9 Best Sights in Central Austin and the University of Texas, Austin

Home to the city's largest and most important collections of art, the Blanton underwent major renovations in 2023 that expanded the 200,000-square-foot institution into a more fully developed museum campus. Visitors arrive through a new check-in building and cross to the main gallery via a stunning outdoor pavilion, shaded by three-story, flower petal-like structures, with an adjacent “sound gallery” park space and chapel installation by Ellsworth Kelly. Monthly Second Saturdays ($20) are a great time to enjoy live music and themed pop-up entertainment, in addition to after-hours tours of the collections. The museum café is closed temporarily, but the local Justine's Brasserie team is set to reopen a casual French concept on-site in spring 2025. Museum admission is free every Tuesday. There is garage parking, but the museum doesn't validate, so regular rates apply.

The artifacts on display inside this stunning travertine building provide sharp insight into the 36th president's mind and motivations, and though his foibles are downplayed, a clear sense of the Texas native—earthy, conniving, sensitive, and wry—emerges. Pick up any of the clunky rotary-phone receivers throughout the museum to hear real recordings of conversations Johnson had with famous politicians and figureheads during his time in office. The 30-plus hours of tape include ruminations on Vietnam and civil rights, plus strategic arguments about vote wrangling (LBJ's specialty). There are rotating temporary exhibits on the ground floor and free on-site visitor parking in lot 38.  Be sure to check out the second floor, where a life-sized audio-animatronic figure of LBJ spins humorous anecdotes; it's a hoot.

This nearly 450-acre university campus has a lot to do with Austin's reputation as a lone liberal island amid the roiling seas of conservative Texas. UT Longhorns are as passionate about football as they are about education, with 13 distinct colleges and schools and outstanding graduate programs that produce global leaders, Nobel Prize winners, and committed lifelong academics. Nicknamed the 40 Acres after the original tract of land set aside by the state in 1883, this now-sprawling campus is a feather in the cap of the Texas university system. Stroll the grandly picturesque grounds at your leisure, attend a home game at DKR Stadium, drop in to one of the award-winning campus museums, archives, or libraries (from the LBJ Presidential Library to the Ransom Center), or take a self-guided "Landmarks" walking tour of the campus' top-notch public art collection, which includes a Skyspcace by James Turrell.

Named in honor of former governor Dolph Briscoe, the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas is a go-to scholarly resource for 750,000-plus photographs, thousands of archival documents, hundreds of handmade quilts, and over 50,000 music recordings. The staff are expert researchers who sift through these artifacts to chronicle a fascinating stockpile of American and Texas history. While much of the center functions as a research facility (available by reservation only), frequently changing exhibits of items from the collections are open to the public on weekdays.

Established in 2001 just a few blocks north of the Capitol, this fascinating museum (with a massive star statue out front) documents the history of the Lone Star State with excellent interactive exhibits and programming fit for all ages. Nearly 500,000 visitors from around the world tour the 34,000-square-foot museum every year, learning about "The Story of Texas" through permanent and traveling collections that cover prehistoric to modern times. The on-site Star Cafe serves coffee, snacks, and basic lunch fare. Check the events calendar in advance for showtimes at the on-site IMAX theater.

Austin bleeds burnt orange, and nowhere is that more evident than at a UT football game at Darrell K. Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, on the campus of the University of Texas. Originally constructed in 1924, this massive stadium—it can hold over a whopping 100,000 fans—has been the official home of the Longhorns from the very start. Score tickets to a fall game or join one of the hundreds of tailgate parties and locally sponsored fan-centric events at or around the stadium.

Located on the UT campus, this oft-overlooked Austin institution is one of the world's greatest arts archives and humanities research centers. Among its fantastic riches are original self-portraits by Frida Kahlo, Einstein's notebook calculations on general relativity, Robert De Niro's archive of film costumes, and a complete copy of an original Gutenberg Bible. Tour the permanent and rotating exhibits, access millions of rare literary documents, photos, scripts, and artistic artifacts in the Reading Room, or check the monthly events calendar for special poetry readings, film screenings, and various artist-led discussions. Certain research materials can only be seen with advance notice, so call ahead if you have a specific item in mind.

Formerly known as the Texas Memorial Museum (a name still etched in the historic building's limestone facade), this UT campus museum had a major revamp in 2023 that included a name change that reflects its true mission—to serve as the only science and natural history museum in the Austin area. Visitors can explore the natural world of Texas, from prehistoric to modern times, with fossils from millions of years ago, life-sized dinosaur models (including a 40-foot-long pterosaur), and dioramas of Texas wildlife, from buffalo and roadrunners to cougars and flying squirrels. Excellent permanent and rotating exhibits are now on view throughout the four-story space, and a partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plans to provide for native pollinator gardens around the museum exterior.

The centerpiece "skyscraper" of the University of Texas campus is a living piece of Austin history. Still functioning as a university administration office, the 27-floor tower, which shines with bright-white and burnt-orange lights on special occasions and game days, houses rich regional and national experience from the 1930s on. Self-guided tours—complete with 360-degree views of the campus and city from the tower's observation deck—are currently paused due to a historic renovation and restoration initiative scheduled to complete in late 2026.