Orlando's honest must-see list turns out to be a roster of buildings the theme parks never touched. St. James Cathedral dates from 1952 and the Cathedral Church of St. Luke from 1925, while St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church dates from 1926 and holds a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. From there the frame widens: a basilica, a temple of the LDS Church, Guang Ming Temple, dating from 2007, and Knowles Memorial Chapel on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park. The one concession to spectacle is The Wheel, a Ferris wheel dating from 2015. We'd hand this list to a traveler with a free morning between park days who wants to see the city its residents built for themselves. It asks a little in return: check service times, dress for a house of worship, and keep your voice down.
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1 St. James Cathedral
215 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801A mid-century cathedral dating from 1952, on a city-centre street address
At 215 North Orange Avenue, in the 32801 postal code, St. James Cathedral is the first stop we'd send anyone who thinks Orlando begins and ends at a turnstile. The building dates from 1952, so read it as a mid-century cathedral rather than a pioneer relic, and judge it on those terms. Skip the themed facades out on the resort strips; this is a real church in Florida, and the single requirement is that you behave like a guest. Check the service times on the official website, stjamesorlando.org, before you walk over. Come between services if you want to look around, and keep the camera down while worship is under way.
Dates from 1952
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2 Orlando Florida Temple
A temple of the LDS Church, seen on its own terms
For a visitor raised outside the faith, the Orlando Florida Temple, a temple of the LDS Church, is a lesson in how a sacred building presents itself to a city that mostly sells fantasy. Its map pin sits north of the 28th parallel and west of the 81st meridian, so plot the route before you set out. Skip the photo-stop habit the parks train into you; this is a place to walk slowly and look. Read the church's own page for the temple before you go, because it is the authority on what visitors are welcome to do there. Dress as you would for any house of worship.
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3 Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe
8300 Vineland Avenue, Orlando, FL 32821A basilica in Orlando, the most serious religious building on Vineland Avenue
If you have one free morning, give it to the Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe at 8300 Vineland Avenue in the 32821 postal area, a basilica in Orlando, Florida whose scale and seriousness set it apart from every parish church most visitors walk past without slowing down. The wedding chapels tucked inside resort lobbies look like stage sets by comparison. Check Mass times at maryqueenoftheuniverse.org, and arrive between services if you want room to sit and take it in.
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4 St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church
East Central Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32801A church building dating from 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Dating from 1926, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church is a historic church building in Orlando and a listed place on the National Register of Historic Places. The address is East Central Boulevard, Orlando, FL 32801, and the plainness of that suits a building with nothing to prove. The faux-historic storefronts that pass for old Florida on the tourist corridors are worth skipping; this is the genuine article. Look up liturgy times on the parish website, stgeorgeorlando.org, and if you are welcomed in, stand toward the back and let the service run its course.
Dates from 1926 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
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5 Cathedral Church of St. Luke
130 North Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801A cathedral dating from 1925, the oldest dated building on this list
Inside the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, at 130 North Magnolia Avenue, the first thing worth registering is age: the church dates from 1925. It shares the 32801 postal code with St. James Cathedral, so the two pair naturally in one morning. This is a church in Florida that the usual rushed itinerary does no favors; give it a pew and a while, and let the room do its work. Service times and visitor notes are on the cathedral's website, stlukescathedral.org.
Dates from 1925
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6 The Wheel
8401 International Drive, Orlando, Florida 32819A Ferris wheel on International Drive, dating from 2015
The Wheel at 8401 International Drive, Orlando, Florida 32819 is a Ferris wheel that opened in 2015, and it is the one entry on this list built to be ridden rather than admired from a distance. Its official site is officialorlandoeye.com, so bookmark that before you go. The case for it over the park thrill rides comes down to one thing: a wheel turns slowly enough to let you look. We'd go near dusk and spend the ride picking out the roads you plan to drive tomorrow.
Dates from 2015
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7 Knowles Memorial Chapel
Mediterranean Revival architecture on the Rollins College campus, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Knowles Memorial Chapel stands on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and its Mediterranean Revival lines earn a detour from Orlando proper. The chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Set the destination before you leave the hotel: the pin sits at about 28.59 north and 81.35 west. Resort wedding pavilions in this part of Florida borrow Old World styling as decoration; this is the style carried out in earnest, on a working campus. Come on a weekday, step inside if the doors are open, and treat it as a chapel first and a photo stop second.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
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8 Guang Ming Temple
A temple in Orlando dating from 2007
If your sense of Orlando runs no further than its parks and rides, Guang Ming Temple, a temple in Orlando, Florida, deserves a place on the itinerary. It was built in 2007, which makes it young by any reckoning, and that freshness is itself part of its character. The site falls north of the 28th parallel and west of the 81st meridian, so map the route before you go. Orlando has no shortage of temple-shaped scenery staged as backdrops for rides and shows; we'd skip all of that and come here instead, quietly. Dress modestly, remove your shoes when asked, and keep your voice low.
Dates from 2007
This is an early version of the Orlando list. We add picks as we test more places.
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