Great news—you are staying in one of the best walking/shopping/site-seeing districts in the city. That means you can walk out your front door and experience some great Austin culture right away. The instructions are easy: stroll up and down Congress Ave. You can also walk west to South First Street where you will find more Austin hot spots. If you walk east on Monroe, you will discover the wonderful neighborhood park, Little Stacy Park, about 6 blocks away.

Now, if you have a little more time, there are some other areas and destinations that would be great to explore. If you don’t have a car, Uber and Lyft are very popular modes of transport around here. Austin is one of the first cities to introduce Waymo, the self-driving car service, so you will no doubt see those around town. They are booked via the Uber app. You can also almost always find a scooter or a bike for rent along the road somewhere. We have a city-wide bike share program that includes electric bikes. Our bus system is CapMetro if you are looking to ride the bus. If you want to do a lot of further afield activities, we recommend renting a car as that is how most locals still get around.

Aside from breakfast tacos, queso, and live music, things to experience in Austin include: the river running through the city that we call Lady Bird Lake (you can walk some or all of the 10-mile trail or rent a kayak or stand-up paddle board (SUP) at Texas Rowing Center or Austin Rowing Club to enjoy the downtown view from the water—highly recommended!), the surrounding hill country towns are home to great bbq (our favorite is Smitty’s in Lockhart), hiking and mountain biking trails, thrifting, antiquing, and swimming holes such as Barton Springs and Deep Eddy (both in town) or Hamilton Pool and Jacob’s Well (further out of town).

Activities

Other Cool Neighborhoods to Check Out

• 2nd Street District – boutique shopping, nice dining, downtown
• Rainey Street – fun bar and restaurant district just west of I-35
• Sixth Street – the original bar scene of Austin, very popular, lots of clubs, sometimes called “Dirty 6th” and is sometimes compared to Bourbon Street in New Orleans
• West Sixth Street – still has lots of bars and restaurants, but it a little less rowdy and probably has more college students and young professionals than the original Sixth
• East Austin – a newly gentrified area with lots of hip stuff going on
• West Austin – a more established, well-off neighborhood with some historic and a mix of fancy and casual establishments. This is also where a handful of places on the lake are located.
• The Drag – shopping strip across from the University of Texas campus
• Clarksville – a very centrally-located, historic neighborhood with cute shops and restaurants
• The Domain – a planned-community style living/shopping/eating district that is pretty far north, everything here is new, some call it Austin’s “second downtown”

Shopping, Markets & Local Stores

• Second Street District
• The Domain
• South Congress
• SFC Farmer’s Market (Saturdays from 9 to 1)
• Toy Joy – fun local toy store
• Big Top Candy Shop – over the top candy shop with an old-fashioned soda fountain

Dancing

• The Continental Club – old-school Austin club with 2-stepping as well as rock, country, blues and more
• Broken Spoke – ancient Austin “honky-tonk” venue, great for 2-stepping and other country dancing
• Barbarella – the place to dance your booty off
• RAIN on 4th – legendary gay bar that’s always hoppin, including a light-up dance floor

Sports (To Participate In)

• Biking – the mountain, city, and road biking community is big here
• Yoga
• Rock climbing (indoor and outdoor)
• Swimming at Barton Springs Pool
• Swimming at Deep Eddy Pool
• Swimming at Big Stacey Park (heated outdoor pool)
• Paddleboarding on Lady Bird Lake
• Kayaking on Lady Bird Lake

Spectator Sports

• Watch a UT football game
• Watch an Austin FC soccer game at the Q2 Stadium
• Watch Texas Roller Girls roller derby
• Watch race at Circuit of the Americas F1 track
• Watch the skateboarders and bmx bikers at the 9th Street Bike Park

Beer Gardens

• The ABGB
• Easy Tiger
• Draught House Pub & Brewery
• Scholz Garten
• Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden
• Jester King Brewery (outside of town)

Festivals & Yearly Events

• South by Southwest (SXSW) – March
• Austin Rodeo – March
• Kite Festival – April
• Old Settlers Music Festival (outside of town) – April
• Eeyore’s Birthday – April
• Kerrville Folk Festival (outside of town) – May
• Austin City Limits – October
• Gruene Music and Wine Festival (outside of town) – October
• Formula One Race – October
• Austin Film Festival – Oct/Nov
• Texas Monthly BBQ Festival (outside of town) – November
• Austin Food & Wine Festival – November
• Texas Book Festival – November
• Waller Creek Show – November

Live Music

• Antone’s – Blues
• The Elephant Room – Jazz bar
• The Saxon Pub
• Broken Spoke
• Carousel Lounge
• Continental Club
• ACL Live Theater
• Cactus Cafe
• Donn’s Depot
• Stubb’s Bar-B-Que
• Hole in the Wall

Popular Tourist Activities

• Congress Avenue bat colony (March to October)
• The Oasis restaurant overlooking Lake Travis
• Movies at Alamo Drafthouse
• Texas state capitol tour

