Lake Eola and Thornton Park

Start at the Library Garage, 112 East Central Boulevard, a City of Orlando garage open 24 hours. City garage rates, checked September 22, 2026:

• $1 for the first 30 minutes, then $2 an hour, $15 daily maximum.
• Diners' rate: $6 flat for entry between 6 and 10 p.m.
• $10 flat after 10 p.m., and $10 on event nights.

A three-hour daytime walk costs about $6 in the garage. On a Sunday, city street meters in the downtown core are free all day, and they are free every evening from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.; otherwise they cost $1 an hour, Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check the posted signs, since zones vary street by street.

1. Library Garage to the swan boat dock (0.26 miles, 5 minutes). Walk east to Rosalind Avenue and the west shore of the lake. The dock is at 195 North Rosalind Avenue, beside the Walt Disney Amphitheater and across from Relax Grill.
2. Swan boat (optional, 30 minutes). $15 per boat for up to five people, Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., card only, no reservations.
3. North shore of the lake (0.38 miles, 8 minutes). Walk clockwise along the lake path, with the fountain on your right.
4. Into Thornton Park: Benjamin French Bakery (0.47 miles, 9 minutes). Leave the lake on its east side and walk to 716 East Washington Street. It opens at 8 a.m. daily; the closing times on its site ranged from 3 to 6 p.m., so arrive before 3 p.m. to be safe.
5. The Falcon (0.14 miles, 3 minutes). A bar and art gallery at 819 East Washington Street. It opens at 5 p.m., and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. The streets around it are the Thornton Park bungalows the neighborhood is known for.
6. Back to the lake: Aku Aku (0.41 miles, 8 minutes). Walk back west to 431 East Central Boulevard, on the south side of the lake. The tiki bar opens at 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon on Sunday.
7. South shore (0.15 miles, 3 minutes). Finish the lake circuit along the south path. On Sundays this is where the farmers market spreads out, at Central Boulevard and Eola Drive.
8. Church Street: Kres Chophouse (0.48 miles, 10 minutes). Walk west to 17 West Church Street, a steakhouse in a historic downtown building. Kres opens at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends.
9. Back to the garage (0.25 miles, 5 minutes) along Magnolia Avenue and Central Boulevard.

Distances are walking routes on OpenStreetMap, rounded. Add stops to the total time as you like.

Thornton Park is the residential neighborhood east of the lake, built around Washington Street and Summerlin Avenue, with small commercial blocks among the houses. It is a place to sit rather than to sightsee. Businesses turn over here, and Soco, the Southern restaurant on Central Boulevard that older guides recommend, is now closed. The three named stops on this route were confirmed open through their own websites on September 22, 2026.

If you want a different kind of bar afterward, Wally's Mills Ave Liquors is a short drive north on Mills Avenue.

Arrive at 9:45 a.m. and park on the street for free. Take the swan boat when the dock opens at 10 a.m., before the heat. Walk the lake to the market at 10:30 a.m., then go to Benjamin French Bakery for a late breakfast. Finish with a drink at Aku Aku when it opens at noon, or skip it and head for lunch elsewhere downtown.

Note that swans no longer live on the lake. The city rehomed its captive flock in the summer of 2026 after avian flu deaths. The swan boats still run.

Start at 5 p.m. on a Tuesday to Saturday. The swan boats rent until 6:30 p.m. (last rental 30 minutes before the 7 p.m. close). Walk the north shore as the light drops, have a drink at The Falcon from 5 p.m. or Aku Aku, then book dinner at Kres or anywhere on Church Street. Entering the garage at 5 p.m. means hourly rates ($2 an hour, up to $15); the $6 diners' flat rate only applies if you enter between 6 and 10 p.m.

For more on the area, see our downtown Orlando guide. For a second walk in the same style, try Winter Park and Park Avenue, 5 miles north.