THINGS TO DO 

Bats under Congress Bridge: Every night around sundown, thousands of bats fly out from under Congress Bridge – and it sure is a site! If the bats aren’t for you, even before sundown Congress bridge is a great place to watch the sunset. 

Bob Bullock Museum: If the Capitol doesn’t provide enough history, the famous Bob Bullock Museum on Martin Luther King Street is the place to get everything and anything you’ve wanted to know about Texas. There is also an IMAX theatre that features Texas exclusives like, “The Star of Destiny” and other Texas-made features highlighting the history, culture, and spirit of the state. Currently, their most-popular exhibit: The History of ACL.   

Circuit of the America’s: A bit away from downtown, the Circuit of the America’s is home to many great races around the year including: Formula 1, NASCAR, and the Pirelli World Challenge. If its not racing season, you can enjoy other activities like the Audi Driving Experience, where you can learn how to race and drive some finely engineered Audi cars. Something different, but equally as fun as other things to do in Austin.

Day trips from Austin: If you’d like to escape the city for the day or even visit another, day trips to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, the beautiful Dripping Springs, McKinney Falls State Park, Canyon Lake, or Lake Travis are all awesome options. 

Fareground: Austin’s first food hall! Such a fun place to hang out and eat. They’ve got ramen, a taco bar, a bakery, cheese shop, and more. Outside they have a grass area on a hill under trees, misters for when it’s hot, and lots of tables. 

Green Belt: A hidden gem of Austin’s nature reserves, the Green Belt at Barton Creek is one of the best places to enjoy an early morning hike. Weave down the river or through their many different nature paths. Bring a couple cold ones in a can (no bottles), maybe even a hammock, and you can just lay out and enjoy a warm Texan day.

Historic Congress St. and the Capital: Everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the capital building. Larger than Washington DC’s, the Texas State Capital building is filled with artifacts and memoirs of Texas’ storied history. There are tours all day and after a quick look around the building, check out the congress building filled with art museums and wonderful restaurants nestled downtown.

Town Lake or Lady Bird Lake: You can rent kayaks and stand-up paddle boards. 

Murals: Austin has tons of murals to check out. Keep your eyes peeled, or use this handy guide here.

Mount Bonnel: A quick hike that’s awesome to watch sunset and sunrise from. 

NLand Surf Park:Austin now has an outdoor surf park with a brewery.  It’s super rad.  

University of Texas football and tailgating: Stadium holds over 100,000 people. On gameday, there’s nothing but a swarm of burnt orange.  Football and tailgating in Texas are like religion, and THE thing to do on weekends. Check online for tickets if you happen to be in town for a game.

Zilker Park: Home of Austin City Limits, Blue’s on the Green, and loads of dogs, Zilker Park is the premire spot to enjoy a lazy afternoon in the sunny skies of Austin. Zilker is home to many different wonderful summer activities like beach volleyball courts, kayaks to rent on Town Lake, nature paths, and a beautiful view of downtown Austin.

W Austin: For 10-20 bucks, hang out and listen to music, have happy hour, or Sunday Funday at the Wet Deck, W Austin. Fun times guaranteed! More info and tickets here. 

PLACES TO EAT

Rules Texas BBQ

 The first rule of Texas BBQ: The gold standard is Brisket. Texas does Brisket, and does it better than anywhere in the world.

The second rule of Texas BBQ: Beef Ribs are your friend, and likely require another friend to split. They are monstrous and can be even better than the Brisket depending on location.

The third rule of Texas BBQ: If you get chicken, and only chicken, you’re probably missing out. Get the beef, that’s why you’re here 

Here are some of the best Restaurants for all things Austin BBQ with the one suggestions that isn’t Brisket, because you can get that everywhere:

Stiles Switch: The smoked sausage.

Terry’s Black BBQ: Full rack of beef ribs.

Freedman’s: Whiskey paired with an entrée. It has one of the most diverse collections of whiskey in Austin. Ask the bartender which whiskey will compliment your meal.

Micklethwait Craft Meats: The desserts. The Peanut Butter Chess Pie is to die for. I would consider this, “Franklin’s without the line.” Sits right across the street from Franklin’s and has great food without a massive wait. 

Frankin’s: Premiere eatery in Austin. Anything and everything is good here. The thing is, the line is long — especially on weekends. People line up at 6 a.m. to get in line for the brisket, that’s how good it is. Come early, leave happy.

Mexican Food

Unlike BBQ, there aren’t strict rules for Mexican food. Basically, everything is good. There’s an abundance of plates to get, but usually the main moves are enchiladas, fajitas, and anything with queso. The only tip worth noting: get the queso AND get the guacamole. That’s how you know it’s a good place if both are done well.

Maudie’s: Tex-Mex staple, you won’t be disappointed.

Chuy’s: Get the Jalapeño Ranch, it’s the best in the city.

Guero’s Taco Bar: Backyard with delicious food, live music from great local bands, and full bar. 

Taco Joint: 10/10 would get Bacon and Egg Breakfast Taco every day if calories were not a real thing.

Tyson’s Tacos: Open 24 hours and close to the airport. You can order online so you can grab and go quickly! We love their breakfast tacos. 

