The best shopping in Bardstown is downtown on North Third Street, in the two blocks running north from Court Square, with a few more shops around the corner on Flaget Avenue. Expect independent gift shops, women’s boutiques, a romance bookshop, a pour-your-own candle bar, a 40-artist gallery co-op, a big consignment store and an old drugstore soda fountain, all within a 10-minute stroll. Readers of Kentucky Living liked it enough to vote Bardstown the state’s best downtown shopping district in 2026.
How downtown shopping works
Everything clusters around the old courthouse. North Third Street (US 31E through town) holds most of the shops in its 100 and 200 blocks, and West and East Flaget Avenue and Stephen Foster Avenue fill in the rest. Park once in the public lot at 113 E. Flaget Ave. and walk.
Plan around small-business hours. Most shops open about 10 a.m. and close between 4 and 5:30 p.m., and many close Sunday, Monday or both. Tuesday through Saturday is prime time, and Saturday morning pairs well with the farmers market. The nonprofit Bardstown Main Street, one of 22 Kentucky Main Street communities, keeps a directory of downtown businesses that is the best place to check a shop before you drive in.
The award is recent: Bardstown Main Street took first place for “Downtown Shopping District” in Kentucky Living’s 2026 Best of Kentucky reader poll, announced at the state fair in August, as the Kentucky Standard reported.
Gifts and home: the shops to start with
| Shop | Address | What to buy | Hours as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Mary’s | 116 N. Third St. | Gifts, art, antiques, home | Mon-Sat 10-5:30 |
| Making Good Scentz and Sipz & Scentz | 123 N. Third St. | Handmade soaps, candles; pour-your-own candle bar | Tue-Sat 10-5 |
| Hurst Drug Store | 102 N. Third St. | Gifts, candy, a shake at the fountain | Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5 |
| Bardstown Florist & Gifts | 226-B N. Third St. | Flowers, pottery, framed prints | Mon-Fri 9-5, Sat 9-noon |
| Crume Drug Store | 111 W. Flaget Ave. | Gifts in a pharmacy founded in 1852 | Mon-Fri 8-6, Sat 8-1 |
At Mary’s is the gift shop to see first. It opened in 2004, is now run by Gabriela Walsh and Stephanie Parker, and was named Best Regional Boutique in the 2026 Best of Kentucky awards. Look for Kentucky-themed pieces such as an acrylic ornament of the Bardstown courthouse ($29.90) and an Old Fashioned slushie mix ($18.95). You can also book a one-on-one shopping appointment.
Making Good Scentz sells soaps, lotions, scrubs, bath bombs and soy candles made by owner Steve Stivers, who was honored at the 2026 Kentucky Main Street Awards. The adjoining Sipz & Scentz candle bar lets you build a candle from scratch while sipping local wine, beer or seltzer. Walk-ins are welcome; reserve on busy days. Kentucky’s First Lady made one here in 2023. It is a fine rainy-day or non-drinker activity on a bourbon trip.
Hurst Drug Store, which promotes more than 100 years of serving the community, keeps one of the few remaining old-fashioned soda fountains, plus a gift shop with candles, jewelry, wind chimes and T-shirts. It is closed Sundays, and card payments carry a surcharge, so bring cash. See our Hurst Drug soda fountain page.
Clothing and boutiques
- Peacock on Third, 122 N. Third St., sells colorful women’s clothing and accessories “for women of all ages and budgets,” Monday to Friday 10 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4 per its website. Call (502) 348-2330 to confirm before a special trip.
- Christy’s Collections, 97 W. Flaget St., is a women’s boutique for “mothers, daughters and grandmothers alike”; its listing shows Tuesday to Sunday hours.
- The Cozy Cottage Boutique, 210 N. Third St., mixes clothing, Kentucky-made leather jewelry, local teas and honey, candles and cottage decor.
- Dressed & Distilled, 204 N. Third St., is a men’s store with bourbon-inspired apparel, accessories and gifts. It publishes no hours, so call or check the Main Street directory.
- JT’s Consignments, 222 N. Third St., is the big one: more than 5,000 square feet of name-brand clothing, shoes, purses, home decor and furniture, named Best Consignment in the 2026 Best of Kentucky awards. See JT’s site.
For older and one-of-a-kind finds, our antiques and vintage guide covers the resale side.
Books and art
Bardstown went about a decade without a bookstore after Bardstown Booksellers closed. Tropes Romance Bookshop, 111 N. Third St., filled the gap in April 2024 and sold out much of its stock on opening day, according to the Kentucky Standard. Despite the name, it carries fantasy, thrillers, young adult and children’s books too, plus bookmarks, totes and candles, and runs book clubs. Its listed hours are unusually long and unconfirmed, so check its social pages before you go.
For books on Thomas Merton, the monk-writer of nearby Gethsemani, Jim Cantrell’s Bardstown Art Gallery at 214 W. Stephen Foster Ave. stocks them alongside his paintings. Hours are by chance or appointment; call (502) 348-6488.
Bardstown for the Arts, the artists’ co-op, moved in 2026 to 110 N. Third St. It sells work by more than 40 local artists (wood turning, stained and fused glass, pottery, leather journals, jewelry) and is open daily. From Oct. 10 to 31, 2026, its “The Littles” show sells pieces 5 inches or smaller for $25 each, with proceeds to Bethany Haven. Our art galleries guide has more.
Bourbon and Kentucky food to take home
The best bottles are at the distilleries. The Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience gift shop sells Kentucky exclusives and bourbon-inspired food and merchandise, and Chicken Cock’s Circa 1856 on Stephen Foster Avenue sells brand-home releases downtown. Our guide to buying bourbon in Bardstown covers store picks, shipping rules and packing bottles for the flight home.
For food gifts, Bourbon City Kitchen + Trade Co. at 105 E. Flaget has a deli, bakery and a refillery for low-waste shopping, and the farmers market sells local honey, jams and baked goods on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings in season. Hadorn’s Bakery pastries do not travel well, so eat them on the spot.
Shopping events worth planning around
- Bardstown Arts & Crafts Festival: the 45th edition fills the historic district on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, Oct. 11 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) with more than 250 booths. Admission is free, and more than 30,000 people came the year before, per Bardstown Main Street. Details on our festival page.
- Light Up Bardstown: the tree lighting on Court Square, the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27, 2026), 6 to 8 p.m.
- Shop Small Saturday: the Saturday after Thanksgiving, with downtown shops open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 2025.
- Friday Night Sound Bites: free evening concerts in Mayor’s Park on Third Street that launched in summer 2025, with shops staying open late. Check Bardstown Main Street for the current season.
December is lovely for gift shopping; HGTV named Bardstown its favorite Christmas town in Kentucky in 2023. See Christmas in Bardstown.
Everyday and big-box shopping
For groceries, pharmacy runs and forgotten phone chargers, Walmart and Kroger sit on the John Rowan Boulevard (US 31E) corridor on the edge of town, a short drive from Court Square. There is no mall in Bardstown.
Tips
- Shop Tuesday to Saturday, and go in the morning on festival weekends before the crowds.
- Ask about shipping before you buy anything bulky; it beats wedging a lamp into a carry-on.
- Pair a shopping morning with lunch at a downtown cafe and a free hour at the Getz Museum in Spalding Hall.
