Austin is a huge city, so all individual listings should be moved to the appropriate district articles, and this section should contain a brief overview. Please help to move listings if you are familiar with this city.
Austin is one of the premier educational areas in the nation. The University of Texas at Austin is one of the best universities in the world, public or private. The flagship institution of the University of Texas System, it is also one of the largest universities in the world, both in terms of endowment, and in terms of student population. UT has been the largest university in the United States, but has intentionally limited enrollment and now ranks in the top five nationally. The red-tiled roofs of the "Forty Acres," as it is known, shelter many cultural and entertainment institutions. The campus is beautiful and vibrant, and visitors are welcome.
Austin is a college town as well as a government and high-tech center. It draws its population from all over, and many students decide to stay. This gives Austin a high level of general education and a diverse cultural scene.
other
The Austin Steam Train Association, (http://www.austinsteamtra...), runs several tours aboard the Hill Country Flyer steam train into and around Texas Hill Country. The train makes short half hour jaunts as well as a 30 mile 50km circuit on weekends March through December. The Steam Train Association does actually own a live steam train, but it has been out of commission since about 2000. The train still runs though, just using a borrowed diesel engine. It is still nice, but not as attractive as it used to be.
theater
Austin is a great city for theater, especially if you like new works.
Music
Antone's
An Austin original that has survived despite many hardships. Considered by USA Today to be one of the best Blues clubs in the nation, Antone's continues to be a launching pad for dozens of new artists each year.
The Saxon Pub
An awesome live music venue. The Saxon hosts live music throughout the week and even has a "no cover" happy hour until 7PM. Look for the giant knight and neon guitar.
Hole in the Wall
Unique UT campus area club. Great Live Music. Usually no cover. Unique mix of students and z's, craftsman and construction workers, gays, and professionals.
Austin is the "Live Music Capital of the World" (http://www.ci.austin.tx.u...). If you're into the bar and club scene, head to Sixth Street during the later hours for a wide selection of venues, many of which also feature live music. A note of interest regarding Austin clubs and bars: a new smoking ban prohibits smoking in any public building, including these establishments.
The Cactus Café
A great place to hear many local artists. Much of the music that is played there seems to be singer-songwriter. It's musically akin to Austin City Limits and unlike Austin City Limits you can probably actually get in to the Cactus Café.
Stubb's BBQ
This BBQ restaurant has some of the best selection of live music in Austin, thanks to Charles Attal, one of the owners, who is recognized nationally for his music booking business. Crowded on Sundays!
Elysium
Voted Best Dance Club 2003-2008 in the Austin Chronicle Readers' Poll
Enjoying the outdoors
Zilker Park
(http://www.ci.austin.tx.u...). undoubtedly austin's favorite park. amazing location on the banks of town lake with several miles of hiking and biking trails.
Barton Springs Pool
(http://www.ci.austin.tx.u...) is one of austin's most unique and a refreshing 68 degrees year-round! attractions: a beautiful spring-fed pool over 3 times longer than a football field, nestled in the heart of the city at zilker park. $3 entrance fee for the whole day. if you are short of cash or have a dog, head downstream just on the other side of the fence and find more clear beautiful water.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
(http://www.wildflower.org/) showcases flowers and plant life of the area. the center is a bit southwest of downtown and worth the drive, especially during spring.
McKinney Falls State Park
(http://www.tpwd.state.tx....). a 744 acre state park located in southeast austin is rich in local history.
Town Lake Hike & Bike trail
A big loop around town lake, beautiful scenery while getting a good workout. recent beautification has cleaned up parts, and is making it nicer for all. runs alongside zilker park. a good place for biking, running, walking, or taking the dog out for a nice run. relatively easy hike.
Mt. Bonnell
3800 mt. bonnell dr. west of mopac on 2222, left on mt. bonnell rd. the third-highest point in austin city limits at 780 feet. several trails make for pleasant short hikes and points to experience incredible views of town lake and the city. the area has a history of romance and is sometimes called antoinette's leap, after a woman who supposedly leapt to her death to escape indians who killed her lover.
Town Lake Boat Rental
Rent a canoe or kayak and enjoy the natural world in the heart of the city.austin rowing dock , 2418 stratford drive 512 459-0999. from $10 to $25/hr. zilker park boat rentals , 512 478-3852. in the park. $10/hr, $40 per day.
Austin Rowing Dock (http://rowingdock.com/), 2418 Stratford Drive 512 459-0999. From $10 to $25/hr.
Zilker Park boat rentals (http://www.zilkerboats.com/), 512 478-3852. In the park. $10/hr, $40 per day.
Tubing the San Marcos River
170 bobcat dr. san marcos, 512 396-5466, 25 miles south of town on i-35. there is no more quintessentially central texan thing than enjoying a summer afternoon lazily floating down the river. the lion's club of san marcos rents tubes at around $4/person or canoes at $10/each. they take you to the river and pick you up.
