s Choice | Harry P. Leu Gardens.
A few miles outside of downtown—on the former lakefront estate of a citrus entrepreneur—is this 50-acre garden. Among the highlights are a collection of historical blooms (many varieties of which were established before 1900), ancient oaks, a 50-foot floral clock, and one of the largest camellia collections in eastern North America (in bloom November–March). Mary Jane’s Rose Garden, named after Leu’s wife, is filled with more than 1,000 bushes; it’s the largest formal rose garden south of Atlanta. The simple 19th-century Leu House Museum, once the Leu family home, preserves the furnishings and appointments of a well-to-do, turn-of-the-20th-century Florida family. | 1920 N. Forest Ave., Audubon Park | 407/246–2620 | www.leugardens.org | $10, free 1st Mon. of month | Garden daily 9–5; guided house tours daily on hr and ½ hr 10–3:30; closed Dec. 25.

FAMILY | Lake Eola Park.
This beautifully landscaped 43-acre park is the verdant heart of downtown Orlando, its mile-long walking path a gathering place for families, health enthusiasts out for a run, and culture mavens exploring area offerings. The well-lighted playground is alive with children, and ducks, swans, and native Florida birds call the lake home. A popular and expanded farmers’ market takes up residence on Sunday afternoon.

The lakeside Walt Disney Amphitheater is a dramatic site for concerts, ethnic festivals, and spectacular Fourth of July fireworks. Don’t resist the park’s biggest draw: a ride in a swan-shape pedal boat. Up to five adults can fit comfortably into each. (Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.)

The Relax Grill, by the swan-boat launch, is a great place for a snack. There are also several good restaurants in the upscale Thornton Park neighborhood along the park’s eastern border. The ever-expanding skyline rings the lake with modern high-rises, making the peace of the park even more welcome. The landmark fountain features an LED light and music show on summer evenings at 9:30. | 195 N. Rosalind Ave., Downtown Orlando | 407/246–4485 park, 407/246–4485 swan boats | Swan boat rental $15 per ½ hr | Park daily 6 am–midnight; swan boats Sun.–Tues. 10–7, Wed.–Sat. 10–10.

Mennello Museum of American Folk Art.
One of the few museums in the United States devoted to folk art has intimate galleries, some with lovely lakefront views. Look for the nation’s most extensive permanent collection of Earl Cunningham paintings as well as works by many other self-taught artists. There’s a wonderful video about Cunningham and his “curio shop” in St. Augustine, Florida. Temporary exhibitions have included the works of Wyeth, Cassatt, and Michael Eastman. At the museum shop you can purchase folk-art books, toys, and unusual gifts. The Mennello is the site of the annual Orlando Folk Festival, held the second weekend of February. | 900 E. Princeton St., Lake Ivanhoe | 407/246–4278 | www.mennellomuseum.org | $5 | Tues.–Sat. 10:30–4:30, Sun. noon–4:30.

FAMILY | Orange County Regional History Center.
Exhibits here take you on a journey back in time to discover how Florida’s Paleo-Indians hunted and fished the land, what the Sunshine State was like when the Spaniards first arrived, and how life in Florida was different when citrus was king. Visit a cabin from the late 1800s, complete with Spanish moss–stuffed mattresses and mosquito netting over the beds. Seminole Indian displays include interactive activities, and the Tourism Before Disney exhibit previews Florida’s destiny as a future vacation mecca. Traveling exhibits bring modern technology and art to the Museum. | 65 E. Central Blvd., Downtown Orlando | 407/836–8500, 800/965–2030 | www.thehistorycenter.org | $15; seniors, students $13; 5–12 $12; under 4 free | Mon.–Sat. 10–5, Sun. noon–5.

FAMILY | Fodor’s Choice | Orlando Science Center.
With all the high-tech glitz and imagined worlds of the theme parks, is it worth visiting Orlando’s reality-based science center? If you’re a kid crazy about science, the answer is an overwhelming “yes.” With exhibits about the human body, mechanics, computers, math, nature, the solar system, and optics, the science center has something for every child’s inner geek.

The four-story internal atrium is home to live gators and turtles and is a great spot for simply gazing at what Old Florida once looked like. The 300-seat Dr. Phillips CineDome, a movie theater with a giant eight-story screen, offers large-format iWERKS films and planetarium programs. The Crosby Observatory and Florida’s largest publicly accessible refractor telescope are here, as are several smaller telescopes; some weekends you can safely view spots and flares on the sun’s surface.

