A Visitor's Guide to Exploring Downtown Austin, TX

Author Brad Lane has traveled extensively throughout Texas and always enjoys visiting Austin.

Austin, the state capital of Texas, is one of the fastest-growing cities in North America. A lot comes together in downtown Austin for a memorable visit.

At its center is the sunset-red granite Texas Capitol, with several tourist attractions and entertainment venues stemming from its manicured grounds. This includes iconic theaters and local restaurants lining Congress Avenue, extending south from the tree-lined promenade of the Texas Capitol.

Alongside being the state capital, Austin is also the Live Music Capital of the World. This designation comes from the hundreds of music venues across Austin, as well as signature events like Austin City Limits and ACL Live at the Moody Theater. The designation also resonates from the unique culture in the streets of downtown — a culture that strives to Keep Austin Weird.

Lady Bird Lake, on the Colorado River, serves as the southern border of downtown. Surrounded by the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail on both sides, this massive reservoir offers a natural outlet from the city.

Congress Avenue Bridge, spanning Lady Bird Lake, is home to millions of Mexican free-tailed bats. These nocturnal mammals put on quite the show as they exit the bridge every evening during the warmer months of the year.

On This Page:

• Where is Austin, Texas?
• Things to Do in Downtown Austin
• Entertainment in Downtown Austin
• Live Music in Downtown Austin
• Art and Culture in Downtown Austin
• Outdoor Adventure in Downtown Austin
• Dining and Food in Downtown Austin
• Shopping in Downtown Austin
• Getting around Downtown Austin
• Where to Stay in Downtown Austin

Where is Austin, Texas?

Austin is in the central part of the state, 75 miles northeast of San Antonio. The Texas capitol is approximately a three-hour drive west of Houston and a four-hour drive north from places like Corpus Christi on the coast. And the visitor-favorite Texas Hill Country is at Austin's back door, primarily west of the city.

The core downtown district of Austin centers around the gorgeous grounds and ornate interior of the Texas Capitol. The downtown district encompasses two square miles of things to do, bounded to the south by Lady Bird Lake — a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River that's one of the most popular lakes in Texas.

Congress Avenue is the main thoroughfare of downtown, leading straight to the capitol building. The bustling district south of Lady Bird Lake, known as South Congress, offers a downtown adjacent hip strip with plenty of roadside establishments.

Things to Do in Downtown Austin

Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. A booming tech industry, a low cost of living, and a favorable winter-less climate contribute to the city's growing attraction. Austin is also home to The University of Texas at Austin, adding a youthful boom to the population.

Self-proclaimed as one of the weirdest cities in America, Austin's unique culture is found throughout the streets in the form of murals, neon signs, and friendly faces. In the downtown district, particularly, the Austin spirit overwhelms the senses.

From the eye-catching Texas Capitol to aromatic food trucks lining the curbs, and the live music heard through open doors, things to do in downtown are only limited to how much time you can spend.

Double Decker buses navigate the historical streets, as do duck boats before making their aquatic conversion. Other spots in downtown, like the Museum of the Weird, highlight the city's quirkier side.

The gentle water of Lady Bird Lake provides the city with its true charm. The lake bounds the downtown district to the south, and canoes and kayaks float this impoundment of the Colorado River every day of the year. The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge spans the lake and offers a great view of the skyline.

The Congress Avenue Bridge is also home to one of the most unique things to do in any major U.S. City. Millions of Mexican free-tailed bats roost within the bridge between late spring and early fall. This bat population explodes from beneath the deck every evening to dine on the local mosquito population. The peak season for this popular Austin spectacle is in July and August.

Entertainment in Downtown Austin

Entertainment for the whole family intertwines with downtown Austin. Aside from walking downtown streets on a sunny day, entertainment includes guided tours, historical landmarks, and several local shops and restaurants. The city also specializes in live performances like music, theater, and massive bat eruptions.

For first-time visitors or those who'd like to know more, consider a hop-on/hop-off tour which hits all the hot spots of Austin and includes insights from a professional guide. Other guided tours of Austin include bike tours, segway tours, and the unique Austin Duck Adventure tour, which traverses both land and water.

