The Hit List: Top things to do in Austin
Food scene
The original location; great breakfast tacos and Thoms Grocery next door is great for wine, beer, snacks, and Austin souvenirs.
203 locals recommend
Tacodeli
1500 Spyglass DrThe original location; great breakfast tacos and Thoms Grocery next door is great for wine, beer, snacks, and Austin souvenirs.
Chuy's
1728 Barton Springs RdClassic Austin Tex-Mex
An Austin institution, Gueros is a lively tex mex restaurant with nearby fun shops on South Congress. This makes for a fun dining, then shopping outing. They have a salsa bar & hand-shaken margaritas in a landmark building with a patio.
Pro tip: sit on the patio, order a margarita and some chips and salsa while listening to live music coming from their outside ampitheater next door (Guero's On Stage). List of upcoming bands and musicians: https://gueros.com/#on-stage
398 locals recommend
Güero's Taco Bar
1412 S Congress AveAn Austin institution, Gueros is a lively tex mex restaurant with nearby fun shops on South Congress. This makes for a fun dining, then shopping outing. They have a salsa bar & hand-shaken margaritas in a landmark building with a patio.
Pro tip: sit on the patio, order a margarita and some chips and salsa while listening to live music coming from their outside ampitheater next door (Guero's On Stage). List of upcoming bands and musicians: https://gueros.com/#on-stage
Pitmaster Aaron Franklin’s smoky meats have risen from humble trailer origins to become one of the country’s most talked-about barbecue destinations. Since the Central East Austin restaurant’s famously long line can’t happen during these socially distanced times, the restaurant quickly switched to curbside pickup service. It’s now easier to obtain the wonderful barbecue — including that perfect brisket — along with great ribs, turkey, and sausages. Advanced curbside pickups can be placed online.
919 locals recommend
Franklin Barbecue
900 E 11th StPitmaster Aaron Franklin’s smoky meats have risen from humble trailer origins to become one of the country’s most talked-about barbecue destinations. Since the Central East Austin restaurant’s famously long line can’t happen during these socially distanced times, the restaurant quickly switched to curbside pickup service. It’s now easier to obtain the wonderful barbecue — including that perfect brisket — along with great ribs, turkey, and sausages. Advanced curbside pickups can be placed online.
Specialties: World-renowned bar-b-que, delicious potato salad, cole slaw, and beans, and heavenly cobblers and pecan pie. Established in 1967. Thurman and Hisako Roberts started The Salt Lick in 1967 with an open-fire pit alongside FM 1826 in Driftwood, Texas. Folks ate off the hoods of their cars, so the couple with the delicious bar-b-que added a few picnic tables under the trees. Pro tip: this place is BYOB! Bring a cooler full of beers and enjoy the best bbq.
480 locals recommend
Salt Lick BBQ
18300 Farm to Market Rd 1826Specialties: World-renowned bar-b-que, delicious potato salad, cole slaw, and beans, and heavenly cobblers and pecan pie. Established in 1967. Thurman and Hisako Roberts started The Salt Lick in 1967 with an open-fire pit alongside FM 1826 in Driftwood, Texas. Folks ate off the hoods of their cars, so the couple with the delicious bar-b-que added a few picnic tables under the trees. Pro tip: this place is BYOB! Bring a cooler full of beers and enjoy the best bbq.
The Bouldin Creek cafe offers a diverse menu of vegetarian fare, locally roasted coffee, and a taste of old-school Austin. The vegetable sandwiches are legitimately delicious, as is the tofu scramble. Curbside pickup and Door Dash delivery orders are placed online.
565 locals recommend
Bouldin Creek Cafe
1900 S 1st StThe Bouldin Creek cafe offers a diverse menu of vegetarian fare, locally roasted coffee, and a taste of old-school Austin. The vegetable sandwiches are legitimately delicious, as is the tofu scramble. Curbside pickup and Door Dash delivery orders are placed online.
Outdoor Adventures
Within Zilker Park's 358 acres lies one of the crown jewels of Austin - Barton Springs Pool. The pool itself measures three acres in size, and is fed from underground springs with an average temperature of 68-70 degrees, ideal for year-round swimming.
2454 locals recommend
Barton Springs Municipal Pool
2131 William Barton DrWithin Zilker Park's 358 acres lies one of the crown jewels of Austin - Barton Springs Pool. The pool itself measures three acres in size, and is fed from underground springs with an average temperature of 68-70 degrees, ideal for year-round swimming.
Zilker Metropolitan Park is considered "Austin's most-loved park." Zilker Metropolitan Park, located 2100 Barton Springs Road, is Austin's oldest metropolitan park and is named after Andrew Jackson Zilker who donated parcels of land to the city starting in 1917. Mr. Zilker came to Austin in 1876 to become a business man and a banker.