Adults like the science center, too, thanks to events like the annual Science of Wine and Cosmic Golf Challenge; evenings of stargazing in the Crosby Observatory, live music, art, and film; and Otronicon, the annual interactive technology expo. | 777 E. Princeton St., Lake Ivanhoe | 407/514–2000 | www.osc.org | $19; senior, student $17; 3–11 $13; under 2 free; parking $5; tickets include all permanent and special exhibits, films, live science presentations, and planetarium shows | Daily 10–5; closed Wed., Easter Sun., Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

International Drive

FAMILY | Fun Spot America.
Four go-kart tracks offer a variety of driving experiences. Though drivers must be at least 10 years old and meet height requirements, parents can drive younger children in two-seater cars on several of the tracks, including the Conquest Track. Nineteen rides range from the dizzying Paratrooper to an old-fashioned Revolver Ferris Wheel to the twirling toddler Teacups. Fun Spot recently expanded from five to 15 acres and now features Central Florida’s only wooden roller coaster as well as the Freedom Flyer steel suspension family coaster, a kiddie coaster, and what’s billed as the world’s second-tallest (250 feet) SkyCoaster—part skydive, part hang-glide. The tallest, at 300 feet, is located at sister park Fun Spot USA, in Kissimmee. There’s also an arcade. From Exit 75A, turn left onto International Drive, then left on Fun Spot Way. | 5700 Fun Spot Way, I-Drive area | 407/363–3867 | www.funspotattractions.com | $39.95 for all rides (online discounts available) or pay per ride; admission for nonriders free; arcade extra; parking free | Apr.–Oct., daily 10 am–midnight; Nov.–Mar., weekdays noon–11, weekends 10 am–midnight.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium.
A 10-foot-square section of the Berlin Wall. A pain and torture chamber. Two African fertility statues that women swear have helped them conceive. These and almost 200 other oddities (shrunken heads included) speak for themselves in this museum-cum-attraction in the heart of tourist territory on International Drive. The building itself is designed to appear as if it’s sliding into one of Florida’s notorious sinkholes. Give yourself an hour or two to soak up the weirdness, but remember: this is a looking, not touching, experience; it might drive antsy youngsters—and their parents—crazy. TIP Buy tickets online ahead of time, and you can get discounts. | 8201 International Dr., I-Drive area | 407/351–5803 | www.ripleysorlando.com | $19.99; 4–12 $12.99; parking free | Daily 9 am–midnight; last admission at 11 pm.

FAMILY | WonderWorks.
The building seems to be sinking into the ground at a precarious angle and upside down. Many people stop to take pictures in front of the topsy-turvy facade, complete with upended palm trees and broken skyward-facing sidewalks. Inside, the upside-down theme continues only as far as the lobby. After that, it’s a playground of 100 interactive experiences—some incorporating virtual reality, others educational (similar to those at a science museum), and still others pure entertainment. You can experience an earthquake or a hurricane, land a space shuttle using simulator controls, make giant bubbles in the Bubble Lab, play laser tag in the enormous laser-tag arena and arcade, design and ride your own roller coaster, lie on a bed of real nails, and play baseball with a virtual Major League batter. | 9067 International Dr., I-Drive area | 407/351–8800 | www.wonderworksonline.com/orlando | $26.99; seniors, 4–12 $20.99; laser tag and Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show extra (online discounts available); parking $3–$9 | Daily 9 am–midnight.

Kissimmee

18 miles south of Orlando, 10 miles southeast of Walt Disney World (WDW).

Although Kissimmee is primarily known as the gateway to Disney (technically, the vast Disney property of theme parks and resorts lies in both Osceola and Orange counties), its non-WDW attractions just might tickle your fancy. They range from throwbacks to old-time Florida to dinner shows for you and 2,000 of your closest friends. Orlando used to be prime cattle country, and the best sampling of what life was like is here during the Silver Springs Rodeo in February and June.

With at least 100,000 acres of freshwater lakes, the Kissimmee area brings anglers and boaters to national fishing tournaments and speedboat races. A 50-mile-long series of lakes, the Kissimmee Waterway, connects Lake Tohopekaliga—a Native American name that means “Sleeping Tiger”—with huge Lake Okeechobee in South Florida, and from there, to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

FAMILY | Gatorland.
This campy attraction near the Orlando–Kissimmee border on U.S. 441 has endured since 1949 without much change, despite competition from the major parks. Over the years, the theme park and registered conservancy has gone through some changes while retaining its gator-rasslin’ spirit. Kids get a kick out of this unmanufactured, old-timey thrill ride.

The Gator Gulley Splash Park is complete with giant “egrets” spilling water from their beaks, dueling water guns mounted atop giant gators, and other water-park splash areas. There’s also a small petting zoo and an aviary. A free train ride is a high point, taking you through an alligator breeding marsh and a natural swamp setting where you can spot gators, birds, and turtles. A three-story observation tower overlooks the breeding marsh, swamped with gator grunts, especially come sundown during mating season.

