Top 10 Things to Do in Austin
You will find a ton of fun things to do in Austin! Nicknamed the “live music capital of the world,” Austin has no lack of outdoor concerts, street musicians, and dinner performances. Experience Austin culture and discover what makes this Texas metropolis so cool! Don’t miss Austin City Limits or the Congress Bridge bat flight! If after reading this list you are still at a loss for what to do – ask a local – Austin natives are known for their hospitality!
- Austin City Limits Taping
- Zilker Park
- Bats under Congress Bridge
- Explore 6th Street
- Esther’s Follies
- Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
- Alamo Drafthouse
- Austin Symphony
- The Texas Capitol
- Austin Ghost Tours
You can’t travel to Austin and not check out Austin City Limits – the live concert series broadcast on PBS for the past 35 years. This premier musician-centered concert attracts top stars like Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews Band. Previous performers include Beck, Coldplay, Brooks & Dunn, and the legendary Johnny Cash. After one visit to Austin City Limits, you will discover why Austin has been named the “live music capital of the world.” Of course, Austin City Limits favors Texan music and music that celebrates Texan heritage and tradition. Tip: Austin City Limits is taped in a studio and the tickets are given away free – but very hard to get! To see more about this most famous of Austin attractions visit: http://www.austincitylimits.org/.
Zilker Park offers a relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city. This major Austin attraction is home to Austin’s Barton Springs, natural spring-fed pools that are available year round. There is also the Zilker Hillside Theatre at the park where you can catch some live music. Check out the 9-hole golf course or the volleyball courts; play touch football on the playscape; or hit a trail. Bring a picnic lunch and spread out on a blanket and stargaze with your loved ones. To learn more, visit the City of Austin’s Zilker Park website: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zilker/
Austin is home to one of the most unusual tourist attractions: the flight of 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats from under Congress Bridge. They live under the bridge and fly out – in swarms – at dusk between March and November. Tourists flock to this most unique of Austin attractions. There are even local companies that offer tours to see the bats. The most interesting is the segway tour offered by the company Seg City. To learn how you can take a segway tour to see the bats, visit: http://www.segcity.com/. Tasty tip: the segway tour ends in a stop at Austin’s most famous Gelato ice-cream parlor.
Austin’s 6th Street – also known as Pecan Street – is the hub of the city’s booming music and entertainment scene, making 6th Street one of the most popular Austin attractions. Not only does the street showcase every genre of live music and excellent Tex-Mex, chili, and Cajun-cooking restaurants and vendors – it is the site of annual festivities: the Austin Mardi Gras, the Republic of Texas Biker’s Rally, the Pecan Street Festival, SXSW, and the annual Halloween Festivities. A walk down 6th Street will result in a scrumptious Tex-Mex burrito, live music (in any genre), and some chats with interesting folk in cowboy hats or business suits – sometimes both! Check out these activities and more here: http://www.6street.com/.
If you are looking for fun things to do in Austin look no further! Esther’s Follies is a no-holds-barred, sassy satire – part magic show, vaudevillian act and comedy routine. This is Texas’ most famous comedy venue. Complete with political parody, farce and relentless innuendo, Esther’s Follies is sure to entertain! The complex offers a full bar and popcorn service. So swig your favorite beer, munch on some popcorn, sit back and let the cast at Esther’s Follies make you laugh! For more information see: http://www.esthersfollies.com/.
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is formerly known as “The Story of Texas” – and that is just what this museum is: a captivating story of how Texas came to be. The museum includes a friendly café and IMAX theater. The Bob Bullock Museum is a non-collecting museum which means that it functions in the midst of a dynamic exchange of cultural objects and artifacts; so, there is always something new for you! To check out the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum see the website at: http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/.
Looking for fun things to do in Austin? The Alamo Drafthouse offers a very cool, uniquely Texan experience, which truly combines dining with theater. You will dine in row seating or booths facing one of up to ten projection screens and can continue ordering food while you enjoy the movie. The menu includes full dinner service as well as beer and wine. The restaurant is decorated in a mix of contempo-modern décor and film noir to provide a dining experience with an edge. To check out the Alamo Drafthouse’s Texan franchise see their website: http://www.drafthouse.com/.
Reserve a seat at Austin’s oldest performing arts center. If you are in Austin on major holidays, be sure to check out the Halloween Children’s Concert or the Christmas Sing-A-Long. The Austin Symphony has other time-specific family-friendly programs like the Family Concert – which features headlining children’s entertainers. Make a night of it and dine at a participating restaurant that offers a Concert Night Special! Don’t miss the Pre-concert Lecture “Concert Conversations” if you want to expand your music-education repertoire! To see more about this Austin attraction visit: http://www.austinsymphony.org/.
Take a tour of the historic Texas Capitol Building in Austin and discover why the Capitol Building is one of the top Austin attractions. This 1888 building serves as a Texan history preservation effort as well as a functional political state epicenter. The capitol at Austin is on the National Register for Historic Places and is also a National Landmark known for its architectural beauty and its authenticity in the Renaissance Revival style. Texans like to boast that their capitol is taller than the National Capitol and is the second largest capitol building in the nation after Washington, D.C. Save some extra time for the exhibits, as they will give you an in-depth look at Texas’ role in American history. To see more about the Texas Capitol visit the State Preservation Board’s website at: http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/spb/capitol/texcap.htm.
This specialized tour will give you more than your run-of-the-mill historical info. Austin is the home of famous long-departed serial killers and murderers who are said to haunt the city. Drawing upon a wealth of historical research, their tour guides know their stuff and base the tours on fact, not superstition. Austin Ghost Tours offers many different tours including Haunted 6th Street Pub Crawl and a dozen different Halloween Tours. See Austin attractions in a different light and maybe become a believer in the paranormal! For more information about Austin Ghost Tours visit: http://www.hauntedtexas.com/.