The wife and I will be traveling to Austin Texas in late spring. I’ve never been in Austin before, or anywhere else in Texas for that matter. I’m looking for some interesting sights, attractions, and some restaurant recommendations. I’d love to hear about some must see places, interesting bars and restaurants, things that are indicative of Austin Texas.
Austin Texas Recommendations
- Thread starter aferrelli
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LOL, I’m not sure if this is a joke, or something that I should be looking forward to.
Well, the main part of Austin is 6th Street. You can go to sixth street and just bar hop. salt lick BBQ is probably the most famous of the top end BBQ's there. South of Austin, perhaps a hour depending upon where you are, is San Marcos...perhaps the best shopping outlet I've seen outside of NYC. Going to the bridge/park and watching the bats come out at sunset is pretty fun. You can do this on the Congress Ave Bridge or under that bridge. You can then walk over the congress avenue bridge, away from the city, and there are a ton of food trucks. It is pretty cool...millions of bats come out it is crazy. There is a nice place to watch in the back yard of the four seasons hotel there. With the kids there is some yard and walking areas.
Midnight Cowboy is a really cool speakeasy. You'll need to make a reservation in advance but it was one of my favorite places when I lived there.
La Barbecue is a bit closer to town than Salt Lick and just as good/better depending who you ask. I think Franklin's is the best but you need to commit to standing in line.
Definitely get drinks at the hotel bar at the Driskill, it's like going back in time. Plus its haunted.
My favorite lunch spot is Turf N Surf Po Boy which is in the Lavaca st bar. Its no frills window service but one of my favorites.
Torchy's for breakfast tacos. Brisket egg n cheese. Taco Shack downtown is good too. Had an office across the street from it and ate there multiple times per week.
Polvos for brunch. The Stubbs gospel brunch can be fun too.
If you like sushi Uchi/Uchiko are two of the best in the country.
A few other places I really like to checkout; Gordoughs donuts, Ranch 616, Odd Duck.
It has slowly been destroyed but go checkout what is left of Rainey Street.
La Barbecue is a bit closer to town than Salt Lick and just as good/better depending who you ask. I think Franklin's is the best but you need to commit to standing in line.
Definitely get drinks at the hotel bar at the Driskill, it's like going back in time. Plus its haunted.
My favorite lunch spot is Turf N Surf Po Boy which is in the Lavaca st bar. Its no frills window service but one of my favorites.
Torchy's for breakfast tacos. Brisket egg n cheese. Taco Shack downtown is good too. Had an office across the street from it and ate there multiple times per week.
Polvos for brunch. The Stubbs gospel brunch can be fun too.
If you like sushi Uchi/Uchiko are two of the best in the country.
A few other places I really like to checkout; Gordoughs donuts, Ranch 616, Odd Duck.
It has slowly been destroyed but go checkout what is left of Rainey Street.
Been there three times as our Corp office is there. Obli has som solid recommendation. To add to his, my wife and I preferred Rainy St over 6th. Rainey is a bit more laid back vs he college kid vibe of 6th. All depends what you’re into. Rainy is a bunch of olsAustin house converted into quirky bars and shops. Lots of music and food. Highly recommend the bats on Congress. Did it twice. Really cool and unique. Not sure if the scooters are running but rodecthem and had a blast on them. Mrs BB was not on that trip! Recommend Perla’s for outdoor dining under a huge tree. About a mile walk to the bat bridge. Great town for music!! Enjoy!!
Sadly most of Rainey is being converted into high rises. The land is too valuable.
Will only be spending 4 days and 3 nights in Austin. Yeah, I’m just interested in Austin itself or the nearby surroundings. As far as the budget, I’ve never really have given it much thought. I’m always looking for good deals; but when traveling, it’s not a make or break deal to get to a real value restaurant, hotel, attraction, or whatever. But like most people, I cannot say money isn’t an object at some point.
I’d just like to say thank you to all the people who have responded with a post. I greatly appreciate your input, and the time that you’ve spent writing your post.
Good timing! The bats migrate to Mexico over the winter and usually start returning in early-March.
One other recommendation: Amy’s Ice Creams is pretty good, several locations around town. (Last time in Austin the airport location was unfortunately closed for renovations.)
One other recommendation: Amy’s Ice Creams is pretty good, several locations around town. (Last time in Austin the airport location was unfortunately closed for renovations.)
Well, since you're getting lots of Austin advice may I suggest San Antonio. It's an easy 1.5 hour drive. Visit the Alamo and have lunch or dinner on the river walk. Very nice way to spend a day. You could pay for tours at the Alamo but I think the free tour is pretty good as well.
