Just minutes from Orlando International Airport, Lake Nona Sculpture Garden offers an immersive outdoor experience where art and nature intertwine. Winding paths shaded by palms guide visitors past fragrant blooms and striking sculptures, all situated behind the modernist Lake Nona Wave Hotel — a space often described as Orlando’s “open living room.” When you visit, expect to step into an art-immersive landscape that merges gallery sophistication with natural Floridian beauty.
This 50,000-square-foot sanctuary — part of the Lewis Collection, one of the world’s most significant private art collections — showcases everything from Botero’s stylized “Leda and the Swan” to the iconic “Charging Bull” by Arturo Di Modica. Other featured pieces include Henry Moore’s “Mother and Child” and “Upright Motive No. 9,” Enzo Plazzotta’s ballet-inspired “Jeté II,” as well as thought-provoking works by Peter Jackson and Eric Goulder. A former director of the Orlando Museum of Art praised its caliber on the official Lake Nona website, noting it’s “unlike anything else in the Southeast.”
The accessible sculpture garden blends art and nature
What sets the garden apart is its thoughtful layering of art and environment. Nearly 300 hand-selected palm trees — six different species — rise in undulating waves that echo the curves of the Wave Hotel itself. Climbing vines and fragrant shrubs like gardenia, ylang-ylang, and night-blooming jasmine perfume the air as you explore, adding another delicious layer to the experience. As evening falls, multi-hued lighting and nocturnal blooms infuse the garden with soft, glowing life.
Yet this captivating experience comes at no cost. Visitors wander freely — all day, every day, from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — making it one of the most accessible cultural attractions in the area. Nature lovers, art fans, and even leashed dogs will find peaceful paths shaded by swaying pines and surrounded by inspiring sculptures…