Discovering Orlando's Historic Downtown Neighbourhoods and Parks

Downtown Orlando offers a welcome reprieve from the purpose-built areas to the south-west of the city that have been created solely to accommodate tourists. In fact, many of the historic downtown neighbourhoods are beautiful, offer a great variety of architecture, and give you a feeling of community where regular people actually live and work. Right around the downtown core are a number of beautiful neighbourhoods that lend themselves nicely to exploration on foot. Some of the streets are cobble-stoned, making them the perfect destination for a neighbourhood walk. After visiting Loch Haven Park, on this grey and drizzly day, we decided to drive south, park our vehicle and explore some of the central neighbourhoods on foot. We parked in Lake Cherokee Park, walked all the way around the lake and delighted in admiring the upscale architecture and the wildlife on the lake. Bird lovers are able to see a great variety of water birds right in the middle of town and we observed one waterbird, as it sat quietly and then catapulted its head forward to catch its winged prey, all within a split second... On this misty day the atmosphere was even a bit mysterious, with Spanish moss hanging down from ancient oak trees. You could almost see mist drifting off the lake. One of the interesting features of Orlando are its lakes, more than 300 of them, that can be found throughout the entire city, and many of them are equipped with facilities and public parks. We carried on from Lake Cherokee to Lake Lucerne, which is immediately south of Orlando's downtown core. Several fountains adorn the middle of the lake and you get a perfect view of downtown Orlando's architecture. Orlando has a surprising number of public parks with special facilities that provide recreational opportunities for local residents as well as tourists. With the help of the City of Orlando's website I have compiled a list of some of the special outdoor public spaces that Orlando has to offer. These places include a very reasonably priced golf course, Loch Haven Park - Orlando's center of culture and science, the Dickson Azalea Park, a variety of wetland areas, an ecology center, camping and more. In one word, public spaces that offer free or inexpensive recreational and educational opportunities: Lake Cherokee is bordered by a 3.8 acre scenic park and surrounded by the Lake Cherokee Historic district, a residential neighborhood with architecture representing virtually every significant period of Orlando's history. Lake Eola Park is a popular destination in the downtown area, with many people taking advantage of the beautiful surroundings to walk at lunch or in the evenings. The sidewalk that circles the lake is .9 miles in length, making it easy for visitors to keep track of their walking or running distances. Other activities available to park visitors include renting ($10 for