Commercial Row is Truckee's historic main street, a Victorian-era strip of brick and wooden storefronts that runs parallel to the railroad tracks. Built during the town's 1870s logging and railroad boom, the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and have been well maintained without being sanitised. Today the storefronts house good restaurants, independent shops, coffee places, and the odd bookshop — it is exactly what a genuine mountain town commercial district should look like.
The Amtrak California Zephyr stops at Truckee station right beside Commercial Row, making it easy to arrive by train and walk directly into town. The pedestrian area along the row is lively on summer evenings and quiet in a pleasant way on winter mornings. The Truckee Hotel at the end of the strip has been operating since 1873 and is worth a drink in its saloon-style bar even if you are not staying.