Other parks in and around Austin
There are numerous parks all over the city and in the surrounding suburbs that are very popular with the residents of austin. a significant number of these parks are pet friendly. austinexplorer is a popular website to learn more about local parks and trails (http://www.austinexplorer.com) and (http://www.ci.austin.tx.u...).
Tours
Austin Tours
Offers scenic carriage and van tours as well as ground transportation to several area landmarks including Arboretum, Round Rock, and UT.
Independence Brewery Tour
Austin's local microbrewery, if you're in town on a tour day they are worth the time to see and sample.
Segway Tours
Austin segway tours enable you to tour downtown austin on the segway. learn to ride a segway for $50 or tour downtown austin for $75. tours depart daily. (http://www.texassegwaytou...).
TexasWineTours.com
Offers half and full day tours of the nearby Texas Wine country. Rent a chauffeured sedan, limo or minibus, generally departing between 10AM and noon daily.
Spectator sports
University of Texas Longhorns
(http://www.texassports.com). austin is a university town and texas sports are taken very seriously. home of the 2005-06 national football champions. ut also has strong basketball and baseball teams, in particular.
Professional Sports
Among the professional sports teams in austin are the austin aztex of the united soccer league, and the austin toros of the national basketball development league. the round rock express, affiliated with the texas rangers, are located in nearby round rock, texas and play triple-a baseball in the pacific coast league. the texas stars hockey team is an american hockey league team playing at the cedar park center and are affiliated with the dallas stars nhl.
Festivals
Austin Asian Film Festival
November. (http://www.cinemaasiaaust...). an innovative asian/asian-american film festival committed to celebrating the best in independent asian cinema from across the globe. for five years, our festival has highlighted the complexity and vitality of asian/asian-american communities through cutting-edge narrative, documentary and experimental films.
Dragon Boat Festival
April. (http://www.asianamericanc...). running since 1999 with growing participation and attendance; held centrally on town lake. in addition to the friendly, competitive races, the festival will include many other cultural exhibitions, vendors, and kids activities. free admission to the public.
Old Pecan Street Festival
May & september. (http://www.oldpecanstreet...). east sixth street formerly pecan street from congress to ih-35 and adjacent streets are closed to traffic to host over 240 arts, crafts and other vendors. several music stages offer live music.
Austin Wine Festival
May. (http://www.austinwinefest...). a uniquely austin 3-day texas wine celebration - rain or shine! wineries from lampasas to new braunfels and fredericksburg to dripping springs have bloomed from a pioneering few, into an internationally awarded and recognized wine region... the number 2 wine destination in the nation, second only to napa! together they have created the annual austin wine festival, the first of its kind in texas.
Austin City Limits Festival
October. (http://www.aclfestival.com/). an annual three day outdoor music festival. it brings together more than 130 bands on eight stages, including rock, country, folk, indie, americana, hip-hop, reggae, and bluegrass, and attracts a crowd of about 65,000 music-lovers each day. a great mix of big names as well as local acts, but be prepared to deal with the heat.
Austin Film Festival
October. (http://www.austinfilmfest...). conference and film showings.
SPAMARAMAâ¢
Is a fun and irreverent homage to spamâ¢. april. (http://www.spamarama.org/). it includes a cookoff, the spamalympics⢠contests, some athletic, some not, spamjamâ® music, arts/crafts/food booths and a kid's area. spamarama⢠benefits the disability assistance of central texas, inc. it was founded in 1976.
Texas Round-Up & Street Festival
April. (http://www.texasroundup.org/). the texas round-up 10k, 5k and family mile is held annually in austin, texas on the last saturday in april. race weekend begins with a health and fitness expo showcasing vendors and sponsors. the race is followed by a fitness festival where families can enjoy live music, food, fitness demonstrations and family friendly activities. many participants spend months training for texas round-up, and for several participants, the texas round-up is their first race, making the events a very special accomplishment and a true celebration of healthy living.
Zilker Park Kite Festival
March. (http://www.zilkerkitefest...). the oldest continuous kite festival in the usa. hundreds of kites will dance in the sky the first sunday in march 10am to 5pm admission is free. everyone is welcome whether they fly a kite or just enjoy the spectacle that must be seen to be believed. kite flying demonstrations will be held all day and delicious food of all kinds will be prepared fresh at the event. see kite ballet, kite battles, kite buggies and giant kites over 50 feet long. come compete in both youth and adult kite contests with your homemade kite. trophies are awarded to the winners. proceeds from vendor sales go to break the cycle of child abuse. free parking and shuttles. come on down to zilker park and enjoy âkite dayâ. zilker park is in austin at 2200 barton springs road. rain date is the following sunday.
Austin Chocolate Festival
March. (http://austinchocolatefes...) the festival will include up to 20 vendors including chocolatiers, bakeries, patisseries, restaurants, hotels, caterers, authors, and resorts. the participating vendors will offer samples to festival guests. guests will also enjoy and participate in chocolate competitions and demonstrations. it was founded in 2006 and benefits susan g. komen for the cure. tickets for the austin chocolate festival are available for purchase online in advance at the festival website. for more information, volunteer, vendor or sponsorship opportunities please visit the website.
