Soak in the sights and the history of Eatonville and Winter Park
Winter Park is a city steeped in history everywhere you turn, from the Rollins College campus to Central Park to the vibrant streets of historically Black neighborhood Hannibal Square. And, as the first Black incorporated municipality in Florida, nearby Eatonville has an independent streak going back to its very beginnings in the 1800s. Though College…
Reach for the stars at UCF and its surrounding neighborhoods
What the University of Central Florida lacks in ivy-walled gravitas, it more than compensates for in sheer size. It’s pretty much the largest university in the nation – that official title gets traded among UCF, Texas A&M and Ohio State from year to year – with a whopping 70,000 students, plus more than 13,500 faculty…
Get to know Sanford, located where the St. Johns River meets the southern shore of Lake Monroe
Where the St. Johns River meets the southern shore of Lake Monroe, Sanford mixes old Central Florida charm with the vibrancy of a city very much on the move. Their historic downtown has exploded of late with a wealth of creative dining and drinking options, as well as art, music and culture. From the marina…
Welcome to the 2020 Orlando Weekly City Guide
This 10th edition of our City Guide – our annual love letter to our favorite places and neighborhoods here in Orlando – comes out at a very strange and challenging time for our city, and our country. Even a city as used to constant and rapid change as Orlando is in a place of deep…
Although it’s 15 minutes from Gainesville, feel decades away from reality in Micanopy
Though it’s just 15 minutes south of Gainesville, Micanopy feels miles and decades away. The tree-lined streets are canopied with Spanish moss; the green light that filters through it roams over historic buildings housing quirky antique stores and junk shops. (Thirty-eight of those buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.) The immortal Michael…
Catch your own dinner in Apalachicola, the laid-back fishing town that boasts the best seafood in Florida
Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola is a laid-back little fishing town that boasts the best seafood in Florida, and some of the best oysters in the country. (Sadly, those oysters are off the menu for the next five years as of the week we went to press, as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation…
Stroll along Flagler Beach’s six miles of cinnamon-red coquina sand facing the Atlantic Ocean
Vacations this year are … well, not easy. At press time and for who knows until when, many countries are closed to American travelers – and many states are closed to Floridians, unless you’re up for a 14-day quarantine first. That makes road trips your most likely option for any kind of getaway fun. But…
Pay your respects in SoDo, south of downtown Orlando
Short for “south of downtown,” the SoDo District is the business counterpart to residential Delaney Park, known for its walkabout parks, lakes and brick streets lined with historic and restored homes. Orlando Health has served as a mainstay of the area since 1918 (though under different names), and while chain restaurants are the main investors…
Party in the shadow of the cow in Orlando’s Milk District
In a sequestered neighborhood just east of Thornton Park is the Milk District, a short-but-sweet spot in town named for its proximity to the cow-topped T.G. Lee Dairy. Long before the Milk District became a hipster hangout, Orlandoan T.G. Lee started his dairy empire with two cows and a calf. By 1925, the T.G. Lee…
Melt into Mills 50, where Mills Avenue, Colonial Drive and global cultures intersect
The urban neighborhood named after its central intersection of Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive (aka State Road 50) and taking in Colonialtown, Park Lake Highland and Hillcrest has been a vibrant gem of Orlando for decades. Vietnamese immigrants settling in Orlando in the late 1970s gave the area much of its character, opening up grocery…
Live and learn in downtown Orlando, from UCF to historic Parramore, to the ‘City District’
At the beginning of 2020 it seemed a safe bet that UCF’s new downtown campus ushering in an influx of new residents would be the most noteworthy development in downtown Orlando this year. Instead, the ongoing pandemic and its resultant economic impact on the area’s usually booming nightlife sector are the summer’s biggest story. And…
Take some time to taste Curry Ford Road’s Hourglass District restaurants
Conway Road was one of the very first paved highways in Orange County, running along what is now Briercliff Drive, Curry Ford Road and Conway Road, ending at Anderson Road in the neighborhood’s center. The area was originally settled in the 1850s and is now hotting up with local favorites for food and beverages, as…
Savor the charm of Lake Ivanhoe, once a booming pineapple farm and waterpark
We swear this is true: The area around Lake Ivanhoe, on the north side of Orlando’s downtown, was a booming pineapple farm at the end of the 1800s. Entrepreneur George I. Russell, who settled near the lake, cultivated both the varieties that already grew here and plants from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Eventually, Russell’s pineapple…
Take a walking tour of the city’s oldest bungalows, in Thornton Park, South Eola and Eola Heights
Clustered near downtown Orlando, these micro-neighborhoods (Thornton Park, South Eola and Eola Heights) are home to the city’s oldest bungalows, full of historic properties still standing from the 1880s through the 1930s. Turn-of-the-century developer James Thornton apparently resided on James Street, which was named after him in 1913. Fast forward a hundred years, and historic…
Get to know some notable names in College Park history, like astronaut John Young and Beat writer Jack Kerouac
Just northwest of downtown, College Park is named for the neighborhood’s residential streets, many of which bear the moniker of colleges and universities like Yale, Harvard and Vassar. Citrus entrepreneur John Ericsson built the first home at 19 W. Princeton St., but the Great Freeze of 1894 stopped College Park’s development in its tracks. College…
Get touristy on International Drive, which had its first hotel a year before Walt Disney World arrived
Before Walt Disney World was even a magical glimmer in the eye of its developer, the land between what would be the “Most Magical Place on Earth” and Downtown Orlando was basically swamp. Once WDW became a reality, it was clear that visitors would need a place to stay closer to the theme park. The…
Marvel at how far Audubon Park has flown, since once neighboring former an Air Force base and Naval training center
The Audubon Park neighborhood was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, built around and serving the nearby Orlando Air Force Base and later the Naval Training Center. Leafy streets named after birds are lined with midcentury bungalows, home to young families. Baldwin Park, while just as family-friendly, meanwhile, popped up almost full-blown where the aforementioned…
Sports & Recreation Listings
2020 is definitely the year to focus on the recreation half of the “Sports & Rec” duo. As we go to press, the MLS and NBA are both playing games in their respective bubbles right here in Orlando, but past that, absolutely nothing is guaranteed as far as seasons and play for the rest of…
Hit the road for some high-flying Florida fun – without the airplane anxiety
Vacations this year are … well, not easy. At press time and for who knows until when, many countries are closed to American travelers – and many states are closed to Floridians, unless you’re up for a 14-day quarantine first. That makes road trips your most likely option for any kind of getaway fun. But…
Music & Nightlife Listings
Orlando’s vibrant local music scene – bands, venues, and touring acts – is on pause. Local venues were among the first businesses to be shuttered as the coronavirus spread, and they will also, sadly, be among the last to reopen whenever we return to a semblance of normalcy. For now, musicians are doing the best…
Attractions Listings
Orlando’s many tourist destinations and theme parks are open for business as we go to press, but it’s difficult to get a clear sense of what the future holds for local attractions. The majority of new park construction and expansion is on hold for the indeterminate future, so don’t expect any new debuts or openings,…
Arts & Culture Listings
With internationally renowned theme parks based right here, it’s no surprise that, Orlando is a city with active visual and performing arts communities – it takes a lot of creative work to make all that magic, and our theaters and galleries showcase this homegrown talent. Though most museums are open at present, the pandemic has…
