| Beyond the Theme Parks Winterpark to Orlando, Florida Winter Park, Florida, lies just northeast and a world away from the busy theme parks and highways of Orlando. It was developed in the late 1800s to lure visitors from the chilly north to Florida, and with lovely museums and boatside cafes, it does a good job. Start your Winter Park, Florida, vacation with a Scenic Boat Tour; a ride on these pontoon boats cruising the chain of lakes and canals offers a glimpse of beautiful homes and even an eagle or alligator, if you're lucky. Driving south continues the trip into Orlando, Florida, and an impressive array of lakes, museums, and ethnic restaurants. The Orlando Museum of Art, on N. Mills Ave., and the nearby Mennello Museum of American Folk Art, both located in Orlando's Loch Haven Park, are well worth the visit. Go south on N. Mills Avenue to Colonial Drive and the Little Vietnamneighborhood for lunch at Pho 88 or Little Saigon restaurants. Check out celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse's restaurant, Emeril's Orlando, in Universal Studios Park. Use our route planner to find hotels for your next trip. | BEST OF THE ROAD:
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| Scenic Boat Tour 312 E. Morse Blvd. Winter Park, FL 32789  |  | A relaxing way to get acquainted with Winter Park: the Scenic Boat Tour, an old-fashioned pontoon boat that cruises the breezy Winter Park chain of lakes and canals where loggers once hauled trees to a nearby sawmill. Most riders gawk at the mansions built for well-to-do Northerners at the turn of the 20th century, but you also might spot an eagle or an alligator as your boat captain spins tales on the hour-long tour. | | |||||||
| Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens 633 Osceola Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789 |  | The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens is the former home of the Czech-American sculptor and sits on three lush lakefront acres. Though Polasek wasn't well known (he died in 1965 at the age of 86), his Man Carving His Own Destiny sculpture is probably most recognizable, and it appears along with dozens more of his creations, inside and on the front lawn. | | |||||||
| Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art 445 N Park Ave Winter Park, FL 32789 Call (407) 645-5311 | | At the north end of Park Avenue, the world's most comprehensive collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany awaits at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, including the beautifully restored chapel created by Louis Comfort Tiffany for exhibition at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Tiffany's famous stained glass gets the most oohs and ahs, but the collection also includes classic American art pottery and late 19th- and early 20th-century American paintings and decorative arts. This jewel box of a museum shows only a small part of the collections at a time, so return visitors always get a chance to see more. | | |||||||
| Winter Park Farmers' Market 200 W. New England Avenue Winter Park, FL 32789 | | For products indigenous to Central Florida, visit the Winter Park Farmers' Market. It takes place in the old train depot from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and along with local produce, features baked goods and plants. | ||||||||
| Orlando Museum of Art 2416 N Mills Ave Orlando, FL 32803 Call (407) 896-4231 | | The Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), housed in Orlando's Loch Haven Park, is one of Florida's cultural gems. The museum focuses its collection on American art from the 18th century to the present, African art, and art of the ancient Americas. | ||||||||
| Mennello Museum of American Art 900 E. Princeton St. Orlando, FL 32803 | | Housed in Orlando's Loch Haven Park near the Orlando Museum of Art, the whimsical Mennello Museum of American Art collects and preserves a large collection of American art, including paintings by Earl Cunningham and work by other important 20th-century self-taught artists. | ||||||||
| Pho 88 730 N. Mills Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 | | In Little Vietnam, a bustling Orlando neighborhood along Colonial Drive, leave the U.S. without a passport. Browse the fascinating Asian supermarkets, or stop for a steaming bowl of beef noodle soup (called "pho") at Pho 88. | ||||||||
| Little Saigon 1106 E. Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 | | Check out the delicious summer rolls at Little Saigon, located in Orlando's Little Vietnam neighborhood, and ranked one of the 50 best restaurants in Orlando. Noodle soup bowls come with everything from shrimp and crab meat to beef, chicken, and tofu. | ||||||||
| Hue 629 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, FL 32801 | | Trendy Thornton Park bustles with boutiques and restaurants just a block from the heart of downtown Orlando. An outdoor table at Hue places brunch, lunch, or dinner guests at the epicenter of the action. House specialties include wood grilled chicken, wok seared Ahi tuna, tamari roasted duck breast, and oven roasted Chilean sea bass. | ||||||||
| Mall at Millenia 4200 Conroy Road Orlando, FL 32839 | | A shopaholic's first stop: Mall at Millenia, anchored by Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and Macy's and offering 150 other specialty stores, including Gucci, Chanel, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton. | ||||||||
| Emeril's - Orlando 6000 Universal Blvd #702 Orlando, FL 32819 | | Located at Universal Studios CityWalk, celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse offers a range of seductive, southern-themed lunch and dinner entrees and desserts; try the roasted garlic and herb marinated chicken with southern cooked greens followed by almond croissant bread pudding. You may be in the shadow of a theme park, but you'll be miles away in spirit. | ||||||||
| Seasons 52 7700 Sand Lake Road Orlando, FL 32819 | | Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road offers everything from American to Thai, Latin, French, and Middle Eastern. A favorite: Seasons 52, where no entree on the menu is more than 500 calories. | ||||||||
| Orlando Premium Outlets 8200 Vineland Avenue Orlando, FL 32821 | | For manageable shopping, head straight for Orlando Premium Outlets, which gathers 110 retailers ranging from Brooks Brothers and Banana Republic to Armani, Diesel, Fendi, and Theory in one center. | ||||||||
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Beyond the Theme Parks