246 locals recommend
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is considered "Austin's most-loved park." Zilker Metropolitan Park, located 2100 Barton Springs Road, is Austin's oldest metropolitan park and is named after Andrew Jackson Zilker who donated parcels of land to the city starting in 1917. Mr. Zilker came to Austin in 1876 to become a business man and a banker.
Just feet from my front door you can access the trail system that is the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The Barton Creek Greenbelt, which travels through South Central Austin, is the go-to destination for outdoor enthusiasts and athletes in the city. You can enjoy hiking, biking, rock-climbing, bouldering, swimming and even lazily passing a day perched in a hammock or sunbathing on a boulder along Barton Creek.
531 locals recommend
Barton Creek Greenbelt
3755 South Capital of Texas HighwayJust feet from my front door you can access the trail system that is the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The Barton Creek Greenbelt, which travels through South Central Austin, is the go-to destination for outdoor enthusiasts and athletes in the city. You can enjoy hiking, biking, rock-climbing, bouldering, swimming and even lazily passing a day perched in a hammock or sunbathing on a boulder along Barton Creek.
Sightseeing
Need to burn off a few margaritas while you're here? Hike the 100+ steps to the top of Mount Bonnell and be rewarded with gorgeous vistas of all of Lake Austin and the surrounding homes.
1083 locals recommend
Mount Bonnell
Need to burn off a few margaritas while you're here? Hike the 100+ steps to the top of Mount Bonnell and be rewarded with gorgeous vistas of all of Lake Austin and the surrounding homes.
If it's in Texas, it must be bigger and better. That is the motto that architects followed with the Capitol Building in Austin. At one time, it was the tallest capitol building in the nation. Still a fun place to spend an afternoon learning about the Lone Star state.
1121 locals recommend
Texas Senate
1200 Congress AveIf it's in Texas, it must be bigger and better. That is the motto that architects followed with the Capitol Building in Austin. At one time, it was the tallest capitol building in the nation. Still a fun place to spend an afternoon learning about the Lone Star state.
The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in the heart of downtown Austin, hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats. It is a maternity colony, and female Mexican free-tailed bats raise an estimated 750,000 pups each year at the bridge.
Large numbers of bats began roosting in the Congress Avenue Bridge in the early 1980s, shortly after it was renovated. Few people understood how valuable the bats were, and many feared them. It took a lot of effort by Bat Conservation International and other bat-friendly folks to help turn the tide of public opinion. Today, Austin loves its bats, and this international tourist attraction brings 140,000 people and as much as $10 million to Austin every year! Watch from the lawn of the Austin American-Statesman’s Bat Observation Area, which offers educational kiosks year-round and volunteer bat educators from Bat Conservation International on weekend evenings from May through September. You can also get nice views of the long columns of emerging bats from atop the bridge itself. Boat tours are available from Lone Star Riverboats and Capital Cruises.
286 locals recommend
Congress Avenue Bridge
Congress AvenueThe Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, located in the heart of downtown Austin, hosts the largest urban bat colony in the world, estimated at 1.5 million bats. It is a maternity colony, and female Mexican free-tailed bats raise an estimated 750,000 pups each year at the bridge.
Large numbers of bats began roosting in the Congress Avenue Bridge in the early 1980s, shortly after it was renovated. Few people understood how valuable the bats were, and many feared them. It took a lot of effort by Bat Conservation International and other bat-friendly folks to help turn the tide of public opinion. Today, Austin loves its bats, and this international tourist attraction brings 140,000 people and as much as $10 million to Austin every year! Watch from the lawn of the Austin American-Statesman’s Bat Observation Area, which offers educational kiosks year-round and volunteer bat educators from Bat Conservation International on weekend evenings from May through September. You can also get nice views of the long columns of emerging bats from atop the bridge itself. Boat tours are available from Lone Star Riverboats and Capital Cruises.
Neighborhoods
The Rainey Street District in Austin, Texas is a residential-turned-commercial row boasting bars in remodeled bungalows, fun restaurants and food trucks galore.
793 locals recommend
Rainey Street
Rainey StreetThe Rainey Street District in Austin, Texas is a residential-turned-commercial row boasting bars in remodeled bungalows, fun restaurants and food trucks galore.
South Congress, or SoCo as it's known, rivals Downtown as a major hub of the city and is a mecca for shopping, casual dining, live music, socializing, exploring, people-watching, and just hanging out.
650 locals recommend
South Congress
South Congress, or SoCo as it's known, rivals Downtown as a major hub of the city and is a mecca for shopping, casual dining, live music, socializing, exploring, people-watching, and just hanging out.