If you’re looking for somewhere for lunch or dinner or even an afternoon walk that’s away from the theme parks and tourist areas we highly recommend at least one visit to the picturesque town of Celebration. Nestled between Hwy192, SR417 and the I-4 it’s not far from the attractions but still out of the way enough to not get too busy.

The whole town was designed by Disney and was originally envisaged to be part of Walt Disney World and so most of the houses are beautiful colonial wooden structure buildings.

Market Street leads from Celebration Avenue down to Lake Rianhard and Front Street where you’ll find lots of independent boutique shops and restaurants and a small cinema and of course, Starbucks. Kilwins ice cream and cake shop is very good but like a lot of the shops and eateries in Celebration, it is pricey.

Upper Crust Pizza Cafe does warm sub rolls and chicken wings as well as pizzas and calzones. It’s a only a small cafe with a bit of outdoor seating on Market Street but is quite reasonable priced.

There’s a miles of walking and bike trails around the town and the nearby lakes are interconnected by wooden boardwalks. We will often spend an afternoon walking the lakes and looking out for cormorant birds and alligators. You can hire bikes in the town or as they call them ‘2 wheel taxis’.

Or alternatively you can just relax and watch the world go by from one of the many benches around Lake Rianhard or even better Front Street has rocking chairs you can sit and look out across the lake with your coffee or ice cream.

Another nice spot is to sit on one of the benches and watch the kids play in the fountain.

There is a farmers market every Sunday on Front Street next to Lake Rianhard from around 10am to 2pm with local growers and produce from all over the US. The town centre has many special events all year round but in particular at Halloween and Christmas. At Christmas time Market Street has a large and nicely decorated tree overlooking an ice skating rink. Christmas songs are played over the PA and a there’s ‘snow fall’ on Market Street every hour each evening from 6pm. Many of the residents have fantastic and elaborate Halloween and Christmas decorations which are worth looking at.

There’s alway plenty of free car parking along Celebration Avenue and the neighbouring roads. We have never failed to find a space on Teal Avenue just off Water Street. This gives you a nice 5 minute walk down to Market Street and Front Street (see map below).

Jeater Bend Drive

Most people in Celebration make a big thing of covering their homes with big outdoor Halloween and Christmas lights, characters and inflatable decorations but the residents on Jeater Bend Drive go the extra mile. Every Halloween and Christmas they put up big decorations with foam machines, projections and music. It really is worth a visit. It’s completely free but there is a charity box for donations to local causes. The road itself is closed to cars so everyone can walk safely along the street and parking can be found in the neighbouring roads.

Look at celebrationtowncenter.com for details on all the restaurants and shops and celebration.fl.us for information about the town and all upcoming events.