When you think of a Orlando vacation, you are probably aware that Orlando is the city of theme parks, but this beautiful city has much more to offer the visitor than just thrilling rides. It is also full of lakes, parks, exhibitions, historical places, markets, shops and much more. Whilst Orlando vacations have been popular for many years now, the number of reasons to visit continues to grow as the number of facilities and attractions increases.

There isn’t a friendlier city in the world and one where almost anything is possible with plenty of shopping malls, great food of every type and specialist shops like Outdoor World at the top of International Drive with a 17,000 gallon super aquarium, this store is so large you could spend all day there. This article highlights some of the other visitor attractions that you could see on an Orlando vacation which are not as well publicized as the theme parks but are equal in their ability to please.

The Central Florida Zoo for instance only opened back in 1975 and was owned by the Sanford Fire Department prior to that but is the home to over four hundred animals and is well worth a visit. Even though it is privately owned, it is run by a charitable group with the intention of providing classes for children and protecting species that are only found in Florida and other world wide exotic animals.

Then there are the works of Louis Tiffany whose famous collection is housed here in the Morse Museum of American Art. The famous chapel interior commissioned for the World’s Columbian Exhibition back in 1893 is also her along with many Tiffany jewelry, art and leaded glass, ornaments and clayware.

For tourists that like to burn the candle at both ends there is a range of nightly entertainment from the themed family evenings like Pirates Adventure or medieval Feasts to more adult based entertainment at Disney’s pleasure Island or Universal’s Citywalk. Whilst it may seem that Orlando has been created for the entertainment of children that could not be further from the truth as there is plenty here for everyone.

The Orlando Science Center is another of the major attractions of Orlando and its four-story center is the biggest of its kind in the Southeast, offering 10 exhibit halls that allow visitors everything from the Florida swamplands to the dry plains of Mars to the physical body. An alternative to this would be the International Trolley and Train Museum which can be found along International Drive and has one of the nation’s largest operating indoor G gauge layouts in a space of over four thousand square feet.

The Mercado Center on International Drive, is the home to the Titanic Exhibition where you are treated as if you are a tourist traveling onboard the Titanic Ocean Liner; this is a really moving and eerie experience which includes many original objects from the Titanic. For those who prefer a little peace and relaxation they can visit the beautiful lake Eola Park where there are forty three acres of land to roam freely including a boating lake.

Now you couldn’t possibly visit Orlando without a trip to the numerous theme parks including Disney World, Universal Studios and of course not to forget the fantastic Seaworld. Orlando has enough tourist attraction to last a year but the next time you visit, why not try one or two of the others less well known but just as impressive places.