Orlando’s Audubon Park neighborhood has an ever-expanding slate of cool
Nestled in a suburban stretch between the Mills Avenue and Semoran Boulevard corridors, Audubon Park may seem like a sleepy oasis away from the hustle and bustle of city life. But the network of restaurants, shops and bars surrounding the intersection of Winter Park Road and Corinne Drive have set a national example for neighborhood…
What do you even know about Orlando’s Conway area?
Curry Ford Road has always had its fair share of quick eats, being a main connector for the city since the days when the thoroughfare actually led to a literal ford across the Econlockhatchee River. But the area’s stepped up its game in recent years, bolstered by determined restaurateurs and craft beer purveyors determined to…
Florida’s Space Coast is more than just Elon Musk’s backyard
Though the Space Coast went through some tough times after the local economy was dealt a heavy blow following the shutdown of NASA’s space shuttle program in 2011, things are looking up now. Much has been made of real-life comic book character Elon Musk’s space cannons or whatever he’s doing out there, but the area…
15 ways to experience Winter Park and Maitland
It’s absurd to try and capture all of Winter Park and Maitland in the space of a couple of pages, or to define it as a “neighborhood” – both are vibrant cities with neighborhoods of their own. So we’ll just try to hit some of the new highlights and old favorites of this leafy, genteel…
Avoiding Orlando’s I-Drive means missing out on a whole lot of gems
It’s funny how Orlando’s biggest industry is also the bane of every resident’s existence. For many, International Drive is strictly a workplace – and there’s little room to hang out among the millions of tourists who clog the tourism district every year. If our annual visitors don’t discourage you from dropping by one of I-Drive’s…
Kissimmee is a lot of different things – but dull is not one of them
Forever in the shadow of Disney World and surrounding theme parks, Kissimmee often gets stereotyped as a place where there’s nothing to do. But that’s not true – you just have to know where to look. For kitschy attractions and tourist thrills, head down Highway 192 to check out Capone’s Dinner and Show or the…
Over at UCF, come for a football game and stay for everything else
The University of Central Florida serves 66,000 students, but it doesn’t really feel that way in this close-knit community. Despite being a diverse bunch with interests ranging from engineering affordable prosthetics for children to creating art on the global refugee crisis, the one thing that unites Knights is extreme school spirit. Even before its football…
There’s new life in historic Parramore
The neighborhood is changing, but whether or not that’s for the better, there’s undeniably new life in the air. Still, there’s just as much of the classic vibe as always in this historic part of the city, from the old, like the Wells’ Built Museum, to the new, like the West Art District. EAT Chef…
Thornton Park is one of the more chic and aesthetically pleasing Orlando neighborhoods
Arguably one of the more chic and aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods in the City Beautiful, Thornton Park is where you go if you’d like to soak in some of the city’s historical charm while getting in touch with your bourgeois side. But do us a favor, please, and resist the temptation to climb into the fountain…
Mills 50 is at the intersection of major change
A quick trip around the main strip of what is known as Mills 50 (coined from its ground zero at the intersection of Mills and Colonial) will show ample evidence of a neighborhood in the midst of some major change. Buildings and rents are going up, and every night more and more people come to…
7 reasons Mount Dora is one of Central Florida’s hot spots
The quaint little town has long been a destination for antique hunters – the streets of the downtown area are lined with shops full of collectibles, and nearby Renninger’s holds Antique Extravaganzas three times per year, welcoming vintage and antique dealers from around the country. But it’s not all antiques these days, with a flowering…
Orlando’s Milk District is the definition of authentic, for now
As the last few years have demonstrated, this neighborhood is definitely on the up and up. Dubbed after the T.G. Lee dairy plant, which borders the area, the Milk District offers an assortment of both dining and drinking options. Its cool bars and vintage boutiques exude the sort of hip vibe that brings in fancy…
Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood has come into its own
It wasn’t long ago that SoDo was barely a neighborhood, just a strip of a few restaurants to service the employees of and visitors to Orlando Regional Medical Center. This area that runs along Orange Avenue from the 408 to a little past Michigan has truly come into its own in the last few years.…
