Austin, the land of BBQ, food trucks, bats, live music, Matthew McConaughey, and now a tech hub. There’s a reason why Austin ranks yearly as a top bachelor / bachelorette party destination. You’re guaranteed to have a good time. It has a small-town college vibe but is full of energy. Austin has changed so much since I first visited 6 years ago. I was only there for a night to attend the UT football game and buy a chocolate donut from the legendary Gourdough’s. There was something about the city that I knew I wanted to come back again to explore. But I had no idea what lay ahead.
Austin was originally named Waterloo but the name was changed to honor Stephen F. Austin, who is considered the “Father of Texas.” Austin is considered the live music capital of the world (has more live music venues per capita than anywhere else in the country), has over 1200 (TWELVE HUNDRED) mobile food vendors throughout the city, and fun fact….Jack the Ripper may be from Austin. The city’s unofficial slogan is “Keep Austin weird,” and weird it is. Its 6th Street elicits strong Bourbon St. vibes, Rainey Street is unlike anything I have ever seen, and Mount Bonnell and the beautiful rolling hills make you second guess if you’re even in Texas.
Austin Itinerary:
Day 1:
When my buddy and I were looking at John Mayer’s Sob Rock Tour dates, we instantly knew which city we were going to see him play in….Austin! St. We started off the road trip on a Thursday morning. It’s about a 7 hour drive from New Orleans but it really helps break the trip up if you make a boudin stop in Lafayette/Scott and a lunch/brewery stop in Houston. We stopped at Saint Arnold Brewery to check out their new patio. Order the Fire Emoji Chicken Sandwich!!!
First order of business upon entering Austin is to stop to take a picture of the Greetings from Austin Mural, a painted mural on the wall of Roadhouse Relics in South Austin. You can walk to it from nearby South Congress Avenue.
After settling in at my friend’s house (Thanks Greg for letting us crash!), we headed off to the John Mayer concert at the newly opened Moody Center. Matthew McConaughey literally cut the tape on the arena 2 days before the concert. The Moody Center is located on UT’s campus and is TOP NOTCH. If you’re looking for a late night eat (open til 2am), go to Casino El Camino on 6th St. Guy Fieri called it “the best burger in Austin.” Casino El Camino definitely took me to flavor town.
Day 2:
While I wanted to wait in line for hours to try the infamous Franklin Barbecue, I didn’t think my friends would have felt the same. Instead we went to Terry Black’s Barbecue for lunch. Now I’ve never had Franklin’s. And it has been deemed “the best BBQ in the country.” Freaking Anthony Bourdain and President Obama have dined there. But damn I just can’t imagine Franklin’s being THAT much better than Terry Black’s. Their brisket, beef ribs, and cornbread were the BEST I’ve ever had. If you don’t have time to wait for Franklin’s, I don’t think Terry Black’s is a bad consolation.
If you eat at Terry Black’s you should work off those calories after and take a stroll along South Congress (SoCo). The SoCo strip is full of boutiques, vintage clothing stores, cafes, and a bunch of restaurants, including a couple my friends told me to check out, Home Slice Pizza and Hopdoddy Burger Bar.
After lunch we headed to Mount Bonnell, which overlooks the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River and at 781 feet tall, is the highest point in Austin. Before this trip, I had no idea this existed. 6th grade geography bee champion Cody would be disappointed. Who thought hills existed in Texas?? The panoramic views of the city the hill (Mount is a stretch) offers after the 102-stair climb up were the highlight of the trip. You can also hike the short Pennybacker Bridge Overlook Trail to get a great view of the Colorado River and Austin 360 (Pennybacker) Bridge.
It’s pretty much a requirement to kayak Lady Bird Lake if you visit Austin. Lady Bird Lake is a section of dammed-off Colorado River and for most of the kayaking you can see the city skyline. Kayaking runs around $15-20 per hour and stand up paddleboards run around $25 per hour. But I fucked up and didn’t realize you need to make reservations. Some rental places offer walk ups but the weekend I tried this everything was sold out so best to book your rental online in advance.
We wanted to go to Hold Out Brewing (Try Salad Days and Leaf Peeper) after hiking up Mount Bonnell but traffic and parking were awful. So we parked the car along S Lamar Blvd. and rented scooters and rode across the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge (IG worthy pic of the skyline) to the brewery (Before you head across the pedestrian bridge, make a quick detour through Town Lake Metropolitan Park to see the Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue). I had remembered how much fun they were riding in Sacramento and I couldn’t resist. Riding scooters really is the best way to explore the city. You don’t have to worry about parking. You just find a scooter, start the ride in the scooter’s app, and off you go. You pay an initial fee and then a certain amount per minute after that. The best part is you can usually leave the scooter anywhere for the next person to rent. And it’s a fucking blast to ride.