South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival
March. (http://2008.sxsw.com/film/). beginning before and overlapping the sxsw music festival. sxsw film is a significant industry conference, but also hosts many film showings.
Austin Pride
June. (http://www.austinpride.org). austin's single largest lgbt event includes a festival at republic square park and a parade that goes through the warehouse district.
Austin Bamboo Festival
August. phone: 512-477-8672, (http://www.bamboocentral.net). zilker botanical garden. this annual event features tours of thetaniguchi japanese garden, traditional dances, bamboo crafts and flute music.
South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival
March. (http://www.sxsw.com/music/). one of the biggest music festival in the united states, with more than 1,400 performers playing dozens of venues around austin for four days. the wrist bands are loved by college students here, but be warned that you'll be turned away at the door at many of the venues even with one. you can still get into some of the larger venues without a wristband if you'd simply like to sample a band or two and check out the atmosphere; you can usually pick one "official" venue where you think you'll like all the bands, and then go early and pay the cover. hardcore music fans usually make a week long calendar and plan to arrive at different venues for different acts.
Texas Book Festival
Has reached national prominence, in part due to support from honorary chairperson laura bush. october. (http://www.texasbookfesti...)
Wildflower Center Art and Artisans Festival
March. (http://www.wildflower.org...). the annual wildflower days celebration begins with the art and artisans festival devoted to arts, crafts and nature. this early spring event features the work of local artists and artisans, all working with a nature theme. you will find watercolors, metalwork, pottery, jewelry, photography, woodwork and more, all lovingly made by hand. highlights include children's activities in the little house as well as book signings and special discounts at the store. then, add some leisure to your arts - dine on tasty cuisine at the wildflower cafe and enjoy entertainment provided by local musicians.
Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off
November. (http://lsvn.org). the annual vegetarian cook-off began in 1989. our mission is to show a healthy lifestyle can be as familiar as traditional, homemade chili â and a lot more fun! all of the chili is purely vegan no animal products. the cook-off is open to all entrants. it is open to the public for tasting and mingling; admission enables you to taste all the different chili and includes zoo entrance fee! there will be lots of chili to taste, lots of interesting people to meet, guest speakers, great door prizes, live music, and many educational booths & exhibits. half of the proceeds benefit the austin zoo, a rescue zoo providing sanctuary to displaced animals.
Eeyore's Birthday Party
April. (http://www.eeyores.com/). held on the last saturday of every april to ring in spring, there are few things that seem so "austin" as eeyore's birthday party. it is a unique event: a free-form hang-out of several thousand people... sitting, walking, playing music, beating drums, eating, drinking beer, playing games. be yourself... there are families, dogs, tattoos, costumes, hotties, hippies, gay, straight, black, white, brown, red, tan.... and a statue of eeyore dressed like the statue of liberty. the drum circle is massive and the beat vibrates throughout the central city. it ends when the sun goes down and everyone leaves peacefully. more information can be found at: (http://www.klru.org/austi...)
Film
Austin Film Festival
See information under festival heading.
The Alamo Drafthouse
Four locations (http://www.drafthouse.com/). a movie theater with full restaurant service. downtown always has an eclectic array of cult and foreign films and a good beer and food menu and recently began serving liquor. they also have a dizzying number of specialty shows and film festivals. their other locations show more first run movies with the same excellent food and beer menu.
SXSW Film Festival
See information under festival heading.
Austin Jewish Film Festival
Takes place annually in january, presenting a cinematic examination of jewish life and culture. (http://www.austinjff.org).
Austin Bicycle Film Festival
Takes place annually in september. the bicycle film festival is a celebration of bicycles through film, art and music. (http://bicyclefilmfestiva...).
Austin Asian American Film Festival
Takes place annually in october, celebrating the best in independent asian cinema from across the globe. (http://www.aaaff.org).
Arbor 7 Cinema
9828 great hills trail in the arboretum area, (http://www.fandango.com/t...). even though it is owned and operated by mainstream regal cinemas, the arbor 7 shows art and foreign films.
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
Takes place in april, presenting the best in latino and indigenous cinema. the festival presents approximately 100 films with screenings in theaters throughout austin. (http://www.cinelasamericas.org).
Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
Takes place annually in september. agliff is the oldest and largest gay & lesbian film festival in the southwest and one of the top 5 film festivals of its kind in the nation. (http://www.agliff.org).
IMAX® Theatre
At bob bullock texas state historical museum, (http://www.thestoryoftexa...). huge screen, 400 seats, with 2-d and 3-d capability.
Austin Film Society
Various theaters. (http://austinfilm.org/). a membership organization bringing the best of cinema to austinites. many screenings open to the public. check the website for current programs and community film annoucements.