New Town...

[Ksi]

I'm a big fan of reading all NPC text and if the characters seem at least semi-alive that always makes me happy. I also love, love, love sidequests. Love em. Bonus points if they expand characterisation or world lore in some way. ^.^

The things I always looked forward to when it came to reaching a new town are: new loot (whether it be buying new stuff or finding a stash hidden in an attic), new plots and people to meet (extra points if they've a bit of fleshing out and their own lives aside from the game - that is, "Jack and I went fishing last week and managed to lose our new rod on a giant fish! Never seen anything like it in all our years fishing at the old pond." vs "I dropped my rod in the pond." The first shows the NPCs interact with each other, that they have a life before the game began and that they've got lives outside of "Welcome to Corneria".) and side content~

 

[ChaoticLapras]

Map variation, from a more developy point of view. For instance, mountain village with straw roofs, then a castle with brick tiles, different styles of building etc.

Also, as everyone else said, new items and the inn!

Next, sidequests. Help with levelling with these, and items gained. Make them worth it, not a wood shield when you can buy that at the shop (even if it's the best item, try something better, or at least an expensive item).

Finally, treasure in NPC houses, along with funny things in the houses, like family feuds and things, that don't effect the gameplay, but make it much more interesting...

 

[Bluetoes]

To me, when walking into a town for the first time it's a question of: What can I do? What separates this town from the rest?

Side quests, activities and mini games, events and surprises, and of course shops.

 

[MasterLagger]

Sometimes adding hidden areas to a town makes things slightly more interesting. Not in every town, but finding a dark secret leading to a dungeon in a town (like the hideout in the Gambling Building run by Team Rocket in PKMN B/R/Y was a good surprise) can be fun. But as I said, you can't do that with every town.