Vercruz Taco Truck: Great spot to grab lunchtime tacos.

Others

2nd Bar and Kitchen: Local cuisine with fresh ingredients. 

Blenders and Bowls: Fresh smoothies and bowls – a variety of selections with fresh fruit and toppings! Great place to sit and work.

Eberly: Top notch brunch in the most well decorated venue. Reservations recommended!

Fix Southern House: High class southern cooking. 

Le Cafe Crepe: Huge selection of sweet and savory crepes. 

Loro: Asian influenced meat. The smoked pork ribs and smoked prime bavette are mouth watering, and you could easily eat a side of texas corn to yourself. Don’t miss out on the Thai Watermelon Punch or Frozen Sake Slushee. 

Ramen tatsu-ya: Some of the best ramen, ever. 

Searsucker: American comfort food with southern style. 

Swift’s Attic: The salmon is out of this world. They also have “ice ball cocktails” which are really neat and delicious. Even on weeknights they’re packed, so grab a reservation if you can. 

Vince Young’s Steakhouse: Upscale steakhouse with interesting atmosphere and impeccable service with a southern twist. 

Deserts/Coffee

Alfred: super cute! Fast service, and delicious drinks. We loved the hot chai latte. 

Bananarchy: Stand where you can get frozen dipped bananas. 

Popbar: Customizable gelato and sorbet pop! Dip it and dunk it in the flavors and toppings you want. 

The Baked Bear: Custom ice cream sandwiches – okaaaay!

PLACES TO DRINK

While there are so, so many bars to choose from, the city breaks down into four different areas:

Dirty 6th — Every undergrad at UT has been there. It is everyone’s first set of bars. It’s also a fun time for anyone, hop around from any of these bars:

Blind Pig: Great rooftop bar with live music and dance floor.

Buckshot: Huge variation different mixed shots to try, you won’t be able to try them all 

Chupacabra: They usually provide a large margarita to any newcomers, so this is usually a good start

The Aquarium: Fish bowls and a giant slide at the back of the bar. You’ve gotta go down it at least once. 

Shakespeare’s: Get the LI Teas. In a pitcher. They’re worth it.

West 6th — For those who have graduated from Dirty 6th, this is more of a clubby scene with large rooms and DJs to bump some dance hall music 

Concrete Cowboy: Amazing outside space with great music and interesting cocktails.

Green Light Social: Secret drink — Capri Funs.

Parlor and Yard: Board games, pub food, and live music.

The Ranch: Games, DJs, delicious drinks with a lively scene. 

Rainey Street — If you’re looking for a more relaxed drinking environment, there’s a mix of outdoor clubs, live country music, and everything in between.

Bangers: With more beers than we could count, you won’t run out of choices and everything is refreshing!

Blackheart: Retro bar with live music and great atmosphere.

Container Bar: Industrial space made out of shipping containers, perfect for an unique Instagram of your specialty cocktail.

Icenhauer’s: Cocktails, beers, and a fire pit for cozy relaxing outside.

East Austin — Check out the hip, trendy part of town. They used to be a local secret, but now everyone knows East Austin bars are a great place to unwind and enjoy a nice drink.

Craftsman: Relaxed atmosphere with craft cocktails.

Kitty Cohen’s: Retro space offering drinks, plus a spacious yard for relaxing.

Lustre Pearl East: Old, converted home with a huge backyard with picnic tables and plenty of room for games and lounging.

Whisler’s: Handcrafted cocktails and open patio.

Side note — If you’re looking for the dive scene, check these out:

Deep Eddy Caberet, Ginny’s Little Longhorn (Sunday’s are Chicken Shit Bingo) or LaLa’s where it’s Christmas year around.  

PLACES TO STAY

There isn’t a bad place to stay in Austin. Your location should really depend on why you are coming to town. Close to downtown is usually your best because that is where all the action is: the bars, the food, the fun, etc. There are the usual choice of chain hotels in Austin, but here are the two most “Austin-y” accommodations.

On one end of the spectrum, Hotel Van Zandt Rainey Street is the perfect mixture of “Keep Austin Weird” and “Oh, you fancy huh?” It’s a bit pricey, but it’s in the perfect location to go out, or stay in and enjoy the skyline view from the pool.

On the other end, there is Driskall, one of the oldest but most well-known hotels in Texas. Also located near downtown, the Driskall is a must see, as it reflects the history and culture late 1800’s Texas.

A secret bed and breakfast is the Star of Texas. If you need to be close to the UT campus, the Star of Texas Bed and Breakfast is a cheap and nice option to stay at a quaint place with a hearty morning meal

The Line Hotel: Super posh hotel with an infinity-ish pool. 

Airbnb is always an option, too. 

TIPS

Austin is home to so many events year-round. Being a hub for live music, everyone in town knows when Austin City Limitsis coming up. Spanning two weekends at the beginning of October, Austin City Limits brings the best in music to Zilker Park. Headliners change every year, and even those not headlining are big deals, too.

The recently booming South by Southwest (SXSW) event takes over the city in March. Find anything from startups, film, music, and tech giants, including getting to see the latest technology, concerts, new releases of TV shows and movies, and much more. If you combine an electronics, film, and music festival you get SXSW.