ALL ABOUT TOWN ORLANDO
DOWNTOWN ORLANDO By day, high-rises bustle with office workers. After dark, the streets fill with decked-out club-hoppers. Yet downtown Orlando is packed with intriguing sub-destinations worth exploring. Orlando’s creative community shows its talent in the Downtown Arts District where CityArts Factory boasts several galleries, arts venues rotate collections regularly and street sculptures abound. Lake Eola is where tourists ride paddle boats shaped like swans, shoppers stock up at a weekly farmers market and groups practice yoga on the lawn en masse. Hipsters live in Thornton Park’s restored historic homes, urban professionals in its contemporary condos; both frequent the neighborhood’s chic and casual restaurants. Big venues draw crowds: the sports and concert arena Amway Center, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Camping World Stadium, along with the Exploria Stadium, home to the area’s professional soccer teams. Before and after downtown events, attendees gather around Church Street, where historic buildings with fanciful adornments mix with contemporary buildings to house dining and nightlife.
Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe and The Pinery offer chic dining with great views of Lake Ivanhoe. It’s a short walk to Loch Haven Park’s museums and theaters. Nearby, Mills 50 is two neighborhoods in one. Artsy with an edge, it’s an LGBTQ-friendly enclave lined with inexpensive cafes serving flavors that span the globe. It’s also Orlando’s Asian center, packed with Vietnamese restaurants, grocery stores and acupuncture practices. Local graffiti artists have transformed utility boxes, dumpsters and exterior business walls into works of art.
COLLEGE PARK The main drag, Edgewater Drive, is a pedestrian friendly thoroughfare with restaurants, boutiques and resale furniture emporiums. Surrounding that, 1920s-era bungalows along brick roads named for universities are home to an eclectic group of residents, most of whom shop and socialize at the now-retro 1950 Publix supermarket. Author Jack Kerouac once spent time in one of the bungalows; it’s now a writer’s retreat. Locals take five at Infusion Tea or stop by College Park Cafe for authentic Cuban fare. Away from College Park’s center, expansive homes with lake views show Orlando living at its most graceful.
WINTER GARDEN Quaint, friendly and free of pretension, the welIVANHOE ROW/MILLS 50 This Orlando neighborhood is known for its offbeat yet attractive businesses. Ivanhoe Row was long Orlando’s antiques center; now art galleries and trendy bars fill the vintage storefronts with hipster wares and fare. New restaurants like 34
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coming enclave with brick-paved streets and faux gas lamps is timeless yet trend-forward. Children jump in splash pads and couples relax in oversized porch swings set in the center of town, where Americana is played out alfresco. Adults sup and sip wine and martinis in dining rooms, cafes and
©ROBERTO GONZALEZ
