Three 10/10s, One Winter Park Mile (Feat. The Best Sandwich in Central Florida)

Winter Park is an absolute gem of a town, full of great options for dining, shopping, exploring, and touching grass. The touching grass is by no means sarcasm, there are actual health benefits to spending time with Mother Nature and disconnecting from the chaos of social media and predatory modern technology.

The small but mighty town has a dazzling array of wonderful places to visit, but what if I told you that you can spend a full day visiting three different but great spots that are all within a single mile of each other? You can start the morning being in absolute peace with nature, and then finish the day getting lost in a maze of antiques. I’m sharing with all of you an itinerary I had experienced not too long ago, and I believe it’s a perfect trifecta of activities.

Mead Botanical Garden

Free parking, free to enter, acres of beautiful nature within the confides of a well-built town. Mead Botanical Garden is a popular spot for weddings and other special occasions because of its list of venues that can be utilized to celebrate and enjoy life. But even if you’re not here for a special event, the place is still worthy of your time because of the sheer beauty and variety of said natural beauty. In here you can find wildlife habitats, community gardens, walking trails, ponds, wetlands, an elongated creek that connects to the bodies of water, and even a boardwalk that takes you in the middle of a wetland habitat.

Ancient oak trees that span generations can be found, dozens of different species of birds can be heard, and there’s a seemingly endless supply of types of flowers and trees that you can interact with for as long as the sun is out. The variety is very impressive for an urban park, and even though its in the middle of a neighborhood, you don’t hear much outside noise, you can fully enter the zen state with nature without interruptions. This is the perfect place to spend some alone time, some peace time, or special time with someone else. Visit, donate, support, and enjoy some of the beautiful nature that represents the Sunshine State’s environmental diversity.

M’ama Napoli

I might start some fights here, but I believe this place has the best sandwiches in Central Florida. Now, this entire region is blessed with plenty of spectacular sandwiches so its not like we are living in a quality food desert of some sort. 903 Mills Market has solid options, Polite Pig and Yellow Dog Eats probably tops the list for BBQ sandwiches, Stasios has multiple great breakfast and lunch choices, and I’ll even give Earl of Sandwich in Disney Springs a special shoutout for being a tourist trap that’s way better than it has any right to be.

M’ama Napoli is the King of Sandwiches in Central Florida. This does not mean you skip the others, but it means that the most consistent quality comes from this specific location. Their list of options isn’t as extensive as some of the other spots, but the ones they do offer are absolutely solid. Their Sofia focaccia sandwich in particular is the best of the best. The bread is fresh, soft, and does a perfect job balancing all the rich ingredients stuffed inside. Loaded with pistachio, burrata, and pesto, this sandwich is large enough to share but so psychotically good that you wouldn’t want to.

Every other aspect of M’ama Napoli is an 11/10, the pastries, the service, the coffee options, their nice assortment of imported Italian products, and yes I’ll mention the sandwiches again.

Orange Tree Antiques Mall

Someday I’ll tackle the conversation about why antique stores are becoming quite the success story in Central Florida in recent years, but to be honest there are few places that sparks more curiosity than a well-organized antique mall. Now I love Rennigers at Mount Dora, but let’s also be honest there isn’t much rhyme or reason with how/where the stands are set up and how they are organized. Each block, each section is an adventure, and their results will vary greatly. There’s this spectacular Puerto Rican block that is superbly organized with hundreds of salsa records while old-school Puerto Rican music blasts in the background. Then you’ll find one that is just a mishmash of old items smooshed together, where one bad step and half the place will end up engulfing you.

Orange Tree is easily the most organized antique mall I’ve ever visited. Each section is meticulously set up to maximize space and maximize its offerings. Over 100 vendors, and easily over 10,000 items can be seen in a cozy relaxed space with quality service, quality organization, and enough variety to have you coming back to see more. Paintings, furniture, books, video games, clothing, records, toys, DVDs, imports, forgotten relics, historical artifacts, etc. etc. etc.

It is truly bonkers the stuff you can find here, ranging from old paintings made in the early 1900s to German records of forgotten artists singing classic folk songs. One section in particular has almost more available books than entire bookstores. Even if you’re not looking for anything to spice up your domicile, its worth coming here just to see what’s available, just to witness items from the past, from eras that feels like yesterday and centuries old simultaneously. We have seen antique stores rise up in popularity in part because our ownership of items have actually reduced over the years, as everything is going digital, going behind a paywall, and going behind rental and subscription services. Why continue paying for Disney+ when you can just outright buy the Disney films themselves?

Orange Tree is an exercise in phenomenal organization and optimization for vendors and customers. It will take you hours to traverse it all, and you wouldn’t know it from outside the doors. Its deceptively large, deep, and chock full of secrets. Just the record collection in the back corner alone will send you into a trance, especially if you love music.

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So three places, all within a mile of each other, and it will easily take you an entire morning and afternoon to fully experience and enjoy it all. Winter Park has many other great options beyond this one-mile radius, but if you’re looking for a way to maximize a day off and not have to drive long distances, I recommend this trifecta.

Uninterrupted Florida Nature, Fresh Focaccia, and Varied Antiques, name a better trio.