Tavares
Tavares is a city of 19,003 people at the 2020 census that holds two titles no other community in the metro can claim: it is the seat of Lake County, and it is — officially, by the city’s own branding — America’s Seaplane City. It sits on a narrow isthmus in the Harris Chain of Lakes, Lake Eustis to the north and Lake Dora to the south, with a downtown that is never more than a block or two from the water.
The seaplanes are not a slogan. The city owns the Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) on Lake Dora at Wooton Park, with a 3,000-foot water runway on the lake, and aircraft taxi up to the marina in the middle of town. Founded in 1880 and the county seat since 1888, Tavares is the lakes-and-government counterweight to Mount Dora across the water. The magazine’s rankings have not scored a Tavares business yet, so the ranked places on this page are Mount Dora’s, labelled nearby.
Ranked Nearby
These businesses are ranked under neighbouring areas, not in Tavares itself, and we label them that way on purpose. The rest are the highest-ranked businesses in neighbouring Mount Dora and Clermont and Winter Garden, each linked to its full Top 10.
Winter Garden Farmers Market — Farmers Markets #1 · Net Score 93.1 · 104 S Lakeview Ave, Winter Garden, FL · in Winter Garden
Crooked Can Brewing Company — Craft Breweries #1 · Net Score 92.6 · 426 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL 34787 · in Winter Garden
Plant St. Market — Food Halls #4 · Net Score 91.7 · 426 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL 34787 · in Winter Garden
Orange County National Golf Center — Golf Courses #10 · Net Score 85.6 · 16301 Phil Ritson Way, Winter Garden, FL 34787 · in Winter Garden
Rankings data as of Nov 14, 2026.
On the Map
See Tavares on the Top Spots map — the link opens it on Winter Garden Farmers Market, the top-ranked spot nearby, in Winter Garden. Filter by category to explore the whole region’s 290 spots.
From the Magazine
Tavares: A Local Guide to America’s Seaplane City
America’s Seaplane City: The Base on Lake Dora
Wooton Park: Tavares’s Front Lawn
The Dora Canal: Florida’s Most Beautiful Mile of Water
Tavares and the Harris Chain of Lakes
Where to Eat in Tavares: Main Street and the Marina
A Tavares Family Day: Splash Park, Seaplanes, Canal
Date Night in Tavares: A Lakefront with Aircraft On It
The County Seat: Tavares Since 1888
Tavares’s Day Trip: Mount Dora, Across the Lake
More Areas
Also in Towns & Suburbs: Winter Park · Maitland · Eatonville · Altamonte Springs · Casselberry · Longwood · Winter Springs · Lake Mary · Heathrow · Sanford · Oviedo · Winter Garden · Windermere · Apopka · Ocoee · Horizon West · Hamlin · Poinciana · Buenaventura Lakes · Fern Park · Wekiwa Springs.
Browse the full index: Orlando Areas & Neighborhoods — and the region as a whole in the Top Businesses hub and the Tourism Guide.