My daughter and I are going to be going on a tour of the school this summer. We would like to see a little of the town. Is it walkable from campus or is there someplace central we should park to walk around? Any suggestions on a lunch in town? Thanks for any help! We’ve never been to Troy before.
I would park at RPI for the tour, and then drive to the downtown waterfront for lunch and a walk. There are many restaurants there to choose from. The school and downtown are fairly close to each other, but you will do a lot of walking on the tour and may want a break.
The town is at the bottom of a big hill, probably 1/2 mile to mile depending on where you are on campus. There is a good bar-b-q place in town that is good. I’d tour the school, drive around the perimeter of campus and up to check out the athletic complex, then back down the hill into town and grab some food. I’ve done this several times, worked well.
Parent of current student here.
We have walked from campus to downtown, it’s not that far, but will let you see some of the ugliness that is Troy 
Much nicer than it was when I was college age, but not the prettiest place still.
Great education, not a great location, but then again, many of our favorite colleges were in undesirable locations.
There are some riverfront street fairs and concerts if you time it right.
http://www.troyny.gov/city-of-troy-announces-2018-summer-events-schedule/
For restaurants near campus…
The favorite for dinner would be Dinosaur BBQ.
My favorite for breakfast/lunch would be Manory’s Restaurant.
Informal place with great diner food.
The campus will be pretty dead in the summer. Summer 2019 will be better once the Arch program kicks in for the RPI Class of 2021. If you can, I would wait until September to get a better feel of the school. It is a pretty unique experience relative to a regular university and not for everyone. If it is, they will love it. My S will be a freshman in September and has been coming to the campus for various events since he was a little kid.
I don’t know who is open for lunch, but here are some of our favorites in Troy that are pretty close to the campus.
Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen (Interesting Korean - small menu but very good)
The Ruck (Wings!!!)
Slidin’ Dirty
Tara Kitchen (Wife’s favorite - she buys their bottled sauce)
K-Plate Korean BBQ (RPI Alumni)
Dinosaur Bar-B-que (There is better BBQ in the area, but this is convenient to RPI and the restaurant is “Kitsch”)
Thunder Mountain Curry (On Campus in the Union, but closed for the summer - Usually at Farmers market on Saturday-check their facebook on friday night)
I’m not sure I would walk down and back up the hill unless you are in pretty good shape, especially in the Summer on a
hot day.
If you are around on a Saturday the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market is great. It has great prepared food plus farmers. www.troymarket.org
To confirm the previous post, 25 years ago, Troy was on the verge of being a little Detroit. The transformation is amazing in the area around those restaurants. The campus itself is very safe.
P.S. I am not an alumni, just a local Albany guy.
Wow, thanks everyone for the help! My daughter and I are doing an overnight in Saratoga to see the races and stopping for the tour on our way home- thus the reason for a summer visit. It will be her first tour, so just starting this process for her. But if she likes what she sees we will definitely go back when students are there as it is only 1.5 hours from home!