Downtown Auburn, AL: Where to Eat, Park and Live
Downtown Auburn sits across College Street from campus, centered on Toomer's Corner, with restaurants, boutiques and rooftop dining. Street parking is free on weekends.
Downtown Auburn is the cluster of restaurants, boutiques and rooftop dining across College Street and Magnolia Avenue from campus, centered on Toomer's Corner. Street parking is $1 an hour on weekdays and free on weekends, and some students live nearby. Our private, student-led tours of Auburn meet at Ross Square, behind Samford Hall, about a 5-minute walk from the corner, as of October 2026.
What is downtown Auburn, Alabama like?
Downtown Auburn, Alabama is a few walkable blocks of locally owned restaurants, boutiques and coffee shops directly across the street from campus. Its center is Toomer's Corner, where College Street meets Magnolia Avenue, "where the university and the city of Auburn meet," as Auburn-Opelika Tourism, the area's visitor bureau, puts it.
Riley, our Auburn Campus Lead, describes the blocks across the street from the corner as "our whole downtown strip area where all like the social life and like restaurants and boutiques are at."
The bureau's first-timers guide from July 2026 lists "locally owned restaurants, boutiques, rooftop dining, coffee shops, and entertainment just steps from Auburn University's campus."
The City of Auburn calls downtown "an anchor for the City and the University for decades." Its Downtown Master Plan aims to grow the core "southward and westward."
By our OpenStreetMap measurement in October 2026, Samford Hall is about a 4-minute walk from Toomer's Drugs, and Ross Square about 5 minutes. Most places in this guide sit on College Street, Magnolia Avenue, Gay Street or Tichenor Avenue.
Where can you eat and shop in downtown Auburn?
You can eat and shop in downtown Auburn at the places Auburn-Opelika Tourism points visitors to: eat at Hamilton's on Magnolia, The Hound or Amsterdam Cafe, and shop at J&M Bookstore, Stamp, Behind the Glass, Therapy or The Locker Room. The bureau's Camp War Eagle guide names those restaurants, with Tacorita, as downtown favorites, and those shops for "everything from decor to gameday gear."
The same guide lists Olivine among its rooftops. Walk times below are from Toomer's Drugs, by our OpenStreetMap measurement in October 2026:
- Toomer's Drugs, 100 N College St. On the corner since 1896. The bureau calls its lemonade "hand-made to order." It also sells sandwiches, ice cream and Auburn souvenirs.
- Hamilton's on Magnolia, 174 E Magnolia Ave. About 2 minutes. Contemporary American food, with appetizers, salads and sandwiches all day, per its bureau listing.
- The Hound, 124 Tichenor Ave. About 2 minutes. The listing calls it "a family-owned restaurant and bar" serving American classics.
- Olivine, on top of the AC Hotel, 146 N Gay St. About 4 minutes. A rooftop with views of downtown and both indoor and open-air seating.
- Amsterdam Cafe, 410 S Gay St. About 15 minutes on foot, "just one block from Auburn University's campus and the historic Samford Hall," its listing says.
The guide lists no hours, so check each place before you go.
Where do you park in downtown Auburn?
Park in downtown Auburn at the Wright Street Parking Deck, 140 Wright St, or in a metered street space, then walk. The City of Auburn's parking page counts more than 1,300 public spaces downtown, at these rates as of October 2026:
- Wright Street Parking Deck. 350 spaces at $1 an hour, every hour of every day, capped at $15 per 24 hours. One pedestrian entrance opens onto North College Street.
- Street spaces and the Gay Street and Tichenor Avenue lots. $1 an hour on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., two hours at most. Free on weekday evenings and all weekend.
- Free city lots. East Glenn Avenue, Felton Little Park and the Douglas J. Watson Municipal Complex, each within half a mile, or a 10-minute walk, of Toomer's Corner.
Pay at a downtown kiosk with cash or card, or through ParkMobile with the zone number on the sign.
On home football Saturdays the deck charges a flat $40, first come, first served, with no reservations. Surface parking is free on the city's listed holidays, which include Auburn University's Thanksgiving and spring breaks. The last two home games of 2026 are November 7 and November 21, per the athletics schedule.
Do Auburn students live in downtown Auburn?
Yes, Auburn students live in and near downtown Auburn, including in two apartment buildings that University Housing runs. Housing master-leases three apartment communities off campus and staffs them with resident assistants, per its communities page. Two of them sit a short walk from Toomer's Corner:
- 191 College, 191 N College St. About 4 minutes north of Toomer's Drugs on foot. About 480 undergraduates, first-years and upperclassmen, from $6,680 to $7,660 per student per semester for 2027-28.
- 160 Ross, 160 N Ross St. About 11 minutes east of the corner. About 550 undergraduates in two- and four-bedroom units, at $6,890 to $7,100 a semester.
Those rates include utilities, wireless internet and laundry, per University Housing's 2027-28 rate sheet, updated in September 2026. Addresses and walk times come from OpenStreetMap, our measurement. As of October 2026, Housing's tours page says tours of both buildings are not currently offered, so see them from the sidewalk.
Students choose next year's apartment early. University Housing told families in September 2026 that "the local custom is for students to select housing for the following year in the current year." Our guide to Auburn off-campus housing covers lease types and the city's rule on houses.
To walk downtown with a current student, book a private tour of Auburn: $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes. TourCollegeTowns is independent and not affiliated with Auburn University.
Frequently asked questions
Is parking free in downtown Auburn on weekends?
Yes, street parking in downtown Auburn is free on weekends, and so are the Gay Street and Tichenor Avenue lots, per the City of Auburn as of October 2026. Both are also free after 6 p.m. on weekdays. The Wright Street Parking Deck still charges $1 an hour on weekends, up to $15 a day, and a flat $40 on home football Saturdays.
What is the Auburn Downtown Master Plan?
The Auburn Downtown Master Plan is the City of Auburn's plan for downtown's growth. The city says it was adopted "to develop a unified vision that serves all Auburn residents and to expand the current urban core southward and westward." Its final report and the current and proposed zoning and land-use maps are on the city's downtown page.
Are there hotels within walking distance of downtown Auburn?
Yes, several hotels Auburn-Opelika Tourism lists are within walking distance of downtown Auburn. Four of them, by our OpenStreetMap measurement from Toomer's Drugs in October 2026: the Graduate by Hilton, 202 W Magnolia Ave, about 2 minutes; the AC Hotel, 146 N Gay St, about 4; the Collegiate Hotel, 205 S Gay St, about 7; and The Hotel at Auburn University, 241 S College St, about 8.