Free park tickets on I-Drive usually mean a timeshare pitch

The Park Plaza Hotel on Park Avenue in Winter Park is a 28-room European-style hotel built in 1922 as the Hamilton Hotel for railway workers. Rooms with balconies look onto the park or Park Avenue, and the fern-lined balconies are a local landmark. Stay here if you want to walk to shops, cafes and Central Park. Ask…

Every March, Central Park and Park Avenue in Winter Park fill with the Sidewalk Art Festival, a free three-day juried show with up to about 200 fine artists. It runs Friday to Sunday, around the third weekend of the month. Go on Friday morning for lighter crowds, and check the exact dates on the festival site…

Eatonville, the town where Zora Neale Hurston grew up, holds the ZORA Festival each winter, usually from late January to early February. The outdoor festival runs along East Kennedy Boulevard with live performances, vendors, food and family activities, while talks, exhibitions and tours fill the weeks around it. Check…

Will's Pub on North Mills Avenue is a small room that books touring and local bands in indie, rock and country styles. Most shows are 18 and up, and the calendar changes weekly, so check it a few days ahead. Its sister bar Lil' Indies a few steps away runs nightly jazz, jam and DJ sets, mostly with no cover and for…

The Timucua White House, on South Summerlin Avenue in the SoDo area, is a three-story home turned intimate concert hall with chamber music, jazz, acoustic guitar, vocal ensembles and world music. The room is small, so shows feel like a living-room listening session. Check the foundation's calendar and book early…

The Winter Park Farmers' Market fills the West Meadow of Central Park every Saturday morning with produce, plants, baked goods, cheese, honey, coffee and orchids from licensed local vendors. Go early for the best selection, eat breakfast first and browse before the stalls close at 1 pm. A few times a year, including…

Harry P. Leu Gardens covers nearly 50 acres, with trails through camellia forests and under oaks about 200 years old. Camellias bloom from December to March, the best window for color. Last entry is one hour before closing, so arrive in the first hours of the day when the light is softer and the paths are quiet. The…

The Maitland Art Center, a short drive north of downtown, is a 1937 artists' retreat designed by J. Andre Smith in a Mayan Revival style, with carved cement reliefs and sculptures around courtyards, an outdoor chapel and a gallery with lit display stalls. It is a National Historic Landmark and still hosts artist…