For those who wish to visit great houses Blickling Hall is a mile away; and further a field, selecting only a few, are Felbrigg, Holkham, Oxburgh, and Sandringham, Garden enthusiasts have, again amidst many others, Mannington Rose Gardens, Hoveton Hall gardens at Wroxham, Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham, Bayfield Natural Gardens at Holt, and Sheringham Park, designed by Humphry Repton. For those who enjoy steam railways, the Bure Valley narrow gauge railway starts its nine mile run to Wroxham from within the town, while the North Norfolk standard gauge railway runs along the coast from Sheringham to Holt.

On Mondays, Aylsham Market Place bustles with stalls, and the goods auctioned at the sale yard a few minutes walk away range from bric-a-brac to bicycles. Every first Saturday of the month a Farmers Market sells local produce in the Market Place, and at regular intervals on a variety of days there are specialist auctions of different types of antique goods in the sale rooms. Aylsham shops vary from small to medium sized supermarkets to family owned businesses. Parking everywhere is free.

Although the town's population has more than doubled since the 1960's (2500 to just under 6000, the town remains a community, with many active societies and interest groups. Sometimes groups come together to put on events, such as the Aylsham At War Exhibition to celebrate VE Day - organised by the Evening Women's Institute, but with help and contributions from many other individuals and groups. And the Aylsham Show has been so successful that it has outgrown its original location on the Recreation Ground and moved to Stickling Park.

Aylsham became a Cittaslow town in November 2004, and is now part of an international network of towns that celebrate quality of life, towns that care about their heritage, local produce and skills, and their residents - and that includes visitors!