For a glimpse of 37 giant, rare, and deadly crocodiles, check out the Jungle Crocs of the World exhibit. To see eager gators leaping out of the water to catch their food, come on cool days for the Gator Jumparoo Show (summer heat just puts them to sleep). The most thrilling is the first one in the morning, when the gators are hungriest. There’s also a Gator Wrestlin’ Show, and although there’s no doubt who’s going to win the match, it’s still fun to see the handlers take on those tough guys with the beady eyes. In the educational Upclose Encounters show, the show’s host handles a variety of snakes. Recent park additions include Panther Springs, featuring brother-and-sister endangered panthers, and the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line (additional cost). This is a real Florida experience, and you leave knowing the difference between a gator and a croc. | 14501 S. Orange Blossom Trail, between Orlando and Kissimmee | 407/855–5496, 800/393–5297 | www.gatorland.com | $26.99; 3–12 $18.99; discount coupons online | Daily 10–5.

Legoland

50 miles southwest of Orlando.

LEGOLAND Florida.
The quiet town of Winter Haven is home to numerous lakes and a waterskiing school. From 1936 to 2009, it was also home to the Sunshine State’s first theme park, Cypress Gardens. Today the spot holds the world’s largest LEGOLAND, set on 150 acres and built using nearly 56 million LEGOs. In addition to its 1:20-scale miniature reproductions of U.S. cities, the park features more than 50 rides, shows, and attractions throughout 10 different zones, as well as the marvelous botanical gardens from the original park. Just opened mid-2013, the World of Chima presented by Cartoon Network invites guests into a fantastical world of animal tribal habitats anchored by an interactive water ride, the Quest for CHI. In Chima’s new Speedorz Arena, participants compete to win a supply of the mystical CHI energy source. A 4-D movie and Chima-character meet and greets round out the experience.

The Danish toy company’s philosophy is to help children “play well.” And play they do, as LEGOLAND attractions are very hands-on. Kids can hoist themselves to the top of a tower, power a fire truck, or navigate a LEGO robot. Sights include huge LEGO dragons, wizards, knights, pirates, castles, roller coasters, racetracks, villages, and cities.

The cityscapes in Miniland USA fascinate children and adults, who delight in discovering what’s possible when you have enough bricks. Miniland opens with Kennedy Space Center, where a 6-foot shuttle waits on the launch pad. Miami Beach features bikini-clad bathers and art deco hotels; St. Augustine and its ancient fort play into LEGO’s pirate theme; Key West’s Mallory Square is accurate right down to the trained cats leaping through rings of fire. The rest of the United States is not ignored: New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., appear in intricate detail. Visitors spend hours looking for amusing details hidden in each city, like New York’s purse snatcher.

Among other highlights are LEGO Kingdoms, whose castle towers over a jousting area and a roller coaster where knights, damsels, dragons, and ogres are found; Land of Adventure, where you can explore hidden tombs and hunt for treasure; and the Imagination Zone, showcasing LEGO Mindstorms robots, where a giant head of Albert Einstein invites kids to explore and invent. Things get wild in LEGO Technic, the most active of the park’s zones, where Test Track, Aquazone Wave Racers, and Technicycle let the family expend some energy. And Pirates’ Cove provides a chance to sit in the shade and watch a full-size pirate battle, with actors wearing LEGO suits defending the huge ship from attacking pirates on water skis.

LEGOLAND Water Park features a wave pool; Build-a-Raft, where families construct a LEGO vessel and float down a lazy river; a 375-foot pair of intertwined waterslides that plunge riders into a pool; and a DUPLO toddler water play area. Not to be forgotten, Cypress Gardens, at the heart of the park, preserves one of Florida’s treasures. Families can wander the lush, tropical foliage and gasp at one of the world’s largest banyan trees.

The trip to Winter Haven is worth it. The rides, interactive games, gardens, water park, and other attractions will amuse and engage. Round-trip transportation from Orlando Premium Outlets, on Vineland Avenue, leaves at 9 and costs $5. | One Legoland Way | Winter Haven | 877/350–5346 | www.legoland.com | $84; seniors, 3–12 $77; parking $14 | Hrs vary seasonally.

Bok Tower Gardens

57 miles southwest of Orlando, 42 miles southwest of WDW.

Fodor’s Choice | Bok Tower Gardens.
You’ll see citrus groves as you ride south along U.S. 27 to the small town of Lake Wales and the Bok Tower Gardens. This appealing sanctuary of plants, flowers, trees, and wildlife has been something of a local secret for years. Shady paths meander through pine forests with silvery moats, mockingbirds and swans, blooming thickets, and hidden sundials. The majestic, 200-foot Bok Tower is constructed of coquina—from seashells—and pink, white, and gray marble. The tower houses a carillon with 60 bronze bells that ring out each day at 1 and 3 pm during 30-minute recitals that might include early-American folk songs, Appalachian tunes, Irish ballads, or Latin hymns. The bells are also featured in recordings every half hour after 10 am, and sometimes even moonlight recitals.