Comedy Clubs

• Esther’s Follies
• Cap City Comedy Club
• The Creek and the Cave
• Comedy Mothership (Joe Rogan's club)

Walks & Hikes

• Ann Roy Butler Trail (Ladybird Lake Trail)
• Riverplace Trail
• Barton Creek Greenbelt
• Mount Bonnell

Live Entertainment Venues

• Palmer Events Center
• Paramount Theater
• Zach Scott Theater
• Moody Theater
• Moody Center
• UT Performing Arts Center

Museums

• The Contemporary Austin – downtown
• Laguna Gloria – beautiful location at the lake
• Blanton – near UT campus
• Bob Bullock History Museum
• Mexi-Art Museum
• LBJ Presidential Library
• Museum of the Weird

Day Trips

• Market Days in Wimberley
• Antiquing in Round Top
• BBQ Tour
• San Antonio
• Camping

Good Weather Activities

• Stand-up paddle boarding or kayaking on Lady Bird Lake
• Butler hike-and-bike trail
• Ladybird Wildflower Center
• Zilker Park
• Barton Creek Greenbelt
• Walk up Mount Bonnell for a nice view
• Boating on Lake Travis
• Shopping on South Congress or at The Domain

Bad Weather Activities

• Austin Bouldering Project
• Movie and dinner at Alamo Drafthouse
• Wander around the super cool downtown library
• Museum hopping
• Ice skating
• Roller skating
• Bowling (glow-in-the-dark bowling underground at the UT Student Union)
• Karaoke
• The Thinkery (Austin’s hands-on children’s museum)

Food & Drink

We have lived in Austin since the 1990’s and have seen LOTS of change. Today’s Austin is a far cry from the city that was introduced to a national audience in the 1991 film, Slacker. While steep prices, award-winning chefs, and high-end boutiques prevent Austin from being the “Eden for the young and unambitious,” it once was, there is still a down-to-Earth vibe that keeps Austin real, unique, and strangely alluring. With “Keep Austin Weird,” as one of our official mottos, my personal summation of Austin is that you can pretty much go anywhere, any time of year and see someone wearing flip flops.

There are so many great places in Austin, you will find even more great ideas in the Austin guides we link to that are maintained by people who are probably more up-to-date than us. Below, you will find our personal faves. Be sure to check hours and locations online before you head out. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask!

Nearby Spots

• Home Slice Pizza – Pizza place owned by dear friends of ours, but that do esn’t take away from the fact that this is some of the best pizza in the world. It also happens to be one block away from the house. Favorite orders: Margherita pizza, Italian Assorted sub (small, with spicy cherry peppers added), House Salad with garlic knots.
• Mañana – Great coffee shop that is literally next door. You can sit inside or use the lovely outdoor courtyard shared by the South Congress Hotel. Favorite orders: breakfast taco and cortado. While you wait for your order, enjoy sparkling water from their self-serve tap.
• Guero’s Taco Bar
• Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar
• Amy’s Ice Cream

Tacos

• Tacodeli – There is an ongoing religious debate between Torchy’s lovers and Tacodeli lovers. We side with Tacodeli. Favorite order: Chicken Fundido on flour with Doña Sauce (you have to serve your own sauce with the hand pumps) and the Shrimpocito on flour. They now have several locations all over town.
• Cuantos Tacos – Taco truck in Central East Austin that is way more authentic Mexico City style tacos and no less delicious.
• Fresa’s – Favorite order: the El Rey taco

Coffee Shops

• Houndstooth
• Better Half
• Cafe Medici
• Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors
• Cenote

Brunch

• Matt’s El Rancho
• Moonshine Grill
• Josephine House
• Mattie’s
• Elizabeth Street Cafe
• Wu Chow

Sushi

• Musashino Sushi Dokoro
• Soto
• Otoko
• Kura Sushi

Date Night

• Justine’s Brasserie
• Lin Asian Bar & Dim Sum
• Comedor

Great Outdoor Seating

• ABGB
• Mozart’s Coffee
• Hula Hut
• Better Half
• Kemuri Tatsu-ya

Just Great Food

• Ramen Tatsu-ya
• Sway
• Loro
• Jeffery’s
• Fareground Food Hall

Bakeries

• Swedish Hill
• Sugar Mama Bake Shop
• Epicerie
• Captain Quack's Bakery
• Sour Duck Market

Barbeque (BBQ)

• The Salt Lick
• Black’s
• Franklin’s
• Rudy’s

Late Night

• Kerby Lane Cafe
• Magnolia Cafe
• 24 Diner

More Austin Guides

Stuff is always changing and we are old-timers here. Be sure to check out some of these guides that will have more up-to-date info as well as a different perspective on what is fun to do in Austin, Texas!

Food-Oriented Guides

• Eater Austin
• Edible Austin
• Austin Food Blogger Alliance

General

• Visit Austin
• Do512
• A Taste of Koko
• Austin Museum Partnership

Austin-Based Publications

• Austin Monthly Magazine
• Tribeza
• The Austin Chronicle