The Texas Capitol Building is a must-see when visiting downtown Austin. This historic red-granite capitol building is open to the public, and the well-manicured grounds offer a lovely spot for a break in the day. Docent-led tours are available free of charge. The ornate interiors within the capitol, and the interesting angles throughout the grounds, make the Texas Capitol especially appealing for amateur and professional photographers.

The most unique entertainment in the city emerges from the Congress Avenue Bridge every evening during the warmer months of the year. Between late March and late October, millions of Mexican free-tailed bats roost under the bridge during the day. Around twilight, these winged mammals erupt from underneath the bridge to dine on the local mosquito population.

This bat exodus attracts hundreds of interested spectators to the bridge every evening. Spectators can see the bats from either side of the bridge, or on the bridge, or even from a kayak on the water. The bat experience at the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin is like no other natural spectacle in any other major city.

Known as the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin also delivers entertainment in the form of live performances. And it's not just singers and songwriters that pack the city's best venues. Esther's Follies in downtown features several shows on the weekend for vaudeville theater entertainment. And alongside live music, places like the Paramount Theatre feature packed performances like plays, musicals, and live podcasts.

Live Music in Downtown Austin

With over 250 music venues, Austin's designation as the Live Music Capital of the World is not superficial. The city attracts a wide range of musical talent with a vibrant cross-section of genres. Country, hip-hop, and everything in between including blues, alternative, and electronic music comprise Austin's soundtrack. A defining musical scene in Austin is Austin City Limits — both the music festival and the music performance television show.

Austin City Limits, the music performance television show, airs on PBS. Also known as ACL Live, it is the longest-running music series in American television history. Concerts are taped at The Moody Theater historic concert venue. Each concert helps symbolize the powerful sound coming from Austin, and tickets are often a hot commodity.

Austin City Limits, the music festival, takes place over two weekends in October. The hundreds of performances of the music festival happen at Zilker Park, on the shores of Lady Bird Lake. The downtown district floods with musicians and music fans this time of year, with Austin City Limits attracting hundreds of thousands of concertgoers.

The Paramount Theatre, on Congress Avenue, is another hot spot to catch scheduled shows. At the edge of downtown on the University of Texas campus, the state-of-the-art Moody Center, which opened in 2022, is also home to touring performances and collegiate sporting events. Other significant venues in Austin include the jazzy Elephant Room, and the honky-tonk inspired Broken Spoke.

Art and Culture in Downtown Austin

Creative expression runs throughout the streets of Austin. Murals across the city give the first impression of Austin's art and culture, displayed next to unique storefronts and downtown buildings. From state-name collages to larger-than-life Willie Nelson tributes, Austin Street Art offers museum-quality work out in the open for everyone to see. All of Austin's most prominent pieces are family-friendly and in plain sight, and some offer popular photo ops.

Art is also found indoors in Austin. In downtown, The Contemporary Austin–Jones Center is the city's premier art center. The museum highlights work from artists across the globe with rotating exhibitions. The facility also serves as a community space with workshops, seminars, and art schools. The recently renovated Moody Rooftop at The Contemporary Austin hosts many of these gatherings and offers a great view of downtown.

The Blanton Museum of Art is at The University of Texas at Austin. This collection of art spans several centuries and includes over 18,000 permanent works. Admission is free for members of the museum and students or staff of the university.

Adjacent to the Blanton Museum of Art, the Bullock Texas State History Museum dives deep into the legacy of the Lone Star State. Covering more than 16,000 years of the region's history, the museum provides interactive displays and detailed exhibits. The museum also hosts rotating exhibitions that touch on the nuanced history of the state.

Other downtown museums offer further culture to explore. The Austin Fire Museum, which is in the process of being relocated, offers other historical interest. The Museum of the Weird highlights the city's strange side. Inspired by dime museums of days ago, this downtown museum features Fiji mermaids, Bigfoot tracks, and a collection of wax characters.

Outdoor Adventure in Downtown Austin

When the weather is nice in Austin, the first place to visit downtown is Lady Bird Lake. And the weather is often nice in Austin. On the south end of downtown, this massive reservoir on the Colorado River offers several opportunities to get outside. The lake features eight established access points, with Zilker Park offering the most facilities.

