Culture of Orlando. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

Orlando is one of the most popular destinations of the United States of America among foreign guests. The place is annually visited by thousands of tourists. Orlando has justly got a nickname of the world capital of entertainment and recreation. Among main landmarks and sights of the city the Kennedy Space Center is of great importance. Curious tourists are offered to visit the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center and explore its main showpieces being the models of rebuilt spaceships.

The guests of the complex can also visit a cutting edge cinema featuring great screen broadcasting theme films every day. Sitting in a comfortable cinema hall, the visitors can make an exciting space trip and due to the top notch 3D effects a film show turns into an engaging adventure.

The city of Orlando has several nature attractions for open air leisure fans. The city botanical garden named the Cypress Gardens is a must visit place for tourists. After an exploration of a great collection of exotic plants and fragrant flowers of ultimate beauty the Wings of Wonder hall invites the garden visitors to view a collection of beautiful butterflies of thousand of species. Botanical garden is a favorite rest and recreation spot among local folks. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The Universal Studious park is a local landmark which is known far beyond the boundaries of the country. A tour through the theme park will be of great interest for film art fans, comics admirers and cartoons addicts. The park is designed as a scale film production studio. One will find there decoration units to popular films. Park visitors are invited to explore the film sets and locations and try different attractions in action.

A special tourist zone is equipped on the premises of the Disney-MGM production studio. This is a favorite destination of the youngest visitors of the park. There they can meet favorite cartoon characters and learn many interesting facts on the way their favorite cartoons are produced. Orlando hosts several original museums which will be of great interest as for adults so for young visitors. Among these cultural establishments recommended for a family visit, tourists will discover the International Train & Trolley Museum. Among presented models of trains visitors will find many weird and fantastic units. The guests of the museum will get a chance not only to explore the exterior of the train units but to enjoy their interior design as well.

Orlando is ready to offer many other attractions besides theme parks. For example, religious sights, among which Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe stands out. Its construction was initiated after thousands of tourists began visiting Orlando thanks to the opening of Walt Disney World Theme Park in 1971 because people need a place where they could pray, not just have fun. The shrine was built in 1979 in an appropriate place - as close as possible to the theme park. Among Orlando's other religious sites is St. James Roman Catholic Cathedral, which was completed in 1882 and renovated in 1952.

An interesting local attraction is the City Hall building erected in 1992. It is a fine example of postmodern architecture by Lincoln Property Company. The previous city hall building was blown up specifically for the shooting of "Lethal Weapon 3". The present City Hall is located in Downtown where the most modern buildings of the city are concentrated. The highest among them is 134-meter-tall SunTrust Center. Outside the city center, the tallest building is the Hyatt Regency Hotel with its height of 131 meters. When it comes to the city's amusement rides, the highest structure is 140-meter-high StarFlyer that serves as a great alternative to an observation deck.

Orlando will also please fans of interesting museums. Here you can find many cultural institutions that would be of interest to every tourist. One of these is the Skeletons, Museum of Osteology with its amazing collection of skeletons of a variety of animals. Another must-have museum is the Orlando Science Center whose visitors will discover a lot of interesting scientific exhibits. They will be especially thrilled to take part in scientific experiments. In the unique museum Titanic, The Artifact Exhibition, you can see exact copies of interiors that were used by James Cameron in his film. Here you can also find a lot of interesting information about the ship itself, its construction, and the disaster that made it world-famous.

The collection of Madame Tussauds Orlando includes wax figures of comic 1book and cartoon characters (Kung Fu Panda, Aquaman, Batman), US presidents including Donald Trump and Barack Obama, as well as Hollywood stars. It'd also be interesting to check out Ripley's Believe It or Not! where they show many of the fears of humanity in a very original form. It is one of the museums, which is certainly worth visiting with small tourists. A visit to the Orlando Museum of Art should be recommended to all art connoisseurs. Among other interesting museums for every traveler are the National Vietnam War Museum demonstrating the history of the Vietnam War, as well as the Bronze Kingdom with its amazing collection of jewelry from Africa.

Orlando is also ready to please those interested in the Bible. In the Christian-based Holy Land Experience Theme Park, you can find not only amusement rides but also a lot of new information about biblical truths, the origin of Judaism. Here they also hold great performances with the participation of professional actors. The Wycliffe Discovery Center contains information on translating various versions of the Bible into different languages of the world. Tourists who like to visit authentic houses decorated in the style of a certain era should head to Casa Feliz, a beautiful Spanish farmhouse built in 1933 by the architect James Gamble Rogers. If you come on Sunday, you can witness a great music concert.

However, concerts also take place at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts - just watch out for upcoming events. Those who'd rather prefer drama will like the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Orlando has many interesting places for walking where you can find peace (which is often so lacking in the noisy city), and one of these is Greenwood Cemetery with its beautiful tombstones - real works of art. At the cemetery, you can find several graves recalling sad events in US history when the Lynch Law was a norm for white Americans. Those who prefer more traditional locations should take a stroll through scenic Lake Eola Park or B-52 Memorial Park.