What To Do With 3 Days in Austin.....
Written: Jun 26 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of activities, good music town, friendly people
Cons: Traffic, crowded restaurants
The Bottom Line: Spend some time in Austin. You'll learn a lot about Texas and you'll experience the unique feel of a city where education, arts, politics and technology come together.
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| claire8346's Full Review: Austin |
Austin is the capital city of Texas. It is also home the The University of Texas, a vibrant arts and music community, and a hotbed of technology. But you've heard all this, right? In the past 10 years Austin has acquired an image of a sophisticated yet laid back Texas city where hippies, students, politicians and geeky millionaires swill margaritas and spend weekends at the lake. Truth? Well. That's pretty accurate. Austin is a unique city with a well-educated populous and a myriad of things to do. I've lived here for 6 years --four of those years were as a college kid in the early nineties and the remaining two were from 99 to now where my lifestyle has morphed into homeowner and soon-to-be mom. After living in Chicago, New York City and Norwalk, CT, I moved back here for the quality of life Austin offers. If you're moving to Austin, read my opinion called "Life in Austin" but for now, read on about what you can do with 3 days as a tourist in Austin.
Learn Some Texas History....
Tour the Texas Capitol Building. It's an interesting building and informative tours discussing its architecture plus the history of the state are given all day long every 15 minutes. The tours are funny and informative and designed for both history and non-history buffs alike. On a weekday, be prepared to run into at least one group of Texas seventh graders fulfilling their Texas history curriculum.
There's also a new Austin museum called the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. I haven't visited yet, but the feedback I've heard is that it's jam packed with informative, interactive and fun exhibits. A visit to both of these buildings plus a nice lunch downtown could fill a whole day for an inquisitive tourist.
Have A Sit Back and Relax Day
With one educational day under your belt, you might want to do spend the next one on some leisurely activities. A day spent picnicking in Zilker Park and swimming in Barton Springs pool followed by an evening of bat watching fills the bill. Zilker is an average sized park with trails, a little train for kids and picnic tables. The Barton Springs pool is a natural spring fed by the Edwards Aquifer where the water stays a cool 68 degrees all year. Sit back, relax in the water and watch the people of Austin cool off.
You Must See The Bats!
At dusk, head over to the Congress Avenue Bridge and wait for the bats to fly out from under the bridge. The best viewing spot is right on the grassy knoll to the east of the bridge. This is one activity I could do over and over something very unique to Austin. From midsummer to late October, millions of bats (starting with a couple of scouts) and slowly emerging in an awe-inspiring display of nature's organization fly out from under the bridge to eat 30,000 pounds of mosquitos that in other cities would be biting you the next day. Best viewing month is August when the little bat babies learn to fly.
Other touristy things to do -- Music and Art
Hear Music. Grab an Austin Chronicle from your hotel or a local business and pick a concert. If you like country and rock, you'll have more than enough venues to choose from. Semi-big name concerts are usually at the Austin Music Hall or La Zona Rosa and may require some planning, but you can walk into The Saxon Pub, Antones or The Continental Club on almost any given night and listen to talented artists do their thing.
Craft shows and artisan events are also big here. If you happen to be in town in September or May, you'll want to stroll down 6th street (which used to be Pecan) and check out booths where southwest Texas artists sell their wares. You'll find beautiful jewelry, hand crafted pottery, woodwork, metal art and unique wall art in a wide range of prices. For unique gifts, the Pecan Street Festival can't be beat.
And for your last day, should you not find an art festival or other local celebration in town, head to the neighboring town of San Marcos (about 30 minutes south on I-35) and do some outlet shopping. This town is basically one big outlet mall. Brooks Brothers, Sony, Liz Claiborne, House of Hatten, Corningware, Home Company are just a few of the outlet stores you'll find in San Marcos. Plan on staying all day.
Eating in Austin
Your best bet is to read www.austin.citysearch for locations and menus of restaurants. There are too many to review, but below are my personal recommendations which are easily accessible for those staying downtown.
Tex Mex -- El Arroyo (AKA the ditch), Manuel's and Iron Cactus are good easy access downtown restaurants where the food is good and the margaritas are strong. If you are willing to go a little out of the way for better food, head over to Curras on Oltorf and try some real interior Mexican. Or head north to Fonda San Miguel which is pricey but worth it and pretend you are a Mexican aristocrat. Again, www.austin.citysearch.com will give you more details on restaurants and directions, but these are my personal recommendations.
Barbecue. As I mentioned, Stubbs if you're looking for barbecue in downtown, but the best barbecue is found in Llano or Taylor and not worth driving an hour and a half to pick it up from a divey place. I like the atmosphere of County Line on the Lake. The barbecue is decent but the atmosphere is terrific. There's a patio on the lake where you can watch turtles, and the menu has a variety of dishes for non-meat eaters. The drive to County Line on the Lake will also give you a peek at all those Austin mansions on the hill you hear about. Ask your concierge for directions.
Steak. If you're in downtown Austin and want a really good steak. Ruth's Chris and Sullivan's are tied. Both are expensive, but service is great, atmosphere is warm and not too loud, and steak is tender and juicy. Both restaurants also have options -- not many -- for non-meat eaters.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
claire8346
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Location: Austin, Texas
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 3 members
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