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Things to do guide

The best things to do in Austin

Updated 7 October 2026 · 16 things to do

Pictured: 1 Hotel Austin

Austin is the capital of Texas and behaves nothing like it. Where the rest of the state does oil and cattle, Austin does guitars, tacos and swimming holes. It calls itself the Live Music Capital of the World, and on any given night there is a band in the corner of a bar, a songwriter on a patio and a queue outside a honky-tonk. The unofficial motto, Keep Austin Weird, is printed on half the T-shirts in town.

The city has grown fast, with glass towers now crowding the skyline, but its pleasures remain simple. Swim in a spring-fed pool. Watch a million bats pour out from under a bridge at sunset. Queue for brisket. Then follow the sound of a pedal steel guitar into the night. A long weekend is enough to fall for it.

Don't miss

  1. 1Texas State Capitol
  2. 2Barton Springs Pool
  3. 3The Congress Avenue Bridge bats
  4. 4South Congress
  5. 5Texas barbecue

The big sights

A pink dome, a spring-fed pool and a lot of bats.

  1. Texas State Capitol

    Landmark

    The Texas State Capitol in Austin
    Photo: LoneStarMike, CC BY 3.0

    Everything is bigger in Texas, including the seat of government. The Capitol, finished in the 1880s in a distinctive pinkish granite, stands at the head of Congress Avenue with a dome that Texans will proudly tell you rises higher than the one in Washington. Step inside to gaze up into the rotunda, with its lone star at the top, and wander the shady grounds among statues and old oak trees.

  2. Barton Springs Pool

    Nature

    Barton Springs Pool in Austin
    Photo: Ligocsicnarf89, CC BY 4.0

    On a hot day, all of Austin ends up here. Barton Springs is an enormous natural swimming pool in Zilker Park, fed by underground springs that keep the water clear and bracingly cool all year round. Grassy banks slope down to the edge, shaded by pecan trees, and the mix of swimmers is the city in miniature: students, families, old-timers doing their laps.

    Tip: The first plunge is a shock, even in high summer. Go in quickly and it soon feels wonderful.

  3. The Congress Avenue Bridge bats

    Wildlife

    Bats flying out from the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin
    Photo: Aleksandr Zykov from Russia, CC BY-SA 2.0

    From spring to autumn, the bridge that carries Congress Avenue over the river is home to a vast colony of Mexican free-tailed bats, the largest urban bat colony in North America. Around dusk they stream out from beneath it in a dark, twisting ribbon to hunt for insects, and crowds line the pavement and the lawns below to watch.

    It is one of the strangest and most charming sights in any American city. Some people watch from kayaks or sightseeing boats on the water.

    Tip: Arrive well before sunset for a spot on the bridge. The bats set their own schedule and some evenings they emerge late.

  4. Lady Bird Lake

    Activity

    The Austin skyline across Lady Bird Lake
    Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The stretch of the Colorado River that runs through the middle of Austin is the city's playground. A walking and cycling trail loops around it for miles, partly on a boardwalk over the water, with the skyline on one side and trees on the other. Motorboats are kept off, so the lake belongs to kayaks, paddleboards and rowers. Hire something that floats and join them.

  5. Mount Bonnell

    Nature

    Lake Austin seen from Mount Bonnell
    Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain

    A short, steep flight of stone steps on the west side of town leads to one of the highest points in the city. The reward is a wide view over the winding blue of Lake Austin, the mansions along its banks and the green Hill Country rolling away beyond. Couples have been coming up here at sunset for well over a century.

Music and nightlife

The reason many people come, and the reason they stay out too late.

  1. Live music

    Activity

    The Continental Club on South Congress in Austin
    Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0

    Austin's reputation rests on its stages. The long-running television show Austin City Limits put the city on the musical map, and the scene now covers everything from country and blues to indie rock and Latin sounds. The Red River district has a string of clubs and outdoor stages, South Congress has the Continental Club, and old dance halls such as the Broken Spoke still teach newcomers the two-step.

    Tip: Two big festivals, South by Southwest in March and Austin City Limits in October, fill the city. Book well ahead if your dates overlap.

  2. Sixth Street

    Nightlife

    Sixth Street in Austin at dusk
    Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0

    The most famous party street in Texas runs through Downtown in a blaze of neon, with bars and music venues shoulder to shoulder in Victorian buildings. On weekend nights the central blocks fill with revellers. It is loud, young and not subtle. For cocktails and conversation, head a few blocks west, where the crowd is older and the bars are calmer.

  3. Rainey Street

    Nightlife

    A quiet residential street of old wooden bungalows near the lake that turned, almost overnight, into a bar district. Many of the houses are still there, with drinkers on the porches and in the back gardens under fairy lights, and food trucks parked alongside. New towers are rising around it, but the laid-back, house-party feel survives.

