Orlando: Harry P. Leu Gardens

Hours
Gardens daily 9am-5pm;
house daily 10am-4pm (closed during July)

Address
1920 N. Forest Ave
Location
Between Nebraska St and Corrine Dr
Transportation
Take I-4 exit 85/Princeton St and go east, then right on Mills Ave, and left on Virginia Dr. Look for the gardens on your left, just after you go around a curve

Phone 407/246-2620
Web site www.leugardens.org

Prices
Admission $7 adults,
$2 children grades K-12; Mon 9am-noon free
Other--Free parking

Frommer's Review
This 50-acre botanical garden on the shores of Lake Rowena offers a serene respite from the theme-park razzle-dazzle. Paths lead through giant camphors, moss-draped oaks, palms, cicadas, and camellias -- the latter represented by one of the world's largest collections: 50 species and some 2,000 plants that bloom from October through March. There are 75 varieties of roses in the site's formal gardens, as well as orchids, azaleas, desert plants, and colorful annuals and perennials. The attraction also has palm, bamboo, and butterfly gardens. Businessman Harry P. Leu, who donated his 49-acre estate to the city in the 1960s, created the gardens. There are $9 guided tours (a deposit of $25 is required) of his house and the gardens, built in 1888, on the hour and half-hour (at least 3 weeks advance registration required). The interior has Victorian, Chippendale, and Empire furnishings and pieces of art. Admission is free Mondays from 9am to noon. It takes about 2 hours to see the house and gardens.Read more: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/orlando/A23923.html#ixzz0Un3Swx8q