Orlando’s Lake Nona Community

Located approximately 25 minutes east of International Drive, and officially inside Orlando city limits, Lake Nona is home to some of Orlando’s top sports, entertainment and dining. As one of the fastest growing and most innovative communities in America, the 17-square-mile area is recognized for its groundbreaking innovations around technology, mobility and wellbeing.

Learn more: Lake Nona Virtual Tour

The smart and connected community’s advanced technology infrastructure and commitment to collaboration has drawn visionary companies and entrepreneurs from across the globe, including Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, HCA Healthcare, and The Walt Disney Company, which recently announced plans to relocate approximately 2,000 jobs from California to brand-new offices in Lake Nona.

But it’s not just businesses who are flocking to Lake Nona. The community’s thriving cultural landscape, engaging public art installations, weekly events, world-class sports facilities, miles of trails and public parks, and signature dining and entertainment options make Lake Nona a must-visit destination for Orlando visitors and locals alike.

At the heart of the community, Lake Nona Town Center offers a mix of retail, dining and entertainment options interconnected with iconic public artwork, walkable spaces and the community’s Move Nona autonomous shuttles operated by Beep. In fact, Lake Nona is one of the first communities in the country to offer shuttle service using autonomous vehicles. Since launching in 2019, the all-electric shuttles have carried more than 47,0000 passengers, making Move Nona the largest and longest-running autonomous vehicle program in the county.

Lake Nona Town Center also hosts hundreds of events each year, including a weekly artisan and farmers market with live entertainment every weekend. From the annual Run Nona 5K to one of the region’s most sought-after holiday and cultural celebrations, Lake Nona is a perfect place to party.

Lake Nona is a sought-after destination for large-scale amateur and professional athletic tournaments thanks to its world-class sports facilities that include the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus (the largest tennis campus in the world with nearly 100 courts) and Tom Fazio-designed course at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. Top organizations, including the LPGA, NCAA and USA Volleyball, host large-scale events within the community.

Learn more: Top Orlando Golf Courses

Once you see what Lake Nona has to offer, you’ll want to make it part of your travel plans, too.

When visiting Lake Nona, you can stay at a hotel that’s as forward-thinking as the community itself. Offering a luxury lifestyle experience, the Lake Nona Wave Hotel is among the most innovative in the world with many future-forward amenities, from View Smart Windows that provide guests with an extra 16 minutes of sleep each night, voice-automated in-room controls, TOTO smart toilets, keyless entry, and more. It’s the perfect base of operations for adventures not just in Lake Nona, but throughout Orlando.

Within walking distance of the Wave hotel is the 130,000-square-foot Lake Nona Performance Club fitness center, which includes the first-of-its-kind Chopra Mind-Body Zone and Spa overseen by world-renowned integrative medicine pioneer and Lake Nona’s longtime wellness ambassador Dr. Deepak Chopra. The hotel is also adjacent to the Lake Nona Sculpture Garden, which has free admission and is home to a distinguished selection of works from one of the world’s largest private art menageries, The Lewis Collection. More public art by one of the Sculpture Garden’s key contributors, internationally renowned and Orlando-based artist JEFRË, can be found throughout the Lake Nona area.

Learn more: Lake Nona Sculpture Garden

Guests and Lake Nona visitors will want to indulge in the hotel’s innovative food and beverage program led by a talented team of culinary masters. The hotel’s signature restaurants and bars — BACÁN, HAVEN and Living Room Bar —  each offer a distinct dining experience from morning to late night, making Wave one of Florida’s most culinary-centric hotels. What’s more, BACÁN is MICHELIN Guide Recommended.

Learn more: Orlando’s MICHELIN Guide Restaurants

The culinary selections at Lake Nona Wave Hotel are just the latest entries in the community’s stellar dining options, which cover a wide range of cuisines. For instance, Canvas Restaurant & Market serves a new American menu with a focus on seasonal, regional produce and fresh seafood. This waterfront restaurant is also an ideal place to watch a gorgeous Florida sunset.

Nearby, Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen focuses on tapas-style small plates and an extensive bar menu, including an impressive range of wines on tap and craft beers. The open-kitchen interior creates a vibrant environment that’s perfect for wining and dining, but there’s also much to be said for the restaurant’s covered patio and outdoor lounge that provide views of Lake Nona Town Center’s iconic art installation, “The Beacon.” Every night, Town Center visitors are captivated by different digital illustrations that illuminate on “The Beacon” tower’s 6-story display.

You can also grab a gourmet slice and locally produced beers at Lake Nona’s Park Pizza & Brewing Company. They serve wood-fired pizza and house-brewed craft beer in a laid-back, family-friendly environment with open-air seating options.

Learn more: Orlando Breweries

For even more dining variety, visit Lake Nona Town Center’s Boxi Park, a deconstructed food hall built from repurposed shipping containers. Here, one-of-a-kind food and beverage counters are complemented by a stage for live entertainment, sand volleyball courts, a kids’ playground and more. The only challenge is deciding what to order. Take your pick from tacos, lobster rolls, burgers, ice cream and more, as well as wine, beer and cocktails. Don’t worry about eating too much, as you can always burn off the calories with a volleyball match or two. Speaking of which…

Stellar dining and endless entertainment aren’t the only reasons to visit Lake Nona, as the area also offers ample opportunities to enjoy Orlando’s great outdoors. A quick game of volleyball at Boxi Park is a good place to start.

Learn more: Orlando Ecotourism

If tennis is your racket, head to the USTA National Campus. In addition to hosting professional and collegiate matches throughout the year, this world-class facility offers numerous opportunities to learn and play for visitors of all ages and skill sets — including professional-grade courts that are free to use with a reservation in the Nemours Family Zone.

Learn more: Orlando Sports

Leave Lake Nona with the perfect golf swing courtesy of Drive Shack. Offering an innovative take on the sport, this venue turns golf into fun games like ShackJack, which is based on classic blackjack, and Monster Hunt, where you destroy monsters to save a princess. After your game, take a break with mouthwatering food and beverages on the outdoor deck overlooking Lake Nona.

You can also make a splash at Nona Adventure Park with water-based, family-friendly adventures. Between the inflatable aqua park and obstacle course, wake cable course, ropes course, climbing tower, and rock walls, it’s one of the most exhilarating ways to play when you visit Lake Nona.

And as should be clear by now, you’ll definitely want to experience this community the next time you’re in Orlando — especially when you consider that it’s less than 30 minutes from Walt Disney World® Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld® Orlando and just about everything else you want to do in the Theme Park Capital of the World, plus its proximity to Orlando International Airport. We’ll see you there.