This is where the real fun started. We started off Friday night on Rainey Street, formerly a residential neighborhood turned into bungalow bars, food trucks, and live music venues. Some of the top visits on Rainey St. are Tiki cocktails and Hong Kong Waffles at Anthem, 100+ beers on tap at Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden, bourbon and rooftop patio at Clive, Geraldine’s for live music, Icenhauer’s for “boy band” cover bands on Thursdays, late night snacks at Little Lucy’s Mini Donuts, hammocks at Lucille’s, The Parlor Room for games, and Stagger Lee for brisket.
Andddd this is where the night turned to shit. 6th Street, a.k.a. The Dirty 6th (Not to be confused with West 6th Street, which is somewhat classier). I’ll say the same thing about 6th Street as I do about Bourbon Street. It’s such a train wreck full of characters that you have to at least go witness it. But don’t make a night of it. Similar to Bourbon in that it smells like piss, it’s noisy, full of young college kids and tourists, and full of clubs and live music.
Day 3:
I should have known I wasn’t going to cross much off my itinerary on Day 3 after going out to 6th Street the night before lmao. We were supposed to go to Hamilton Pool Preserve, a gorgeous blue pool and waterfall located 45 mins from Austin. This is something you expect to see in Hawaii, not in the middle of Texas. I was pretty disappointed I was too hungover to make the drive. But if you’re not a lush like me, definitely add this to your itinerary. Reservations are required (There’s a morning reservation period and an afternoon reservation period). When you make the reservation online you have to pay $12 per vehicle and when you get to the Preserve, it costs $8 (cash only) per adult, $3 per senior, and free for children (0-12). And even if you make a reservation you aren’t guaranteed to be able to swim. As of writing this article the Hamilton Pool is closed for swimming because of high bacteria levels. So be sure to check if swimming is allowed before heading to the Pool.
If you’re road tripping to Austin and you have to pass through Houston, stop at an Astros game. I know I know, baseball is boring. Games take 4 hours long. Blah, blah, blah. I PROMISE you baseball is so much more fun in person. Minute Maid Park is one of the coolest stadiums and you get to watch one of the best teams in baseball. If you want to spend more time in Houston than just seeing an Astros game, check out my Houston Travel Guide.
Where to Stay in Austin:
If you don’t have a friend to crash with I’ve heard that the following neighborhoods are the best places to stay in Austin:
- Downtown – The heart of Austin and the nightlife scene. Here you’ll find 6th Street, Rainey Street, and the Warehouse District, which is home to some of Austin’s best LGBTQ+ bars.
- East Austin – The city’s fastest growing neighborhood that’s artistic and full of diversity. It has major Bywater vibes for those that have visited the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans – Full of street art, dive bars, hipster hangouts and a little less hectic than downtown. This neighborhood embodies the “Keep Austin Weird” atmosphere.
- South Congress – Trendy neighborhood located across the Colorado River from Downtown and a popular spot amongst locals (Think Uptown New Orleans).
- South Lamar / Zilker– Located near Barton Springs and Zilker Park, this neighborhood has an abundance of outdoor activities and is the most family friendly neighborhood on the list. And you’re also a short walk across the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge away from West 6th Street.
Austin Maps:
Transportation in Austin:
SCOOTERS! Luckily Austin is one of those cities where you can get by without renting a car. Renting bikes and scooters, Uber, and the bus are your best bets, and are all better options than wasting money on a car rental and gas. Not to mention having to worry about where to park. Some areas like Downtown are very walkable but overall Austin has a walkability score of 40 out of 100. If you’re staying in North Austin you can hop on the Capital MetroRail to get to downtown (Avoid parking downtown at ALL costs). Check out this website for everything you need to know about Austin’s public transportation.
Tips for Visiting Austin:
- There is an unbelievable variety of outdoor activities in Austin: Hiking Mount Bonnell, kayaking / paddle boarding in Lady Bird Lake, swimming in Barton Springs Public Pool (fed from underground springs that keeps the average temperature a cool 68-70 degrees), hiking the Barton Creek Greenbelt to go swimming in Gus Fruh (the creek dries up in the summer so visit greenbeltnow.com for water levels before you plan to go swimming) and discover the hidden Twin Falls, playing disc golf in Zilker Park, and swim in the Deep Eddy Pool, Texas’ oldest swimming pool.
- Austin may not have one of the four pro (MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL) sports teams but they do have Austin FC (MLS), Austin Spurs (NBA G-League), AG Rubgy, Round Rock Express (Minor league baseball), Texas Roller Derby, Texas Stars (Minor league hockey), and of course, all of the Texas Longhorns sports.
- “Party at the moon tower!” The infamous keg party in the movie Dazed and Confused took place at Zilker Park Tower. There are 13 Moonlight Towers left in Austin, the last 13 in the world, and are all Texas state landmarks. Standing at 165 feet tall these towers can cast a 1500 foot radius of light and have illuminated the city since 1894, in response to the Servant Girl Annihilator murders.
- Use these websites to plan your trip around live music: Live music venues – bandsintown.com; Austin.showlists.net; do512.com.