As something real close to Austin that note many people due is to see "The Round Rock in Round Rock". Google it up. It would just be a short trip but I thought it was interesting.
As something real close to Austin that note many people due is to see "The Round Rock in Round Rock". Google it up. It would just be a short trip but I thought it was interesting.
IF you end up going north to Round Rock, one of The Salt Lick BBQ locations is there. And you’d also want to include a visit to Round Rock Donuts.
For barbecue (note I will never wait in lines for bbq down here since there’s so much good stuff, so Franklin’s is out):
Mickelthwaite’s - though I think it’s getting like Franklin’s
Black’s BBQ on Lamar north of Campus. This is my choice for lunch during the week.
Valentina’s (Mexican bbq) on Manchaca in South Austin is blowing up due to their getting on several best of lists - amazing brisket tacos. Used to have a truck 3 blocks from my work downtown, now building a brick and mortar about 9 miles south.
Salt Lick is about 20 miles SW in Driftwood. Great combo of scene and bbq. It’s byob so bring a six pack and be prepared to wait.
Mexican:
Mi Madres on east side for kickass breakfast tacos
Polvos on S 1st - love this place
Matt’s on S Lamar - an institution
Drinks on Lake - Hula Hut or Able’s right next to each other just west of downtown. My favorite laid back place on lake is Ski Shores. Hard to find. About 7 miles west of downtown tucked away down in a neighborhood abutting the lake. Matthew McCoughnaghy has been known to paddle up on his SUP and have a few.
Austin doesn’t have any 5 Star attractions per se - it’s a great place to live and hang out though.
Someone mentioned Ranch 616. That’s our work happy hour spot. Great tequila drinks. Just off 6th at corner of 7th and Nueces. On much quieter end of 6th street. 6th street east of Congress is for drunk idiots. Go west on 6th for a more chill atmosphere.
6th St. is getting worse and worse by the year. I do not really recommend it much anymore, depending on someone's age. You definitely do not want to be there after 1 AM. Violent crime has been getting worse there and it seems to peak near bar closing time.
This is on Rainey St. which as someone said, has been destroyed over the years due to an influx of expensive high rise condos. It used to be a great bar district and Banger is one of the good ones. They have 100+ on tap and are working on an expansion to add 100+ more. If you go to this area, Craft Pride is a great Texas only craft beer bar next door that is also worth a stop. Craft Pride's patio also house a food truck for one of the best pizza joints in town, Via 313 (they have a few locations including brick & mortar around town). Also Emmer & Rye is a tapas style foodie restaurant in this area. It's also pretty good, but a bit spendy for the portions.
Firstly, I would tell the OP if they want the Salt Lick BBQ the Driftwood location is the only location worth visiting. I say that because there is much better BBQ all over this city, but the atmosphere at the Salt Lick is great for out of towners. But that atmosphere only exists at the original Driftwood location. If you want BBQ, here are my BBQ snob rankings (based on food quality only, in order), for places in the city.
Franklin - tough for a tourist, requires a lot of time waiting in line but it is the best brisket you will likely ever eat.
La BBQ
Mickelthwait OR Valentina's
Terry Black's
If you want to do great BBQ slightly out of town these should be on your radar:
Truth - Brenham TX. 2nd only to Franklin in my mind, phenomenal brisket here.
Snow's - Lexington TX. Open only on Sat.
Louie Mueller's - Taylor TX. The Mueller family is connected to Franklin, La BBQ and some others. This is where a lot of the best pitmasters and owners in Austin got their start. Get the beef rib, it's amazing but huge.
If you say so. For the record, there have been multiple shooting incidents in the 6th St. area per night, for 2 of the last 3 nights. Granted the SXSW crowd is part of it and this is not normal, but 6th St. safety is a far, far cry from what it used to be. It's mostly a street full of cheap bars for college drunks, with a handful of exceptions like Midnight Cowboy as someone else mentioned. I tell tourists in their 30's+ to walk by to see the scene, maybe go into 1-2 places earlier in the night, and then to move on to better bars.^^^^^^ Ignore this crap! ^^^^^^ Other than a few too many homeless at this time of the year 6th street is fine. What bar districts don't have a few fights at bar closing time?
Edit: It's important to note that EAST 6th St. includes both the young cheap bars (between Brazos and I-35), but also what is commonly just called "the eastside" which is east of I-35. The eastside, including 6th St. east of I-35, is an entirely different vibe than the portion of E. 6th on the west of the interstate. There are some really cool bars scattered all over the eastside, it's a great place to hang out for the most part.
Multiple shootings last night actually, and 3 in one night on Wed or Thurs night as well. Yay SXSW!
