The Orlando area is known as the theme-park capital of the world, but its northern suburb of Winter Park boasts its own list of attractions: European-style cafes, upscale boutiques and several eclectic and elegant museums, including the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. The Morse Museum, named for a Chicago industrialist and Winter Park philanthropist, is home to exhibits of American pottery, paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the world's foremost collection of creations by famed glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Best and worst time to go to Morse Museum
Open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week, the museum is closed Mondays and has reduced hours -- 1 to 4 p.m. -- on Sundays. From November to April, the Morse extends its hours until 8 p.m. on Fridays and is free for all visitors from 4 to 8 p.m. That makes it an enticing date-night option for couples, who can continue their evening with dinner and a stroll along charming Park Avenue. The museum is closed Mondays and most major holidays.
Must see/do at Morse Museum
Be sure to walk through Laurelton Hall, a wing named after Tiffany's beloved Long Island home. The wing includes the dazzling Daffodil Terrace -- featuring marble columns topped with glass daffodil bouquets -- along with several galleries patterned after rooms in the namesake estate, all filled with Tiffany creations such as his famed lamps, jewelry, blown glass, pottery and architectural elements. Also don't miss the Tiffany Chapel, a reconstruction of the dazzling Byzantine-Romanesque chapel interior the artist created for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The museum's 14-minute film, "A Legacy for the Community," provides interesting background on the museum's establishment and Morse's extensive contributions to Winter Park.
Admission to Morse Museum
Museum admission is nominal, ranging from $1 to $5, including discounts for students and seniors. Children under 12 are admitted free.
Parking and public transportation to Morse Museum
Parking is available in a lot directly behind the museum and accessible from both Cole and Canton avenues. If that lot is full, additional free parking for museum guests is available across from the museum in the Park Place garage on Canton Avenue. If you'd like to ride on SunRail, a commuter train system that serves Orlando to Sanford on weekdays only, the Winter Park station is a five-minute walk from the Morse. Early morning and mid-day service to Winter Park is available on SunRail's northbound and southbound lines.
Food at Morse Museum
No on-site dining is available at the museum, which prohibits food and drink inside. However, a wealth of excellent restaurants are available just outside its doors. Among the options: Lunch or dinner at The Bistro on Park Avenue -- a casual fine-dining eatery with a full bar, indoor atrium, outdoor garden courtyard and chef's table -- or at Prato, where classic Italian cuisine is served in a rustic-chic environment and patio seating is available. Both are within a three-minute walk of the Morse.
Insider tip for visitors to Morse Museum
If you desire an expert's knowledge, the museum provides curator tours of the Laurelton Hall wing four times weekly, at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The guided tours are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Author's bio: Kevin Adams is a freelance writer who has lived in Orlando for more than a decade and has had travel articles appear on USAToday.com and in Golfweek magazine.