Orlando, Florida

Orlando ( or-LAN-doh) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. Part of Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida behind Miami and Tampa Bay. Orlando had a city population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa. In July 2023, its population was 320,742 inhabitants. It is the state's most populous inland city. Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily due to tourism, major events, and convention traffic. It is the third-most visited city in the U.S. after New York City and Miami, with over 2.9 million visitors as of 2022. Orlando International Airport is the 13th-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world. The two largest and most internationally renowned tourist attractions in the Orlando area are the Walt Disney World Resort, opened by the Walt Disney Company in 1971 and located about 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Orlando in Bay Lake, and the Universal Orlando Resort, opened in 1990 as a major expansion of Universal Studios Florida and the only theme park inside Orlando city limits. With the exception of the theme parks, most major cultural sites like the Orlando Museum of Art and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and world-renowned nightlife, bars and clubs are located in Downtown Orlando. Other attractions like Orlando Eye at ICON Park are located along International Drive. The city is also one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions; Orange County Convention Center is the second-largest convention facility in the United States. Like other major cities in the Sun Belt, Orlando grew rapidly from the 1960s into the first decade of the 21st century. Orlando is home to the University of Central Florida, which became the largest university campus in the United States in terms of enrollment as of 2015. In 2010, Orlando was listed as a "Gamma+" level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

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