How To Have A Perfect Day in Winter Park, Florida

If you are looking for a classy experience in central Florida, look no further than Winter Park. Located north of Orlando, Winter Park offers great restaurants, shopping galore, and of course a trendy night scene.

To tour Winter Park, start early and experience the Winter Park boat tour. Established in 1938, the tour cruises through the beautiful lakes and canals of historic Winter Park. It's a great way to see the true beauty of Winter Park including Rollins College, Kraft Azalea Gardens, Isle of Sicily, tropical birds, plants, flowers and magnificent mansions. The hours are 10:00am through 4:00pm (except Christmas) every hour on the hour. Adults are only $10, kids are $5.00 and children under 2 ride for free. They can be reached at (407) - 644 - 4056 and reservations are welcome.

After touring the lakes of Winter Park, it's time to enjoy the marvelous food selection and a little shopping. For lunch, I would highly recommend Siam Garden located on 1111 W Webster Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. By far, Siam Garden offers some of the best Thai food that central Florida has to offer and the price is just right. For starters, I recommend the steamed dumplings or the tom yum soup. As a main course, their panang beef is a must have. For those with a milder palate, try the cashew chicken or garlic beef. Both dishes are absolute winners. Siam Garden is open for lunch: 11am-2:30pm Monday through Friday, Dinner: 5pm-10pm Monday through Saturday, and 4pm-9pm Sundays.

After lunch, take a walk down historic Park Avenue and enjoy the shopping that Winter Park has to offer. Park Avenue offers main stream shops such as Pottery Barn, Gap and Ann Taylor as well as eclectic venues. Be sure to visit Park Promenade and their wide selection of Rolex watches or stroll into Solstice Sunglass Boutique, a luxury sunglass store, which carries brand names such as Gucci, Chanel and Christian Dior. They will even let you try on any pair!

If you are all shopped out and still have the energy to explore Park Avenue, visit the The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art located on 445 North Park Avenue. Here you can see a collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows or see the first major showing of the strong and charming group of books, prints, and drawings that Hugh and Jeannette McKean so fondly assembled in their years of collecting. Exhibits change quite often so please be sure to visit their website at http://www.morsemuseum.org/home.htm for exhibits and hours.

As the night rolls around, make your way to one of my favorite bars, the Wine Room. Here you can buy a "credit card" with a set amount of money. Their one of a kind enomatic technology allows you to sample over 150 wines in 1, 2, or 5 ounce portions. If wine is not your fancy, they do carry a fully stocked bar including French champagne, 4 microbrews on tap as well as 15 various microbrew bottles, and 10 different sparkling wines nightly. Feel free to lounge on their leather chairs and sample some of the cheese and sausage samples. It's definitely the place to enjoy a fine drink and talk with friends. You will find them located at 270 S Park Ave and you can find their hours and phone number on their website: http://www.thewineroomonline.com/.

So whether you are in town for a little shopping, some great food, or historic sight seeing, be sure to visit Winter Park Florida. There is always something to do for everyone and since we are located in central Florida, the weather is perfect all year round. See you soon!