The landscape was designed in 1928 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the planner of New York’s Central Park. The grounds include the 20-room, Mediterranean-style Pinewood Estate, built in 1930 and open for self-guided touring. January through April, guides lead you on a 60-minute tour of the gardens (included in the admission price); tours of the inside of the tower are a benefit of membership ($100 and up).

Wekiwa Springs State Park

13 miles northwest of Orlando, 28 miles north of WDW.

FAMILY | Fodor’s Choice | Wekiwa Springs State Park.
Wekiva is a Creek Indian word meaning “flowing water”; wekiwa means “spring of water.” The river, springs, and surrounding 6,400-acre Wekiwa Springs State Park are well suited to camping, hiking, picnicking, swimming, canoeing, and fishing. The area is also full of Florida wildlife: otters, raccoons, alligators, bobcats, deer, turtles, and birds.

Canoe trips can range from a simple hour-long paddle around the lagoon to observe a colony of water turtles to a full-day excursion through the less congested parts of the river, which haven’t changed much since the area was inhabited by the Timacuan Indians. You can rent canoes ($16.98 for two hours and $3 per hour after that) in the town of Apopka, near the park’s southern entrance.

The park has 60 campsites: some are “canoe sites” that you can reach only via the river, and others are “trail sites,” meaning you must hike a good bit of the park’s 13½-mile trail to reach them. Most, however, are for the less hardy—you can drive right up to them. Sites go for $60 a night with electric and water hookups.

To get here, take Interstate 4 Exit 94 (Longwood) and turn left on Route 434. Go 1¼ miles to Wekiwa Springs Road; turn right and go 4½ miles to the entrance, on the right. | 1800 Wekiva Circle | 407/884–2008, 800/326–3521 campsites, 407/884–4311 canoe rentals | www.floridastateparks.org/wekiwasprings/default.cfm | $2 per pedestrian or bicycle; $6 per vehicle | Daily 8–dusk.

Winter Park

6 miles northeast of Orlando, 20 miles northeast of WDW.

This peaceful, upscale community may be just outside the hustle and bustle of Orlando, but it feels like a different country. The town’s name reflects its early role as a warm-weather haven for those escaping the frigid blasts of Northeast winters. From the late 1880s until the early 1930s, wealthy industrialists and their families would travel to Florida by rail on vacation, and many stayed, establishing grand homes and cultural institutions. The lovely, 8-square-mile village retains its charm with brick-paved streets, historic buildings, and well-maintained lakes and parkland. Even the town’s bucolic 9-hole golf course is on the National Register of Historic Places.

On Park Avenue you can spend a few hours sightseeing, shopping, or both. The street is lined with small boutiques and fine restaurants and bookended by world-class museums: the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, with the world’s largest collection of artwork by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the Cornell Fine Arts Museum, on the campus of Rollins College (the oldest college in Florida).

Tours

Scenic Boat Tour.
Head east from Park Avenue and, at the end of Morse Boulevard, you’ll find the launching point for this tour, a Winter Park tradition since 1938. The one-hour cruise takes in 12 miles of waterways, including three lakes and narrow, oak- and cypress-shaded canals built in the 1800s as a transportation system for the logging industry. A well-schooled skipper shares stories about the moguls who built their mansions along the shore and points out wildlife and remnants of natural Florida still surrounding the expensive houses. Cash or check only is accepted. | 312 E. Morse Blvd. | 407/644–4056 | www.scenicboattours.com | $12; 2–11 $6 | Daily 10–4.

Exploring

Fodor’s Choice | Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.
The world’s most comprehensive collection of work by Louis Comfort Tiffany—including immense stained-glass windows, lamps, watercolors, and desk sets—is in this museum, which also contains American decorative art and paintings from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries.

Among the draws is the 1,082-square-foot Tiffany Chapel, originally built for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. It took craftsmen 2½ years to painstakingly reassemble the chapel here. Many of the works were rescued from Tiffany’s Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall, after a 1957 fire destroyed much of the property. The 12,000-square-foot Laurelton Hall wing, opened in 2011, allows for much more of the estate’s collection to be displayed at one time. Exhibits in the wing include architectural and decorative elements from Laurelton’s dining room, living room, and Fountain Court reception hall. There’s also a re-creation of the striking Daffodil Terrace, so named for the glass daffodils that serve as the capitals for the terrace’s marble columns. | 445 N. Park Ave. | 407/645–5311 | www.morsemuseum.org | $5; free Nov.–Apr., Fri. 4–8 | Tues.–Sat. 9:30–4, Sun. 1–4; Nov.–Apr., Fri. until 8.

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