As any local will tell you, if all you’ve seen of Orlando are its big-name attractions, you haven’t seen nearly enough. Surrounding the City Beautiful, you’ll find vibrant neighborhoods, worthwhile museums and upscale boutiques.
Begin your exploration a few miles northeast of Orlando in Winter Park. The most famous street in this ritzy enclave is brick-paved Park Avenue, along which you’ll find the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (445 N. Park Ave.; 407-645-5311; morsemuseum.org; adults, $6; children under 12, free). Here you can learn about renowned stained-glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany and view the world’s most comprehensive collection of his work. It’s a short stroll from the museum to clothing boutique Tuni (301 Park Ave. S.; 407-628-1609; shoptuni.com) and to Prato (124 N. Park Ave.; 407-262-0050; prato-wp.com; dinner for two, $60*), an Italian restaurant where you’ll find excellent cuisine and people-watching. While you’re in the neighborhood, hop on a pontoon for a Scenic Boat Tour (312 E. Morse Blvd.; 407-644-4056; scenicboattours.com; adults, $14; children 2–11, $7), which winds through 19th-century canals lined with banana trees.
About four miles south, Ivanhoe Village is an Orlando neighborhood set around Lake Ivanhoe’s eastern shores. Two former circus clowns display hand-painted pop art and vintage lunchboxes at Boom-Art (1821 N. Orange Ave.; 407-895-0280). Down the street, the Imperial (1800 N. Orange Ave.; 407-228-4992; imperialwinebar.com; wine for two, $18) furniture store doubles as a wine bar and beer garden. Enjoy a glass of rosé then walk to dinner at Mesa21 (1414 N. Orange Ave.; 407-930-8000; mesa21.com; dinner for two, $40), a new lakeside restaurant popular for its roasted blooming cauliflower.
It’s two miles east to Audubon Park, where the 14,000-square-foot East End Market (3201 Corrine Dr.; 321-236-3316; eastendmkt.com) looms large in the bones of a 1962 church. You can sip a cup of craft coffee from Lineage Coffee Roasting (3201 Corrine Dr.; 407-205-8096; lineageroasting.com; coffee for two, $7) and browse locally made menswear at Freehand Goods (3201 Corrine Dr.; 855-409-3441; freehandgoods.com). Wrap up your day with a brew from nearby Redlight Redlight (2810 Corrine Dr.; 407-893-9832; redlightredlightbeerparlour.com; beer for two, $10), one of the top craft-beer bars in the region.
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