Austin, Texas is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World”, but it has so much more to offer than just live music! Great food, beautiful sunsets, a colorful culture…there is something for everyone!
Some quick notes about Austin, TX:
- Texas is definitely not known for its reliable public transportation. Austin technically has city busses, but you’re better off renting a car or taking an Uber/Lyft everywhere.
- While we’re on the subject of cars, people absolutely fly down the highways so be careful!
- I think I would say that Austin is safe for solo female travelers. There’s definitely some sketchy areas, and I don’t think I would go partying on 6th Street by myself, but other than that I felt pretty safe.
- Similar to San Diego, Austin has a pretty large homeless population. However, unlike San Diego, we didn’t have any issues with any of them. They were actually pretty nice!
Tyson’s Tacos
Tyson’s Tacos has what I believe are the world’s best breakfast tacos. If they’re not, then Tyson’s Tacos are surely the best breakfast tacos in Austin. Don’t believe me? Then why did Mark and I insist on going there THREE MORNINGS IN A ROW???
I’ll be honest and say that when you drive to Tyson’s, the neighborhood looks a little rough and abandoned. Even Tyson’s itself looks a little shabby, but that’s just part of the charm! There is no true indoor seating, but there is a decent sized covered patio for you to seat yourself at after you order from the window.
You have the choice of corn or flour tortillas for all their tacos, and my two personal favorite breakfast tacos from Tyson’s Tacos are the Avocado Abogado and the Rage 2.0.
The Avocado Abogado has egg, ribeye steak, avocado, and skillet breakfast potatoes. Top it with some of their delicious salsa and you’re in for a treat!
The Rage 2.0 is a little crazier and has egg, potato, refried beans, bacon, pepper jack cheese, sauteed onions and peppers, and fresh queso.
Mark would also like me to include his favorite in here, which I actually found a little boring. Mark’s favorite breakfast taco was the B is for Bacon, which has double bacon, potatoes, eggs, and cheese. Don’t get me wrong, it was good! But nothing could compare to the AA and Rage 2.0.
These tacos look a bit on the small side when you first get them, but don’t let them fool you! These little babies are mightyyy filling, so much so that I typically was only able to get through two of them. One thing I love about Tyson’s, and that I loved about most taco places in San Diego, is that the tacos are sold a la carte, so you can order one of a few different tacos or multiple of the same one!
Congress Ave Bats
The Congress Ave Bridge Bats are one of Austin’s most popular attractions and can be seen every night from about March through October. (Yes, real bats. They are the Mexican Free-Tailed Bats.)
On the underbelly of the Congress Ave Bridge, there are little holes in the expansion joints. This design feature unintentionally ended up being the perfect space for a colony of bats to make their home! Every spring thousands of bats migrate north from Mexico and end up under the Congress Ave Bridge to call Austin their home for the next few months. And I don’t know about you (jk, yes I do), but no matter where I am in the world, no matter what time of year it is…I gotta eat. The bats are the same way! Every night around dusk they fly out from under the bridge in search of things like mosquitos to have for dinner. The bats eat up to 30,000 pounds of insects every single night. This group of bats, which is the largest bat colony in all of North America, saves the city thousands of dollars on pesticides every year.
We visited the second week of November so we weren’t positive they would still be there, but we decided to take our chances. Let me tell you…it was well worth the hour or so we spent standing there waiting for them to come out! Seeing the bats was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I now understand why there is an annual Austin Bat Fest. When they decide to emerge, you can hear them under the bridge making an almost crackling noise as they wake up and begin to stretch their wings. You may only see 2 or 3 at first, but soon after those early risers take flight all 1.5 million rush to the sky in a flapping haze of black. They rush towards the skyline and the group of them move in a way that reminded me a lot of the northern lights. If you’ve never seen them before, you definitely need to go! Though I feel like I should do my part and warn everyone that they smell terrible. I can’t really describe the smell because it’s so unique, but no posts I read about the Congress Ave Bridge Bats gave any indicator about the smell. You’ve been warned.
We stood on the east side of the bridge to watch the bats, and I thought it was perfect! The bats essentially flew right out from under our feet and into the night sky; being able to see them fly over the lake and across the Austin skyline was magical!
Other options include sitting in the little park nearby to watch them come out from under the bridge (there are currently boxes spraypainted in the grass to encourage social distancing) or watching them from the lake! If you want to watch them from the water, you have a ton of options! There are little ferry-type boats that will take you out, or you can go out on a paddleboard or kayak. I believe there are also kayak bat tours you can do as well.
Mexic-Arte Museum
The Mexic-Arte Museum was on my “Can’t Miss” list, mainly because the weekend we were there was one of the last weekends to see their Dia de los Muertos exhibit. While that exhibit was obviously incredible, the other exhibits they had were equally mesmerizing!
The museum’s mission is to educate and promote cultural enrichment, “through the collection, preservation and presentation of traditional and contemporary Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art and culture to promote dialogue and develop understanding for visitors of all ages.”. People tend to forget that Texas was built on the backs of Mexicans and indigenous people, and this museum does an incredible job at making sure latinx culture is preserved in Austin.
