In an attempt to grow our stateside travel guides, we decided to visit Austin, Texas. And what a winner Austin was! The city’s motto is #KeepAustinWeird – and yes, things were weird but they were also super fun. Here are some of the cool things you can do while visiting Austin!

Where to Stay

You should know that downtown Austin is split into two areas connected by the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. To my surprise, locals don’t differentiate between the two sides – for example, they don’t call them the North side vs. the Southside. It’s all just “downtown Austin”. This can be a little confusing when booking a central place to stay.

Let me break it down for ya! There’s the downtown Austin that has the financial district, what you would imagine as a real downtown with skyscrapers and fancy hotels. This side is technically north of the river. Also home to the very famous Rainey Street and 6^th Street, but we’ll go into those later. Then there’s the south side of the river, where the amazing Zilker Park, shopping strips and South Congress Ave or SoCo all are.

Here are some options for you depending on what you’re looking to do. If you’re going for a long weekend, here are some suggested hotels that are north of the river. These are in the heart of the district, but still won’t break the bank. Check out: Courtyard Austin Downtown/Convention Center, or if you’re willing to treat yourself then the LINE Hotel.

Now if you want to be closer to Zilker Park and South of the river, here’s what we recommend: Budget-friendly option is the Embassy Suites South Congress. Splurging? Then stay at The Carpenter Hotel or South Congress Hotel. Not sold on any? Head over to our Booking widget here to check out more options!

Cool things to do in Austin? 

There’s plenty, let’s break them down by category.

For Nature Lovers & Adventure Seekers

Probably the best part of our trip was exploring Zilker Metropolitan Park. This park is literally 351-acres of possibilities. A stroll here is the perfect start to each day in Austin. Zilker Park is most famed for the Lady Bird Lake trail and accompanying water activities you can partake in on the lake. You can enjoy nearly anything that floats right on Lady Bird; rentals are available for kayaking, paddle boarding, canoeing and more. You can book your rentals ahead of time here or here.

Also in Zilker Park is the Barton Springs Pool– another charming morning activity that’s less strenuous for those who are not into the water activities. It is a water spring after all though, so you will be expected to swim, or do yoga on the lawn – up to you. Note that entry into the pool area has a fee and is not free unlike the rest of the park!

We visited Zilker Park in the wintertime, so the Botanical Garden wasn’t thriving. But if you find yourself in Austin during the spring or fall make sure to check it out.

The last outdoorsy suggestion in downtown Austin is Mount Bonnell also known as Covert Park. Overlooking Lake Austin, this little hike has one of the best vantage points in the city – it’s actually the highest point in Austin city limits. The trail is only a half a mile so do not skip it – we’ve seen people do it in heels, so no excuse there.

For Art & Culture Lovers

Murals. There are so many murals in Austin, there are literally entire blog posts on them. We’ll cover some essentials here but certainly not all.

Greetings Mural, a description is unwarranted.

Drive up to a suburban street in the heart of Austin, to a humble home owned by Vince Hannemann. Walkthrough his front yard and be mesmerized by the Cathedral of Junk.  Yup, just that – an entire formation of junk and antique items collected over 30 years. Perhaps our intro was misleading because you can’t just drive up to Vince at his home, you are asked to text him directly at 512-299-7413 and set an appointment. Be courteous and try to give him at least a two-day notice.

Keeping up with obscure art in Austin – take a trip to Graffiti Park. When we visited the park was closed and was scheduled to be relocated however you can still walk around the outside fence and marvel at the art. This is a project that lasted 7 years in the Castle Hill neighborhood and has surely left a lasting impression on visitors and locals alike.

Let’s consider for a minute that Bat Watching is a cultural activity. It is unquestionably an activity that is unique to Austin, but hey #KeepAustinWeird, right? Depending on when you visit Austin, you can head down several paths under the South Congress Bridge and witness thousands of bats waking up and beginning their night flight. This typically happens around sunset and the best time of the year is said to be the summer. Happy bat watching!

For the Wanderers, the Shoppers and Nightlife Chasers

If you’re in Austin, you’re going to end up either on 6th Street or on Rainey Street. Rainey Street is a quaint little road during the day, but all things change in the evening. It’s essentially a stretch of old homes that transform at night to a lively strip of bars, live music venues, outdoor dance parties and more. There are also several food truck parks along the street, which is great for those of us who like to devour anything at any time.

The most iconic street in Austin – 6^th Street, also known as Dirty 6^th, is one of the craziest, most intense nightlife experience one could have. For a better idea, most of the street is actually blocked off on the weekends and becomes a pedestrian only zone lined with hundreds of clubs, bars, and cheap food shops. During high season, Halloween for example, the two-lane street can get filled (shoulder to shoulder) with masses of folks looking to enjoy the evening. It would be unjust to recommend a handful of places to visit on 6^th; the real experience comes from hopping from one establishment to the other! Enjoy, and be safe.

South Congress Ave or SoCo is another must-stroll section of Austin that serves all the shoppers out there. There are plenty of galleries, eateries, and outdoors gardens to pop in. Austin’s official tourism websites breaks down all these shops nicely here.

A bit out of the way, but a nice relaxing lakeside outdoor compound of shops to visit is The Oasis on Lake Travis. Probably the best thing to do here is to appreciate the view, but you can also check out the Design Lab for some Texan goodies and souvenirs, or grab a brew at the Oasis Texas Brewing Company!

For the Foodies

Where to eat in Austin? Everywhere. Here are the ones we got a chance to visit and indulge in.

If you have a car, great, if not grab an Uber and make your way to Salt Lick. A true Texan gem and incredibly affordable for the amount and quality of the food. We would say this is hands down the best barbeque we’ve ever had. Although I am adamant that you should visit the restaurant, if you don’t have time, don’t worry. You can grab Salt Lick on the go at the Austin International Airport.

As you venture out in downtown Austin, make a pit stop at Paperboy. This is the perfect breakfast stop as you head over to Zilker Park. Paperboy is a small food truck on South Lamar Boulevard, but honestly it’s one of the best breakfast meals I’ve ever consumed. As you can tell, we had some out of this world food in Austin – the cuisine alone makes the city truly worth a visit.

We can’t cover food in Texas without mentioning Torchy’s Tacos (throwback to our taco tour in Houston). Torchy’s has been a long time taco-joint favorite of ours; we were thrilled to find several stores throughout Austin.

Brunch in Austin? Irene’s Patio takes the win! Head over early to grab a seat at the bustling restaurant, and if you’re lucky you can catch a live show in the patio area.

If you’re looking for an instagrammable food spot in Austin, Cafe No Sé is the place to go. Honestly, the food was good but quite overpriced, the boho chic décor and healthy food options made up for it.

Other notable places to munch and take a break are Easy Tiger’s beer garden and of course last but not least, Voodoo Doughnut.

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