It’s time to start taking Orlando’s Gateway District seriously
The Gateway Orlando District is the city’s newest Main Street District, according to their new website: “Welcoming Orlando’s visitors and residents to the multicultural business district just north of Orlando International Airport.” We’re just glad to have a name to put to the corridor of deliciousness that locals know runs along that stretch of Semoran…
Dr. Phillips is the perfect neighborhood for restaurant lovers
Between the celebrated “Restaurant Row” stretch of Sand Lake Road and the ever-growing string of higher-end boîtes and steakhouses along Dr. Phillips Boulevard, this has become the neighborhood to visit if you’re looking for a festive restaurant experience. Rapid growth has created traffic woes along the main strip, though, so if you’re looking to satisfy…
It’s an exciting time for night life in Orlando
Local and live music in Orlando is reaching critical mass at present, with more touring acts coming through the City Beautiful and scores of new bands, projects and performers. To accommodate all of this activity, a handful of new venues have opened to augment an already diverse array of performance spaces. It’s an exciting time…
Welcome to the 2018 Orlando Weekly City Guide
Dear Orlando, Change is the only constant, as the old saw goes. And it’s just as true here in the City Beautiful as anywhere else. While new things are popping up all the time – restaurants, bars, galleries, neighborhood names – the old standbys continue to delight in ways that connect us to our personal…
20 attractions everyone should visit in Orlando
As the world’s tourist destination, Orlando has a little bit of everything – from an unforgettably magical experience at Cinderella’s Castle inside Disney World’s Magic Kingdom to gator wrangling and zip-lining over hundreds of toothy reptiles at Gatorland. No two things are alike, so we suggest you try them all. Airboat Rides at Midway 28501…
Tampa is the perfect city for repeated road trips
Our neighbor to the South is in many ways as much a study in contrasts as Orlando is. Both a college town (home of the University of South Florida and University of Tampa) and a tourist destination (visitors flock to Busch Gardens and the French Quarter-esque Ybor City) Tampa holds just as much local charm…
Ivanhoe Village is on the cusp of major change
Once an unassuming stretch of Orange Avenue, anchored at one end by numerous antique stores and at the other by Florida Hospital, Ivanhoe Village has in recent years hotted up into one of Orlando’s fastest-changing neighborhoods. The Alden Road warehouse district is gone, replaced by a massive and seemingly eternal construction project, but it’ll be…
2018’s biggest annual events in Orlando
APRIL Florida Film Festival April 6-14, 2018; Enzian Theater, 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland; 407-629-1088; floridafilmfestival.com Whether you’re a fan of dramas, comedies, documentaries or shorts, the Florida Film Festival has it all. Florida Music Festival April 12-14, 2018; downtown Orlando, multiple venues; floridamusicfestival.com A downtown music festival geared toward artists looking to break into…
Downtown is the place where Orlando truly comes alive
To take downtown Orlando at face value – a skyscraper hub of businesses, banks and bars – is too simplistic. The city’s core is a mecca for the creative with a diverse culinary landscape, experimental art, theater spaces and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. It’s become the space where we hold emotions…
The best ways to experience Orlando’s vibrant arts scene
Considering the massive amount of creative talent required to keep the region’s theme parks cast, costumed, painted and polished to such a high degree of perfection, it’s not at all surprising that there’s a surfeit of artistic talent in this town. Dive in and enjoy. GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens 633…
10 reasons to visit Sanford, our charming neighbor to the north
Less “Orlando North,” as Seminole County officials dubbed it to attract more tourists, than simply north of Orlando, Sanford is one those small charming towns that make you want to say good riddance to the city and hello to the clean, crisp air. Bordered by lakes and a gratifying amount of eclectic culture, it’s both…
There’s more to explore in St. Augustine than just Castillo De San Marcos
The oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine is a beach town with all the tourist trappings, a college town with Flagler College nestled in the heart of the city, a city rich in historical architecture, and a party town all at once. But it’s also increasingly becoming known as a music town thanks…
