A day in East Aurora, New York
If you are driving out from Buffalo for the afternoon, here is the loop we send visitors on. Almost all of it is within a half mile of our front door.
Morning
Park once and walk. Start with coffee and a pastry on Main Street, then work your way along the storefronts. The village is small enough that a slow lap takes about an hour, and there is a real difference between the shops that sell what they make and the ones that sell what a catalogue sent.
Midday
- Main Street shopping. Bookshops, artisanal food, a hat bench or two — ours included.
- Lunch. Everything from a bakery sandwich to a sit-down pub lunch is within four blocks.
- Roycroft campus. The Arts and Crafts heritage that gave the village its look; allow an hour if you like furniture, printing and copper.
Afternoon
Walk off lunch along the creek path, or drive ten minutes out to a farm stand in season. In autumn, the drive east of town toward Holland and Colden is the reason people move here.
Practical notes
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Parking | Free street parking on Main Street plus a municipal lot one block north |
| Walking | The village core is flat and compact; roughly half a mile end to end |
| Best time | Weekday mornings are quiet; Saturday is lively; autumn is the season |
| Coming from Buffalo | About 20 minutes southeast on Route 400 and 16 |
Stop in and say hello
We are at 118 Elm Street, East Aurora, NY 14052, open daily. If the bench is free, we will measure your head while the coffee is still warm: hat fittings take about 30 minutes.