Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Spent the afternoon in Winter Park, Fla.

If you're visiting the Orlando area and want a nice place to get away from the theme park madness, I suggest spending the day in beautiful Winter Park, Fla. It's just north of Orlando easily accessible from I-4.

Hubby and I visited the town last week with a friend from the Orlando area. It was the first time for all of us. We enjoyed the scenery, restaurants, shopping, and culture. (Well, hubby merely tolerated the shopping :D ).

The downtown shopping area, 3-4 blocks, is loaded with upscale shops like Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma, Orvis, Ann Taylor, and many others. The Crate & Barrel occupies the former movie theater, and the building retains the theater facade. There are several restaurants and upscale bars to choose from. We had lunch at an Italian place on Park Ave., I don't remember the name. But it was very tasty and popular with the post-lunch crowd. (Other restaurants weren't as busy.)

In the center of town is Central Park, with plenty of trees, benches, flowers, and places to picnic. The Amtrak line runs through the center of town, and the station is here at Central Park.

Winter Park features a nice one-hour boat tour of the city's lakes. It's $10 per adult and we highly recommend it. You get to see some fabulous homes, learn the history of the area, and enjoy some time on the water. http://www.scenicboattours.com/

But our main reason for visiting was the Morse museum, which houses the largest collection of Tiffany in the world — stained glass, lamps, paintings, jewelry — the man was amazing. Unfortunately, the museum closed at 4pm and we were a little rushed going through. (Lingered too long at lunch!) I would allow 2 hours or so if you really want to take your time and look at everything in detail. http://www.morsemuseum.org/home.htm Bonus: Admission is only $3.

Other museums in town include Rollins College’s Cornell Fine Arts Museum, the Winter Park Historical Association & Museum, and the Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens. Also in town is the Kraft Azalea Gardens, which is probably lovely in the spring.

Warning: the official visitor's center/chamber of commerce is tough to find. Suggest giving them a call for directions if you want to visit. The folks there are VERY friendly and helpful and can arm you with maps, brochures, and restaurant recommendations.

The city's website is http://www.ci.winter-park.fl.us/2005/ and it has information on all the museums, events, etc., and also has some city maps to download.

You can view my photos from our day in Winter Park at http://tinyurl.com/2aozsg. My friend shoots even more photos than I do; hers can be found at http://tinyurl.com/24bxwh.