Austin, TX Travel & Vacation Guide

What to Know

Proud to stand apart from its sister Lone Star cities, the Texas capital manages to be both trendy and timeless. Artsy, hip and home to 50,000 U.T. college students, this laid-back city is part college town, part live-music mecca. The Live Music Capital of the World, Austin boasts more than 200 venues and some of the country’s top music festivals, including South by Southwest and Austin City Limits.

With three lakes, including one that runs through downtown, the outdoors are a big part of life in this sunny city. Miles of hiking and bike trails include the popular Barton Creek Greenbelt that stretches for nearly eight miles over more than 800 acres. Need more nature? Beautiful Texas Hill Country is just beyond the city limits.

Austin is famous for two types of food: Tex-Mex and barbecue. Ask locals where the best spots are and you’re bound to spark a debate. Not to worry, slow-cooked beef brisket and frosty, oversized margaritas are hard to beat no matter where they’re served.

Where to Go

Start at the city’s main drag. Sixth Street offers seven blocks of bars and clubs, Victorian architecture and slews of rowdy college students. Take a break from bar-hopping and stop by the historic Driskill Hotel’s opulent bar for a drink with Austin’s elite.

South of Sixth Street, the slightly older and more upscale Warehouse District is another hot bed of top music venues along with trendy restaurants and bars. Don’t miss Antone’s, a live-music landmark and Austin’s home of the blues since 1975.

For even more music, downtown’s three-block Red River District is the place to catch the indie buzz. Be sure and stop by the landmark Stubb’s BBQ, where you can feast on some of the city’s best barbecue before catching a live show.

For eclectic shopping, cool galleries and, yes, even more legendary music venues, stroll down funky South Congress Avenue, otherwise known as SoCo. If you visit anywhere from May through October, don’t miss Austin’s most off-beat attraction at the Congress Avenue bridge. Each night at dusk, spectators gather to watch a swarm of more than a million bats under the bridge take flight.

When to Go

With around 300 days of annual sunshine and mild winters, Austin is a year-round destination. Temperatures in the dry summer months do heat up, and July and August can be uncomfortable.

Many Austin visitors time their trip around one of the city’s many festivals. If you’re planning to attend March’s wildly popular South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) for all things music, film and interactive, book rooms well in advance, as they fill up quickly. If you’re not attending the festival, avoid the ten days in March when the city will be packed to the gills.

If heat doesn’t bother you, consider visiting in September for the three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival. Just be aware that temperatures can get hot, and there isn’t much shade at the festival site. If you do brave the summer months, Austin’s ample lakes offer plenty of places to cool off.