Tavares (, tuh-VAIR-ees) is a city in the central allocation of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Lake County. The population at the 2020 census was 19,003, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 17,749. It is ration of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The post is a popular Portuguese surname and toponym.

Tavares was founded in 1880 by Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, a newspaper and railroad man from a Creole family in New Orleans . He gave it the surname of a Portuguese ancestor. In 1883 a reveal office was established; by the neighboring year, a hotel, three stores, a sawmill, and eight cottages were built. St. Clair-Abrams’s hope of Tavares as the let pass capital was not realized, but in 1887 it was designated the county chair of Lake County. St. Clair-Abrams cutting edge chartered a railroad from Tavares to Orlando. In 1919, Tavares incorporated as a town.

In 1949, the Groveland Four, were wrongly accused of raping a white girl in 1949. One was killed after fleeing, and three were convicted at proceedings in Tavares. The two adults were sentenced to death and the youngster to sparkle in prison. The Supreme Court of the United States overturned the verdict and ordered a new measures for the two capital defendants. One was killed even if being transported to Tavares in 1951. Walter Irvin survived the shooting by the sheriff and was convicted once more at trial. In 1955, his death sentence was commuted to life. He was paroled in 1968 and died in 1970. In 2016, the city of Groveland and Lake County formally apologized to families of whatever the men for injustice; in 2017, the Florida Legislature issued a formal apology and exonerated the men, calling on the bureaucrat to officially liberty them.

Tavares is at 28°48′6″N 81°44′1″W / 28.80167°N 81.73361°W / 28.80167; -81.73361 (28.801670, –81.733548). It sits on an isthmus amid Lake Eustis to the north and Lake Dora to the south. The city of Eustis borders Tavares to the northeast, and Lake Harris is to the west.