Neighborhood 48H guide
Downtown / Thornton Park: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Lake Eola mornings, brick streets, and a real city dinner.
Downtown Orlando is the city the theme parks hide: Lake Eola Park with its fountain and swan boats, the brick-street Thornton Park neighborhood on its east side, the Dr. Phillips Center for shows, and bars on Wall Street Plaza and Church Street.
Photo gallery
Photo: JER3L1337 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Lake Eola, Thornton Park, the Dr. Phillips Center and the bar streets are all walkable from downtown hotels.
Who it's for: Adults who want restaurants, bars and a walkable lake more than rides, and anyone in town for a show or a Magic game.
Pros
- Walkable restaurants and bars
- Lake Eola for morning walks
- Shows at the Dr. Phillips Center and games at the Kia Center
Cons
- 25–35 minutes to Disney or Universal by car
- Wall Street and Orange Ave are loud on weekend nights
- Smaller hotel selection
48H Downtown
Lake Eola, Thornton Park dinners, a show or a bar night.
08:30 – Lake Eola loop
Walk the 0.9-mile path around the lake and fountain.
12:30 – Lunch at The Classic
Smash burgers and tots on Washington Street in Thornton Park.
19:00 – Dinner at June
Wood-fired contemporary Mexican in Thornton Park.
10:00 – Day 2: Sunday at Lake Eola
The Orlando Farmers Market sets up by the lake on Sundays.
19:30 – Show at the Dr. Phillips Center
Broadway tours and concerts on Magnolia Ave; dinner first at Kres Chophouse.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
The Classic
805 E Washington St
Smash burgers, brats and milkshakes in Thornton Park.
Official site / map →Eat
June
700 E Washington St
Wood-fired contemporary Mexican, listed in the MICHELIN Guide.
Official site / map →Eat
Kres Chophouse
17 W Church St
Classic downtown steakhouse in an old Kress building.
Official site / map →
Drink
Drink
Wall Street Plaza
25 Wall St Ct
A pedestrian block of bars that fills up on weekends.
Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
445 S Magnolia Ave
Broadway tours, concerts and the Orlando Philharmonic.
Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
Lake Eola Park
512 E Washington St
Downtown’s lake, with a lit fountain, swan boats and a walking loop.
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Hotel Beauden, Autograph Collection (formerly Grand Bohemian Orlando)
325 S Orange Ave
Downtown’s art-filled luxury hotel with a rooftop pool, on Orange Avenue.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
Aloft Orlando Downtown
500 S Orange Ave
Smaller modern hotel a short walk from the Dr. Phillips Center and Church Street.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Downtown / Thornton Park.
Browse vacation rentals in Downtown / Thornton Park on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Orlando
- International Drive — The wheel at ICON Park, big convention hotels, and Universal ten minutes up the road.
- Disney Springs / Lake Buena Vista — Walk to Disney Springs dinner, shuttle to the parks.
- Epcot Resort Area / BoardWalk — Walk to EPCOT, boat to Hollywood Studios, dinner on the BoardWalk.
- Universal / CityWalk — Walk or boat to the Universal parks, CityWalk at night.
- SeaWorld / Sea Harbor — SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove on one doorstep.
- Winter Park — Park Avenue shops, the Tiffany chapel at the Morse, and a boat through the lakes.
- Celebration — Disney’s planned town: lakefront, Market Street, and 10 minutes to the parks.
- Kissimmee / US-192 — Big pool homes, Old Town, and the Disney gate down the road.
- Lake Nona — A new town by the airport: Boxi Park, the USTA campus and a design hotel.