Mark’s Score 9.0
When we were looking for a house on the Eastern Shore, a decade ago, Easton was on our short list. It had everything we were looking for, save one very important criterium. It is near to large metropolitan areas. It has quality health services. It has a lively downtown full of excellent restaurants and shops. It is walkable. It has a great deal of historical charm. The only thing it lacks is a university. Real estate is also comparatively expensive. We ended up in Salisbury because it has a university with an excellent arts program and real estate is significantly cheaper than in Easton.
Easton has a great deal of historical charm, but it is relatively young compared to other Eastern Shore communities. Easton was not established until 1711 when the provincial legislature decided to build a courthouse in Talbot County. In fact, the town was originally named “Talbot Courthouse.” The name was changed in 1788 after a town of the same name in Somerset County, England.
Easton is one of my favorite places on the Delmarva. Though it does attract a sizable number of tourists, it feels more like a home town than St Michaels or Berlin. Where St Michaels reminds me of Nantucket, Easton reminds me of Manchester-by-the-Sea. It is a self-assured place full of upscale continental restaurants, spas, art galleries, and boutiques. This is not a town for pub crawls, rather this is a town for expensive wine and three course prix fixe menus. You don’t come to Easton to sail or kayak or hike. You come to Easton for a day at the spa followed by antiquing or haut culture shopping, followed by an elaborate dinner.
While other places on the peninsula rely on the natural beauty around them. Easton stands alone, it is not on the bay, it has no ocean, it doesn’t really have a river. In fact, it appears that it was just plonked down among the corn fields. But what it lacks in natural beauty it makes up for in its historic, brick laden, and charming downtown, Easton has some of the most impressive architecture on the Delmarva. Easton is not beautiful for its natural setting, it is beautiful for its architecture, an architecture reminiscent of New England not the mid-Atlantic. It is also very compact, almost everything you would wish to do or see is just a few blocks walk on tree shaded streets surrounding the Tidewater Hotel in the center of town.
Thanks to the Avalon Foundation, Easton also has one of the best performing art scenes on the Delmarva. The Foundation owns the well-known Avalon Theatre, just across the street from the Tidewater Inn. The Avalon is an art deco gem, and I am told that the theater has some of the best acoustics on this side of the bay.
Easton is probably not for everyone, but if you appreciate the finer things in life and the perfect vacation for you is art, entertainment, and haut cuisine, then skip over the more popular shore destinations and book a stay in Easton. You will not regret it.
Places rated in or near Easton
| Rating Date | Place | Category | Score |
| 2024 Sep | Wardroom | Shop/wine | 9.78 |
| 2025 Apr | Out of the Fire | Restaurant | 9.74 |
| 2025 Mar | Bonheure | Shop/Patisserie | 9.58 |
| 2025 Apr | Legal Assets | Restaurant | 9.50 |
| 2025 Mar | Sunflowers and Greens | Restaurant | 9.47 |
| 2024 Sep | Wardroom | Restaurant | 9.43 |
| 2025 Mar | Hunters Tavern | Restaurant | 8.56 |
Places reviewed in or near Easton
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