Boaters make their way across the water every day of the week on Lady Bird Lake. The shoreline, however, is perhaps the most popular place to explore. The Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail offers 10 miles of trail on both sides of Lady Bird Lake. The Butler Trail is one of the best hiking trails in Austin, connecting to other public spaces like Auditorium Shores and Deep Eddy Pool.

Austin's favorable location in the state also leads to a surplus of day trip opportunities. The entire Texas Hill Country is within a short drive of downtown. Just a few Hill Country gems include great escapes like Fredericksburg and Georgetown. These two lovely towns have a thick German heritage that shines from their streets and annual events calendars.

Several Texas state parks, including Pedernales Falls and Longhorn Cavern, are also an easy day trip from Austin. And within city limits, Austin residents also get their natural fill at McKinney Falls State Park. This verdant state park is a popular swimming and fishing hole when water levels are high, and is home to one of the best waterfalls in Texas.

Dining and Food in Downtown Austin

Barbecue and breakfast tacos are prominent in Austin. The downtown district, however, has much broader options to explore. With restaurants ranging from casual-bite cafés to fine-dining Italian digs, downtown Austin caters to every palate. Asian, French, and Indian fare are also on the menu in downtown, and several food trucks throughout the city cater to lunchtime cravings.

For some classic Tex-Mex in Austin, look no further than Tacodeli. Opened in 1999, Tacodeli now serves delicious breakfast and lunch tacos at six locations across the city. The Tacodeli downtown location, on Congress and Third, offers indoor and outdoor seating alongside a great selection of tacos. Across the street, Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is a staple spot for smoked meats.

Austin also has a growing food truck scene, with an estimated 1,000+ food vendors scattered throughout the town. Several of these mobile food vendors congregate at food truck parks throughout the city, sharing picnic tables and community space with other vendors. A few prominent food truck parks to check out include the East Side Food Park and The Picnic food trailer park.

Austin's downtown farmers market offers even more local flavor to explore. Hosted by the Sustainable Food Center, the SFC Farmers' Market takes place every Saturday morning in Republic Square. With several booths filled with local produce and artisan food items, the SFC Farmers' Market also features arts, crafts, and specialty pet products.

Shopping in Downtown Austin

Keep Austin Weird is the slogan for the city, which also translates to "Keep Austin Local." This endeavor is easily done thanks to a wide range of unique boutiques, vintage shops, and enormous costume emporiums. Alongside local storefronts, distinct shopping districts in Austin also feature many great places to visit for a bite to eat.

Some of the best shopping is south of the core downtown district on South Congress Avenue, also known as the South Congress district. Specialty shops and one-of-a-kind storefronts line this trendiest spot in the city. Allen's Boots and Monkey See, Monkey Do! are just a few of the colorful storefronts that catch the eye on South Congress Avenue.

High fashion is also on display in SoCo, and for those with a sweet tooth, the sweets and treats at Big Top Candy Shop have you covered. This expansive candy shop lets you pay by the pound while picking from a world-ranging assortment of candies.

The 2nd Street District is the place to go for upscale and mid-range fashion boutiques. Encompassing six-square blocks, the 2nd Street District is also infused with restaurants and live music spots like ACL Live at the Moody Theatre.

Across the river from downtown, South First Street is another burgeoning shopping district. South First Street is also the place to visit to see the iconic "Greetings from Austin" mural.

Getting around Downtown Austin

Public transit is also abundant in Austin. Capital Metro features public bus routes and a commuter rail system that extends throughout the city and entire metropolitan area. Fares are available for single rides, day passes, and multi-day tickets. Capital Metro also operates express and rapid routes, and bus-only traffic lanes cut through some of the city's growing congestion.

A hop-on/hop-off tour is a convenient way to explore the city. It departs from the Austin Visitor Center, transporting pedestrians to downtown hot spots and beyond. Tour stops include Sixth Street, the Texas Capitol, the Bullock Texas History Museum, and the adjacent University of Texas at Austin campus.

Several car rental companies are spread across the city, with abundant options at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. However, if remaining within the downtown district, including the nearby Zilker Park, easy public transportation is available.

Austin - Climate Chart

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