Long Island Towns & Villages
Local guides to 25 Long Island towns and villages — the walkable downtowns, the harbor villages, the North + South Shore. Each town gets a curated event feed and a local primer from the Editors.
Suffolk County 17 towns
Babylon
Babylon Village is the South Shore equivalent of Northport — walkable harbor downtown, restaurant scene, Argyle Theater as the cultural anchor. Captree State Park + Fire Island ferries are 15 minutes south. Smaller and quieter than Patchogue, more refined.
Bay Shore
Bay Shore is Suffolk's second-most-walkable downtown after Patchogue — Main Street has been steadily restored over the past 15 years, the YMCA Boulton Center is the cultural anchor, and Fire Island ferries leave from Maple Ave. Friday-night dinner scene rivals Patchogue.
Bayport
Bayport is the South Shore Suffolk village locals describe as 'Sayville's quieter cousin' — harbor-focused, family-residential, with the Bayport Aerodrome (one of only two grass-runway airports remaining on Long Island) and the Bayport-Blue Point school district at the center.
Bellport
Bellport is the South Shore Suffolk's most-charming Victorian village — restored 1880s downtown on Main Street, the famous Bellport ferry to Ho Hum Beach (a private island residents share), Gateway Playhouse for summer theater. The village punches dramatically above its 2,000-person size in cultural offerings.
Cold Spring Harbor
Cold Spring Harbor is the North Shore Suffolk hamlet famous for two things: the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (a Nobel Prize-winning genetics research institution founded in 1890) and the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery (the oldest continuously operating fish hatchery in the United States). The walkable Main Street with historic whaling-era buildings completes the picture.
East Hampton
East Hampton is the cultural anchor of the Hamptons — Main Beach (one of the most-photographed beaches in America), Guild Hall theater + gallery, the 1648 founding history, and the Main Street + Newtown Lane shopping district. Less honky-tonk than Westhampton, less working-fishing than Montauk.
Greenport
Greenport is the East End's actual village — North Fork's only walkable downtown, working harbor, ferry to Shelter Island, restored 19th-century main street. Less precious than the Hamptons, more soulful than Riverhead. The summer-Friday-evening downtown is one of the prettiest scenes on Long Island.
Hampton Bays
Hampton Bays is the East End town the Hamptons-summer crowd drives through — quieter, more affordable, with the same shoreline access (Shinnecock + Tiana Beach). The Boardy Barn was the summer legend; the post-Boardy era is genuinely good restaurants + winery proximity.
Huntington
Huntington Village is the cultural heart of the North Shore — walkable downtown, the Paramount and Heckscher Museum as anchors, a Friday-night dinner scene that rivals Manhattan. Whaling Village past, gallery + restaurant present.
Montauk
Montauk is the End of the Island — literally. The lighthouse, the surf, the Surf Lodge scene, Gosman's Dock, the seal-watch in winter. Equal parts working fishing village and Hamptons-adjacent destination. The drive out from anywhere west of Riverhead is 90+ minutes, but the end-of-the-road feeling is real.
Northport
Northport Village is a working harbor town that locals jealously guard. Main Street is two walkable blocks of restaurants, the harbor is at the end, the trolley still runs ceremonially every summer. The Fall Festival is the biggest village fest on the North Shore.
Patchogue
Patchogue is Long Island's most overlooked downtown — Main Street has been quietly revived into one of the most walkable, restaurant-dense villages on the South Shore. Alive After Five Friday nights are the regional crown jewel.
Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson is the North Shore's working harbor village — ferry to Bridgeport CT, walkable downtown, Theatre Three on Main Street. Summer Thursday-evening concerts at Harborfront Park are the locals' weeknight move. The PJ Yacht Club + the village restaurants make it the most New-England-feeling LI village.
Riverhead
Riverhead is the East End gateway — the last big town before the North Fork wineries and Hamptons begin. The Long Island Aquarium anchors the downtown revival; the Suffolk Theater is the cultural draw. The Tanger Outlets are 15 min west.
Sayville
Sayville is the South Shore's most charming small village — a walkable downtown that locals call 'the friendly village,' Fire Island ferries leaving from the bay-side terminal, and a restaurant scene that's quietly excellent. The summer farmers market is the weekly anchor.
Smithtown
Smithtown is the geographic + commercial center of Suffolk County — corporate offices by day, family-restaurant scene by evening. The Bull (the iconic statue) marks the crossroads. Quieter than Huntington, more developed than Northport.
Stony Brook
Stony Brook is the North Shore university village — Stony Brook University on the south side, the historic village + harbor on the north. The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages anchors the cultural offering; the village green + harbor is the lifestyle anchor.
Nassau County 8 towns
Garden City
Garden City is Nassau's planned-community jewel — designed in the 1870s as one of America's first planned suburbs, still gorgeous, walkable, and home to Roosevelt Field + the Long Island Children's Museum. The Cathedral of the Incarnation is the architectural landmark.
Hempstead
Hempstead is Nassau County's most populous incorporated village and the county seat — diverse, dense, transit-connected. Home to Hofstra University, the Hempstead Lake park system, and a working-class commercial downtown along Fulton + Main.
Hicksville
Hicksville is central Nassau's commercial hub + the LIRR's busiest non-Penn-Station Long Island stop. Downtown has been steadily redeveloped — the Hicksville Triangle plaza, restored Levittown-era buildings, and the South Asian restaurant strip on South Broadway are the modern draws.
Long Beach
Long Beach is Nassau's Atlantic boardwalk town — Coney-Island energy minus the kitsch. 2.2 miles of restored boardwalk, surfing year-round (yes, locals surf in winter), the West End nightlife strip, and a downtown anchored by the LIRR terminus. Summer destination + actual living town.
Massapequa
Massapequa is the South Shore Nassau village famous for being everyone's hometown — Jerry Seinfeld, Joey Buttafuoco, Brian Setzer, and roughly half of New York City's firefighters all came up here. The Tackapausha Preserve + Massapequa Reserve are the nature draw; the South Shore beach access (Tobay, Jones) is 10 min south.
Oyster Bay
Oyster Bay is the North Shore Nassau village best-known as Theodore Roosevelt's hometown — Sagamore Hill (his Long Island summer White House) is the cultural anchor. The waterfront village downtown has restored 1880s architecture, oyster-focused restaurants, and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park. Oyster Festival (October) is one of LI's largest annual events.
Roslyn
Roslyn is the North Shore Nassau village with the highest concentration of historic 19th-century architecture on Long Island. Restored Main Street, the famous Roslyn Clock Tower, the Nassau County Museum of Art at the historic Frick estate, and a restaurant scene led by Bryant & Cooper Steak House and Limani.
Wantagh
Wantagh is suburban Nassau's gateway to Jones Beach State Park. The Jones Beach Theater is the regional concert anchor — May through September, Wantagh becomes a Friday-night destination for the entire metro area. Mulcahy's Pub is the year-round live-music spot.