This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are some recommendations we have for places to eat/drink and things to do in the local area.
Lovely farm-to-table restaurant suitable for a nice dinner out.
There's a cafe upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. Vegetarian and vegan food. Their tempeh tacos are AMAZING. They pay their employees a living wage, no tipping is expected.
Amazing made-from-scratch vegetarian and vegan food. Pleast note: they are cash-only and fragrance-free.
Nice place for good seafood and vegetarian food.
Mimmo's is not the kind of place you go to get a nice, sit-down meal, but their takeout pizza slices are massive and good. Their website is also bigpizzaslices.com.
Not a restaurant, but a lovely local bakery.
Our go-to for coffee. Traditional coffee/espresso only, mostly.
Good coffee and bagel sandwiches.
A perpetual hangout for students - good coffee, lots of sandwich options, also serves drinks at night.
Their breakfast sandwiches are really good!
Want to buy alcohol? Search Google for "package store," which is what the stores that sell alcohol are known as in Massachusetts. Provisions in Northampton is a good spot for extensive beer and wine selections.
Our favorite local bar. Great tap list, nice space, good pub food.
Fancy cocktails in a cool location (old railway station tunnel.)
We like it so much we are having a party there on Friday.
A drive or a bike ride away (they are on the bike path). Beautiful location in the countryside, known for their lagers, but they also have really good IPAs, etc. Food trucks often come on the weekends, but no food otherwise (you can bring your own, though.)
There are two breweries one town over (10 - 15 minute drive or 25 minutes on the bike path) in a revamped mill building. No food, but there are restaurants in walking distance.
Our old climbing gym. Day passes are ~$21, gym has bouldering and top-roping (you will need to pass a belay test for the latter, though.)
A nice local reservation with lots of hiking. Parking is $10 for non-MA residents. See the website for more info and trails.
The Summit House has a beautiful view of the surrounding area, and you can drive or hike to it. From the summit house you can walk along a trail that goes along the mountain ridge. There are lots of other hiking options, see the website for details. Parking is $10 for non-MA residents.
About 25 minutes north of Northampton, a lovely used bookstore built in an historic mill building on the banks of the beautiful Sawmill River. There's also a cafe there as well and a great restaurant called the Alvah Stone with a large deck right on the bank of the river.