7 Towns in Kentucky With the Best Downtown Areas in 2024
The Mid-Southern state of Kentucky is a great place to relax and take in the scenery. Known as the Bluegrass state for its grassy plains and musical style, Kentucky also has a reputation for horse racing, mountain towns, and Bourbon whisky. In addition to these elements, Kentucky also has a variety of hospitable small towns with friendly locals and picturesque downtown areas. In fact, many of their downtown areas feature historic sites, great farmers markets, and unique boutique shops. Here are 7 Kentucky small towns with great downtown areas.
Berea
Home to Berea College and named after the town in Greece mentioned in the Bible as being a place of noble-minded people, Berea lives up to its name with its beautiful artisan downtown. It is known as the Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky and features an Artisan Village. This village features all sorts of different businesses, including Fine Wine Caddy, Dinah Tyree Watercolors, Old Town Fabric, and Music Makers. You can also see unique folk art in an 1813 log cabin at The Cabin of Old Town Artisan Gallery. You can also see student art on display in College Square at Berea College Student Crafts, Berea College Visitor Center & Shoppe, and Gallery 103. You can see all of this and more on foot by exploring the Berea City Trails.
Paducah
Paducah has a reputation for creativity, and it has been named a UNESCO Creative City for its many arts, crafts, and quilting communities. Quilting is one of the biggest pastimes in Paducah, and you can see many of the beautiful quilts on display at The National Quilt Museum downtown, or you can try your hand at quilting yourself by visiting a local craft store such as Calico Country Sew & Vac or Jefferson Street Studios & Helene's Hand-Dyed Fabrics. There are also many great museums in town discussing the town's role in water travel and the American Civil War, which you can learn about at the Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum, the Paducah Railroad Museum, and The Inland Waterways Museum. For places to eat, go local to the Artisan Kitchen, Social 360, Backwoods BBQ, and other spots.
Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown is a charming town that was the center of a movie by the same name, starring Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom in 2005. Known as Etown by locals, Elizabethtown has a particularly cute downtown area with a lot of options for places to explore. There are many historic buildings, including the Brown-Pusey House, Historic State Theatre, Hardin County Playhouse, and Hardin County History Museum. Go look for a deal at the Elizabethtown Peddler's Mall or Fine House & Garden. There are several boutique shops downtown, including O'Neals Boutique, Quilted Elephant Studio, and Raiment + Boon. For great restaurants in town, visit Garden Grille or the Gyro House.
Bardstown
Renowned as the Bourbon Capital of the world, Bardstown is a great place. Baptist minister Elijah Craig first came up with the idea of aging whisky in bourbon barrels in 1789, and today, Bardstown celebrates that legacy with many distilleries you can visit and tour, such as Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, Lux Row Distillers, and much more. There's more to the town than just whisky as its downtown area is a place of rich historical significance with many sites to visit, including the My Old Kentucky Home Museum, an 1818 Federal-style mansion named after the song written by Stephen Foster. You can also visit the Old Bardstown Village and Civil War Museum, which features a colonial-style village. There are many great shopping centers in town, including The Blind Pig Bourbon Market and a Farmers Market.
La Grange
La Grange is a quaint Kentucky town located a short drive away from Louisville. As a railway hub, La Grange proudly displays its railway history at the La Grange Railroad Museum right in the heart of downtown. The museum includes historic trains and scale train models. Speaking of trains, one of the best ways to see the downtown is to take the Main Street Train, which goes up and down the area up to 30 times a day. The downtown area itself has a mixture of local businesses and restaurants, including Copper Awning Flea Market, LaGrange Coffee Roasters, and One Nineteen West Main restaurant. Before you leave town, check out some of the local historic sites: Buddy Pepper Birthplace, Oldham County History Center, and the Train Observation Tower.
Pikeville
This rural town in the Appalachian Mountains is a charming place with an intriguing history. It was the center of the conflict between the Hatfields and McCoys, who engaged in a feud with multiple casualties. Its downtown area is a perfect place to learn more about this conflict at the Big Sandy Heritage Center Museum. This museum has the largest number of artifacts from the feud in the world while also containing information on the Civil War, Native Americans, settlers, and more. The downtown area is filled with great places to shop and dine, including Bridgett's Quilting, Dueling Barrels Distillery, Kate & Kris Boutique, Broken Throne Brewing, Joyce's Place, and more. Before you leave town, consider also visiting the Appalachian Center for the Arts.
Cave City
Cave City is one of the best towns to visit for spelunkers as it is home to the Mammoth Cave National Park, a huge cave system covering 400 miles. While the caves are the primary draw of the town, there's plenty to see within the city limits as well, such as the Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum and Dinosaur World, a fun place with replicas of many species of dinosaurs. The downtown area in Cave City is filled with local shops such as Market Ky, Wild Wonderful Gift Shop, Ivy & Oak Boutique, The Bouji Palomino, and many rocks shops like Big Mike's Rock Shop. For a good place to grab a bite to eat after a day of exploring, grab a pizza at Cave City Pizza.
When people think of downtown areas, they often imagine big cities, but small towns often have rich, historic, and picturesque downtown areas as well, and Kentucky is no exception. Whether you want to check out local arts and crafts in Berea or Paducah, see rocks from caves in Cave City, learn about the history of the Hatfield and McCoys in Pikeville, or just enjoy a good bite to eat, these 7 small towns are just the ticket.