Downtown Austin Mural Tour
Austin is full of beautiful street art! It doesn’t really matter where you are in the city, you’re sure to see a stunning mural somewhere. But, since it is a city you need to drive in, it can be a little difficult to get to all of the more popular ones. Thankfully Mark and I found a self-guided walking tour that took us all throughout downtown to see murals we probably would have missed otherwise (though the Greetings from Austin mural isn’t one of them; you’ll need to drive to that one.)
You can find the link to the tour we did here, but essentially you download an app called GPSMyCity to your phone and find the specific tour you’re looking for. The app works a lot like GoogleMaps and guides you from one stop to another. This particular tour is a 2-ish mile point to point tour, which means you end up 2 miles away from your starting point. Mark and I were fine with walking back, but a 4 mile walk definitely isn’t for everyone! If you don’t want to walk all the way back, Lyft and Uber are readily available in Austin.
Greetings from Austin Mural
The Greetings from Austin mural is a bit out of the way, but how can you go all the way to Austin and not take a picture with it???
The mural can be found at 1720 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704, on the side of Roadhouse Relics, a neon sign gallery. When we visited there was another incredible mural directly across from it that I actually liked a lot more (though it’s not necessarily an Austin-specific mural).
If you’re short on time or really don’t care about getting that perfect Insta-famous picture, then you can definitely skip this since it’s out of the way of everything else. But I’m obsessed with finding these all around the country!
Whataburger
This is a general Texas thing, and if you already live in Texas or have been a million times then skip it. But, living in Massachusetts, I had never had Whataburger.
When I was in San Diego a few months prior, I tried In ‘n Out for the first time. I tried not to get my hopes up as I ordered an animal style burger, especially because Mark told me it was overrated and he rarely steers me wrong, but nevertheless my expectations were kind of high. I can confirm that In ‘n Out, while better than McDonalds, is still overrated.
Mark insisted that I try Whataburger, which has almost as much of a cult following as In ‘n Out. He has told me time and again that it is significantly better than In ‘n Out and even better than a lot of basic burger joints. (Seems doubtful…)
Well…he was right and I will forever be Team Whataburger. Order a patty melt with onion rings and spicy ketchup on the side. Thank me later.
(Okay, fine. I’ll tell you a little bit more about why they are superior.)
Unlike most fast food places that have everything premade and just reheat…or take it out from under the heat lamp where it’s been sitting for two hours…the food at Whataburger is made to order. This means that it will take a bit longer than your traditional drive-thru experience, but it’s worth it. Whataburger is shockingly filling, and will actually keep you full, unlike its competitors! We went there for lunch before the wedding we were attending and let me tell you, it was the perfect pre-night-of-drinking meal we could have had!
BBQ – Terry Black’s
You can’t go to Austin (or Texas in general) without getting some BBQ. A Google search for the best BBQ in Austin will quickly point you in the direction of Franklin BBQ…but unless you enjoy waking up at the ass crack of dawn to wait in line for 6 hours, I would say skip it and find somewhere else.
A few locals I know told me that while Franklin BBQ is good, it’s not good enough to wait in the insane line. These same people told me to head to Terry Black’s instead for the same quality BBQ with a significantly more reasonable wait time.
Mark and I met up with a friend of ours that recently moved to Austin to go to Terry Black’s for dinner and let me tell you…it was quite the experience. At first glance, the line looked absolutely insane! We got there around 7:30pm on a Thursday night and the line was out the door and just about to the sidewalk. Knowing how long the line was and how late in the day it was, I had a sneaking suspicion that most of the meats we would want would be sold out for the day by the time we finally reached the front since, to me, it seemed like we would be in line for at least an hour.
If you’ve never been to a traditional BBQ joint, then you’ll be in for quite a shock at what the experience entails!
What I Expected:
Hours in line, get to the front and order “brisket” or “ribs” or “pulled pork” with a side of XYZ and a beverage of some kind that they had behind in the cooler or on draft. I also expected there to be like a “combo” that came with a predetermined type of meat and a predetermined variety of sides. Whatever you ordered would be arranged on a nice little plate and brought to your table.
Safe to say I got just about everything wrong.
What Really Happened:
We only waited in line for about 10 minutes or so. Considering the fact that we started close to the sidewalk this was impressive! The line wrapped around a few times once we got inside, and right before we reached Counter 1 we passed huge metal tubs full of ice and bottled beverages. If it wasn’t for our friend grabbing a beer out of it, I totally would have missed it!
Then we got to Counter 1, which was the most thrilling part! In front of you lies dozens of traditional Southern sides like cream corn, mac n’ cheese, and potato salad. This is also where you pick up your dessert, like banana pudding! Mmmmmm!!!!!
