A gathering point for the downtown community, complete with a waterfront amphitheater, cafés and restaurants, a children's playground and colorful flowers and trees, Lake Eola provides a pretty, shaded backdrop on a hot day. The lake is built on an 80ft sinkhole and, since its birth in 1888, has seen its grounds transformed from a zoo to a horse-race track to its current status as a slice of green in downtown.

A flat, paved sidewalk, about 1-mile long, circles the water and is usually populated by lunchtime walkers, joggers, families and cyclists. Two of the most popular attractions of the lake are the swan paddleboats and gondola cruises. The lake is a popular festival hub, especially in the spring with its anything goes crafts fair (third weekend in April) and 'Movieola' series (May weekend evenings) of free movies on the lake. There is also waterfront dining available.