Attracting an average of 150 new residents daily, Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. The capital of Texas boasts great food, an emerging arts community, world-class sports facilities, and annual music events like South by Southwest and Austin City Limits, although not every activity you do here has to cost over a festival ticket. Listed here are the best samples by mail to complete in Austin.
1. Texas State Capitol
Constructed from locally sourced pink granite in 1888, the gorgeous Texas State Capitol building proves the old saying “everything is larger in Texas.” In terms of sq footage, Austin has the largest state capitol in the united states, and at 16ft tall, the statue from the Goddess of Liberty helps make the Texas Capitol 23ft taller than the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Free tours can be found every single day each week, and self-guided tour brochures that explore both building and also the Capitol grounds can be acquired from the ground-floor office.
2. Congress Avenue Bridge Bats
Every year up to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats make their house underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge, creating North America's largest urban bat colony. It's an Austin tradition to sit around the grassy banks of Lady Bird Lake at dusk and watch the bats swarm from under the bridge. Bat Conservation International has volunteers available and holds programs during bat season (between April and November). The very best viewing time is in August.
3. Moonlight Towers
In the late 1800s, cities around the world installed moonlight towers to supply light for many blocks at once. Austin has become the last city where they can be found, with 17 of the original 31 towers still standing. For film lovers, the towers also make a great Matthew McConaughey pilgrimage: in his 1993 acting debut, his character announces a “party in the moon tower” in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused.
4. Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas campus has numerous sights to determine and explore, but the Harry Ransom Center is really a must-see for bibliophiles and history enthusiasts. The library contains one of only five complete copies from the Gutenberg Bible in the united states, in addition to three copies of Shakespeare's First Folio. Other highlights include the personal libraries of authors Evelyn Waugh and Ezra Pound, plus a Jack Kerouac travel journal and something of only 23 existing first editions of Alice in Wonderland. The museum is open daily, and admission is free of charge, including excellent seasonal exhibits.
5. Barton Creek Greenbelt
As a well known destination for outdoor enthusiasts, Austin boasts lots of public green spaces. Just a short drive from downtown, the Barton Creek Greenbelt is really a favorite escape for locals. Named for William Barton, who settled in the region soon after Texas was a republic in 1836, the Barton Creek Greenbelt stretches a lot more than seven miles southwest in the Zilker Park area. With multiple access points, the woods and limestone creeks alllow for excellent walking, biking and swimming, depending on the rainfall.
6. Thursdays at Blanton Museum of Art
The Blanton Museum of Art has one of the best university art collections in the USA. It showcases a permanent collection of a lot more than 19,000 works across a multitude of styles. Every Thursday, the museum throws open its doors free of charge, as well as on the third Thursday from the month, its evening hours are extended to 9pm.
7. ACL Live at Moody Theater
As the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin has a selection of venues, from outdoor arenas like the Circuit of Americas to small, treasured dive bars. Largely accountable for Austin's music reputation, the live-music television program Austin City Limits was originally broadcast from the University of Texas. This year, the show moved downtown to Moody Theater. With an iconic statue of Willie Nelson out front and a 2700-seat capacity, lucky guests can gain free admission to music tapings by registering on the theater's website. Winning tickets are distributed a few days before tapings, there is not a bad seat in the home.
8. George Washington Carver Museum
On June 19, 1865, enslaved people in Texas were freed pursuant to the Emancipation Proclamation, two and a half years after President Lincoln signed it. This very day is now honored as Juneteenth, as well as an exhibit in the small George Washington Carver Museum examines its history. The museum also holds several personal items that belonged to the Black botanist and inventor. The Children's Gallery introduces children to Black inventors, while further exhibits share the stories of prominent Black families in Austin.
9. Mt Bonnell
One of Austin's best vantage points can also be one of its oldest tourist attractions, providing panoramic views to visitors because the 1830s. Rising 775ft from the Colorado River, Mt Bonnell is the perfect spot for an afternoon picnic with views from the skyline towards the east and also the arches of Pennybacker Bridge to the west.
10. Lady Bird Lake
One of the city's main outdoor attractions, the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail results in a 10-mile loop along the Colorado River in the middle of downtown. Have a shorter loop along the Lamar pedestrian bridge to snap excellent photos of the Austin skyline, or join summer time crowds around the Congress Avenue Bridge to look at the bats emerge in the evening. The trail is among the state's oldest and longest urban paths, having a 2022 boardwalk addition closing the gap between Interstate 35 in the east and Mopac Expressway to the west.
11. Central Library
As a part of a comprehensive redevelopment of the former Seaholm Power Plant, the six-story Central Library overlooks Shoal Creek and Lady Bird Lake and has a rooftop garden, outdoor reading porches and an indoor reading room. Don't miss the public artwork displayed around the building, including CAW, a 37ft cuckoo-clock sculpture inspired by Austin's grackle population.
12. Sundays at Mexic-Arte Museum
The wonderfully eclectic Mexic-Arte Museum features works from Mexican and Mexican-American artists in exhibitions that change every two months. Most are sucked from the permanent collection, including carved wooden masks, modern Latin American paintings, historic photographs and contemporary art. Admission fees are not charged every sunday, and free tours occur at 2pm and 3pm.
13. First Sundays at Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Big, glitzy and bursting with high-tech interactive exhibits, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum celebrates the story from the Lone Star State from its earliest inhabitants up to present. The highlight is on the 1st floor, where you can see the hull of La Belle, a French ship that sank off the Gulf Coast in 1686, along with artifacts recovered in the wreck. Exhibition admission is free of charge all day long around the first Sunday from the month.
14. Farmers' Market at Mueller
When Austin's first municipal airport closed in 1999, the city worked with developers to produce a mixed-use urban village that has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the country. Along with several restaurants and coffee shops, the area hosts a farmers' market weekly, featuring live music, local goods and fresh foods from Texas farms. The big event takes place under the Browning Hangar, a surviving relic from the airport, which now overlooks the scenic Mueller Lake Park.
15. Waterloo Records
If you need to flip through albums and catch some free live music, Waterloo Records is where to be. Free, intimate performances put on by up-and-coming bands often occur here on weekday afternoons, so time your record store visit right.