After you overwhelm your platter with more sides than you can actually eat, you move onto the final ordering station which, to us, was the most overwhelming station! This is where you pick your meats. There is a board for you to see everything that’s available, but the tricky part is picking how much of everything to get. Ribs are pretty easy and you just tell them how many you want, but everything else is ordered by weight. I have next to know idea how much a quarter pound of pulled pork is versus a half pound! And if I want to try all different meats, how much of each should I get? Will there be too much??? (Spoiler: There will always be too much.
After you pay, you take your overloaded tray of food to an empty table (inside or outside) where you’ll find large bottles of a variety of BBQ sauces to smother your smorgasbord with.
All I can say to prepare you for this magical experience, other than telling you how it works, is to come with a totally empty stomach and be mentally prepared to feel like you’re going to explode once you finish eating.
Sunset at Mount Bonnell
If you’ve been around for awhile, then you know that I’m obsessed with a good sunrise/sunset. While I personally think the sunset you see while waiting for the Congress Ave bats is significantly better (I’m a sucker for a good skyline sunset!), the sunset at Mount Bonnell is a close second.
Mount Bonnell is considered the highest point in Austin, but don’t let that deter you! Texas as a whole tends to be pretty flat and Mount Bonnell is only about 775 feet. The “hike” to get there consists of a short half mile consisting of just over 100 steps. The steps are pretty wide and gradual, so you don’t need to actually be a hiker to be able to accomplish this. Unfortunately there is no handicap entrance.
When you get to the top you’ll see a beautiful overlook station, but I would take right and walk down the trail a little ways for better views and fewer people. Fair warning, this is a huge engagement spot, so there’s always a strong chance that you’ll get to witness one if you go for sunset.
Blue Genie Art Bazaar
I know “hidden gem” has become a buzz word over the past few years, but I truly believe that the Blue Genie Art Bazaar is a hidden gem in Austin. Whenever I travel somewhere new, I try to bring home a piece of art from a local artist. It can be anything from a painting to a ceramic vase to a really cool print depicting the city I’m in.
The Blue Genie Bazaar kind of resembles a flea market from the outside, but you won’t find any of your grandmother’s dusty old knickknacks here! Inside you’ll find work from over 200 artisans! I ended up coming home with a beautiful ceramic ornament in the shape of Texas, a stamped leather flask for a Christmas present, and a few business cards of artists I want to commission work from.
Even if art isn’t your thing, trust me when I tell you that there is something for everyone!
2-step and listen to live music at Broken Spoke
About 5 years ago I went to Chicago to visit Mark for the first time since he had moved there. We had been broken up for about two years at the point and weren’t really sure what was going to happen. My first night there, we went out to a country bar with one of his friends. At the bar, after we had all just stood around for the better part of an hour, his friend (who happens to be the one who got married in Texas!) asked if I wanted him to teach me how to 2-step. I said yes and ended up having an incredible night! Three years later Mark finally had our friend teach him, too, and now you can find us tearing up the rugs in our living room.
We were itching to be able to 2-step in Texas, and there is no better place to go than Broken Spoke. Broken Spoke is everything I’ve ever wanted a Texas dive bar to be. It sits tucked away from all the flashiness of modern-day downtown Austin, with nothing much more than a neon sign out front. But don’t let its appearance fool you, this bar + dancehall has hosted great country classics like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and George Strait; Strait even had a picture of Broken Spoke on the cover of his album Honky Tonk Time Machine!
There is live music anda huge dance floor in the back. If you don’t know how to 2-step yet, pre-COVID they offered free dance lessons weekly. The regulars are also super friendly and happy to help you out. If you’re too shy to dance with the older gentlemen gliding his way across the dance floor like a much younger man, you can always find a few quick videos on Youtube.
Craft Beer
Going to Austin & not visiting at least a couple breweries is as much of a sin as it is to not drink local beers in San Diego. Austin alone has more breweries than any other city in Texas, and you can’t go wrong with any of them! There are a ton within walking distance of each other on 6th Street.
Amy’s Ice Cream
Amy’s Ice Cream is supposedly “world famous” for one specific, kind of boring sounding ice cream: Mexican Vanilla. I went. I tried it. I’m drooling just thinking about it! It’s like the best, smoothest cake batter ice cream! It’s also pretty close to the Congress Ave Bridge if you want a treat to enjoy while you wait for the bats to emerge.
Catch a UT football game on 6th St (or find a bar that supports your own home team)
You can’t go to Austin for the first time without popping over to 6th Street for a bit, & there’s nothing quite like the way the air becomes electrified as people gather for a Longhorns game. Mark and I caught the tail end of the Bills game at a “Bills bar” and it was so much fun!
The Oasis
The size of Austin is definitely underrated, because the drive out to The Oasis on Lake Travis took the same amount of time it takes me to travel through about 4 towns in Massachusetts. But it was worth it!
The Oasis is a massive…entertainment complex? I’m not sure what the proper term is, but there’s a brewery, shops, and a restaurant. The restaurant has pretty good food with views that are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The Oasis is located on top of a hill overlooking Lake Travis, and it’s so stunning and serene that you can easily forget that you’re actually in a big city!