Great list. It’s amazing how built out Austin has gotten from the Y in Oak Hill to the Salt Lick. But that place at night during the holidays with the Lumenarias hanging is magical.
Haven’t done much bbq outside Austin except in Elgin, Lockhart and Llano, but there’s so much good here. One day I’ll take a random weekday off and hit Franklin’s, but I’m not standing in long lines like a schmuck for bbq. Like standing in line for snowballs in Alaska
What I do once in a while is organize an office lunch and put in a preorder. I think it requires a 5# minimum and usually you have to plan it many weeks in advance, but then you can just pick it up at the trailer in the back with no wait.
I'd also recommend hitting many of the local breweries, Austin has had an explosion of them in recent years. A good one for a touristy stop is the Oasis Brewing Company, they are on a deck overlooking Lake Travis and have a great view. Their beer isn't my favorite, but that view is the best on the lake. Adjacent you will find the Oasis restaurant, with similarly great views and decks. AVOID! The food is not good. You're better off with a beer and food from the brewery, or eating elsewhere.
For a day trip or activity consider Hamilton Pool, or hiking / biking at one of the many parks in the area (Pace Bend, Mulshoe,McKinney Falls, the Greenbelt - right in the city, Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, Inks Lake). Note that Hamilton Pool requires advance reservations and fills up way in advance.
Austin is more of a eating, drinking, outdoor activity sort of city than a sightseeing city. That said, some examples of touristy stuff to see/do would be touring the Capital building, walking the UT campus, the Lady Bird lake (aka Town Lake) hike and bike trail, lounging around Zilker Park, Barton Springs (swimming), scenic overlooks at Mount Bonnell and the Pennybacker bridge, the Bob Bullock Texas State history museum, LBJ library, Lady Bird Wildflower center.
For a day trip or activity consider Hamilton Pool, or hiking / biking at one of the many parks in the area (Pace Bend, Mulshoe,McKinney Falls, the Greenbelt - right in the city, Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, Inks Lake). Note that Hamilton Pool requires advance reservations and fills up way in advance.
Austin is more of a eating, drinking, outdoor activity sort of city than a sightseeing city. That said, some examples of touristy stuff to see/do would be touring the Capital building, walking the UT campus, the Lady Bird lake (aka Town Lake) hike and bike trail, lounging around Zilker Park, Barton Springs (swimming), scenic overlooks at Mount Bonnell and the Pennybacker bridge, the Bob Bullock Texas State history museum, LBJ library, Lady Bird Wildflower center.
Yeah, our office needs to do that. We did it with Mickelthwaite’s a few times - heavenly grub
This is what we've always done with Bourbon St. in New Orleans, though I'm twice the noted age... Plenty of other good places around with half the hassle.
I've been there a few times to visit my son and family. I'll add to the suggestions so far:
- Barton Springs Municipal Pool for spring water swimming hole atmosphere and, so I've heard, occasional topless sun bathers.
- Lady Bird Lake. Actually a portion of the Colorado River (a different one) in town where paddle boards and boats can be rented.
- UT campus.
- A new Easy Tiger bar/restaurant location in north-central Austin.
- Cool neighborhood bars and restaurants too numerous to mention. I liked Brewtorium just off Airport Blvd, because the in-house baked German soft pretzels were outstanding.
- Central Market for outside dining and evening entertainment attached to a Whole Foods.
- If you are into baseball, the Rangers have a nice minor league stadium in nearby Round Rock.
Observations:
- Texans fly their state flag more than any other state I've been to.
- Austin is an island of progressiveness in a not-so-progressive state.
- Lots of tatoos.
- I-35 is always bumper-to-bumper going through the city.
- Lots of high speed freeways, service roads, and U-turn configurations.
- Lots of Lime scooters (not so unique anymore).
- Barton Springs Municipal Pool for spring water swimming hole atmosphere and, so I've heard, occasional topless sun bathers.
- Lady Bird Lake. Actually a portion of the Colorado River (a different one) in town where paddle boards and boats can be rented.
- UT campus.
- A new Easy Tiger bar/restaurant location in north-central Austin.
- Cool neighborhood bars and restaurants too numerous to mention. I liked Brewtorium just off Airport Blvd, because the in-house baked German soft pretzels were outstanding.
- Central Market for outside dining and evening entertainment attached to a Whole Foods.
- If you are into baseball, the Rangers have a nice minor league stadium in nearby Round Rock.
Observations:
- Texans fly their state flag more than any other state I've been to.
- Austin is an island of progressiveness in a not-so-progressive state.
- Lots of tatoos.
- I-35 is always bumper-to-bumper going through the city.
- Lots of high speed freeways, service roads, and U-turn configurations.
- Lots of Lime scooters (not so unique anymore).
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