Lake Nona
Orlando's newest planned community sits a quick ten or fifteen minutes from the airport: a clean-lined Town Center, a shipping-container food park, the home of American tennis and a hotel built around one of the world's great private art collections.
Updated June 2026
Lake Nona is the part of Orlando that looks like the future arrived early. Built from scratch over the past couple of decades by the Tavistock group on the southeast edge of the city, it's a master-planned community of wide sidewalks, public art, autonomous shuttles and a walkable Town Center where the restaurants, the hotel and the lake all sit within a few minutes of one another. It feels less like a theme-park suburb and more like a tidy, design-forward small city that happens to be right next door to the runways.
It suits a particular kind of traveler: anyone who wants a quieter, more grown-up base near the parks, a sports family in town for a tournament, business visitors at Medical City, or a flyer with an early flight who doesn't want to sleep in an airport box. You're roughly 25 minutes from International Drive and 20-some from Disney, but you wake up somewhere calm and contemporary instead of in the thick of the tourist corridor. See where it fits among the city's other home bases on our neighborhoods guide, and find a room on our where to stay page.
What to see & do
A compact lineup that leans on food, sport and design rather than rides and lines.
A bite in the Town Center
The dining here is part of the draw, two homegrown concepts plus the container-park crowd.
A perfect Lake Nona day
Slow, design-forward and easy on the feet, the calm flip side of a park day.
- Start with coffee and a scratch pastry on the water at Canvas.
- Book a morning court or take a clinic at the USTA National Campus, or just watch the play.
- Wander the Lake Nona Town Center and the Wave Hotel's Sculpture Garden to see the public art.
- Graze your way through Boxi Park as the live music starts and the sun drops.
- Cap the night with small plates and a cocktail at Chroma a short walk away.
Where to go next
Lake Nona is the quiet base, here's the rest of the city it's a short drive from.
Where to Stay
From Lake Nona's design hotels to park-side resorts and I-Drive value, the best home bases in town.
Where to Eat
Where Orlando actually eats, from container parks to chef-driven rooms beyond the parks.
Neighborhoods
How Orlando's districts fit together, from Winter Park to International Drive to Lake Nona.
Things to Do
Gardens, gators, museums and more, the Orlando that isn't a theme park.
Find a Lake Nona hotel
Common questions
Where is Lake Nona in Orlando?
Lake Nona is a master-planned community on the southeast edge of Orlando, just south of Orlando International Airport (MCO). It's roughly 10 to 15 minutes from the airport, about 25 minutes from International Drive and 20 to 30 minutes from the Walt Disney World and Universal areas.
Is Lake Nona a good place to stay when visiting Orlando?
It's a great fit if you want a quieter, more modern base near the airport rather than the busy tourist corridor. It works especially well for an early or late flight, for tennis families visiting the USTA campus, and for anyone at Medical City. You'll need a car to reach the theme parks, which are about 20 to 30 minutes west.
What is there to do in Lake Nona?
The main draws are Boxi Park, an open-air food-and-music container park; the USTA National Campus, the public home of American tennis; the design-forward Lake Nona Wave Hotel with its art collection and Sculpture Garden; and the walkable Town Center with restaurants like Chroma and Canvas. It's more about food, sport and design than rides.
What is Boxi Park?
Boxi Park is an open-air gathering spot in Lake Nona built from repurposed shipping containers turned into food and drink kitchens, with rotating food trucks, live music on weekends, sand volleyball, cornhole, a playground and a dog park. It's free to enter and one of the most local-feeling things to do in the area.
What is Lake Nona's Medical City?
Medical City is a 650-acre cluster of hospitals, research institutes and a medical school within Lake Nona, including UCF Lake Nona Hospital, Nemours Children's Hospital, the VA Medical Center and the GuideWell Innovation Center. It's the economic engine behind the community rather than a visitor attraction, but it drives much of the area's midweek hotel demand.
How far is Lake Nona from the Orlando airport?
Very close, typically about 10 to 15 minutes by car between Lake Nona's Town Center and the main terminal at Orlando International Airport (MCO), depending on traffic. That proximity makes it a popular choice for the first or last night of a trip.