Neighbourhoods and museums

  1. South Congress

    Neighbourhood

    Shops along South Congress Avenue in Austin
    Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cross the bridge from Downtown and Congress Avenue turns into SoCo, the most enjoyable shopping street in Austin. Here are cowboy-boot shops with walls of hand-tooled leather, vintage stores, costume shops, ice-cream parlours and restaurants with big patios. Look back up the avenue for a perfectly framed view of the Capitol, and expect a queue at the murals that everyone photographs.

  2. Blanton Museum of Art

    Museum

    Ellsworth Kelly's 'Austin' building at the Blanton Museum of Art
    Photo: Alex Liivet from Chester, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0

    The University of Texas has one of the largest university art collections in the country, strong on Latin American and modern American work. The highlight stands outside: a small, chapel-like building designed by the artist Ellsworth Kelly, its white walls pierced by coloured glass windows that throw moving patches of light across the interior. It is a quiet, lovely place to sit.

  3. Bullock Texas State History Museum

    Museum

    A few blocks north of the Capitol, with a giant bronze star outside, this museum tells the story of Texas from the first peoples through Spanish missions, the brief years as an independent republic, cattle drives and the oil boom, to the space age. It is a good primer for understanding why Texans feel the way they do about Texas, and there is a big-screen cinema for a rest.

Eat and drink

  1. Texas barbecue

    Food

    A plate of brisket, ribs, pickles and onions at a Texas smokehouse
    Photo: T.Tseng, CC BY 2.0

    In central Texas, barbecue means beef, above all brisket, smoked slowly over oak for hours until it has a black, peppery crust and falls apart at the touch of a fork. It comes sliced onto butcher's paper with white bread, pickles and raw onion, plus sausage and ribs if you have room. People queue for hours at the most celebrated places, and treat the wait as a social event.

    Tip: The best-known smokehouses sell out, often by early afternoon. Go for lunch rather than dinner.

  2. Tacos and Tex-Mex

    Food

    Austin runs on tacos. The day starts with a breakfast taco, a warm flour tortilla wrapped around scrambled egg with bacon, potato, beans or cheese, and carries on from there. Tex-Mex classics follow: melted queso for dipping, sizzling fajitas, enchiladas under chilli gravy and frozen margaritas. Much of the best eating comes from food trucks parked in yards with picnic tables.

Day trips

  1. The Texas Hill Country

    Day trip

    A field of bluebonnets in the Texas Hill Country
    Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain

    West of Austin the land rises into limestone hills covered in oak and cedar, cut by clear rivers. This is wine country, with tasting rooms strung along the road towards Fredericksburg, a town founded by German settlers that still serves schnitzel and beer. In spring the verges turn blue with bluebonnets, the state flower, and half of Texas drives out to see them.

  2. Hamilton Pool Preserve

    Nature

    The waterfall at Hamilton Pool
    Photo: Halljenalyn, CC BY-SA 4.0

    One of the most photographed spots in Texas: a jade-green pool beneath a great overhanging shelf of limestone, formed when the roof of an underground river collapsed. A waterfall trickles over the lip, and ferns cling to the rock. A short trail leads down from the car park through a wooded canyon.

    Tip: Visits must be reserved in advance, and swimming is not always allowed. Check before you go.

  3. Lockhart

    Day trip

    A small town south of Austin with a grand courthouse on its square and an outsized reputation: it is officially the Barbecue Capital of Texas. A handful of old smokehouses, some run by the same families for generations, serve brisket, ribs and sausage in dim rooms scented by decades of oak smoke. Serious eaters visit more than one in a day.

Where to stay in Austin

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Austin →

Getting around

Downtown, Rainey Street, the lake and South Congress are all walkable from one another, and hire bikes and scooters are everywhere. Taxis cover Zilker Park, Mount Bonnell and the university. You'll want a hire car for the Hill Country, Hamilton Pool and Lockhart.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons, warm and mostly dry, with wildflowers in spring. Summers are long and very hot, which is when Barton Springs comes into its own. Winters are mild. The bats are in residence from roughly spring to autumn.

Questions about visiting Austin

What is Austin best known for?
Live music, barbecue and tacos, the Texas State Capitol, the bats of the Congress Avenue Bridge, the South by Southwest and Austin City Limits festivals, and a relaxed, offbeat character.
Is Austin worth visiting?
Yes, especially if you like music, food and the outdoors. It has fewer formal sights than some cities, but swimming at Barton Springs, an evening of live music and a barbecue lunch add up to a very good trip.
What is there to do in Austin with kids?
Swim at Barton Springs, hire kayaks on Lady Bird Lake, watch the bats fly at dusk, play in Zilker Park, and visit the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
How many days do you need in Austin?
Two to three days covers the city. Add a day for the Hill Country or a barbecue pilgrimage to Lockhart.
Do you need a car in Austin?
Not if you stay centrally: Downtown, the lake and South Congress are walkable and taxis are easy to find. A car is needed for the Hill Country and other day trips.

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