My Town: Orlando, Fla.
Top picks from Budget Travel readers who live in some of our favorite places.
Everyone comes here for the theme parks, but there's so much else to see. The 43-acre Lake Eola Park is a personal favorite. You can stroll around the lake and then chat up vendors at the Sunday farmers market. —Megan Randolph-May, 34, stock trader
Orange Blossom Pilsner—we call it OBP—is brewed by a seventh-generation Floridian, and you can find it all over town. It's made with orange-blossom honey and is just the right mix of sweet and crisp (six-pack $9). —Becky Smith, 25, account executive
If I can't put them up, I send visitors to Eõ Inn & Spa. The 17 streamlined rooms look out onto Lake Eola or the city itself (eoinn.com, from $79). —Megan Randolph-May
It might sound cheesy, but Gatorland is actually an awesome 110-acre Everglades habitat and theme park that's home to more than 1,200 gators and crocodiles (gatorland.com, adults from $20, kids from $12). —Stephanie Mahone, 28, photographer
In Winter Park, just northeast of the city, Scenic Boat Tour takes pontoons through a beautiful network of lakes and canals. You cruise past opulent mansions built at the turn of the century by wealthy Northerners who came here during the winter months (scenicboattours.com, $12). —Deborah Wise, 60, retired
My top-secret spot: the hidden courtyard behind Palmano's Espresso Bar. The paninis are named after regulars (407/647-7520). —Brad Nelson, 24, marketing director
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