2 Best Sights in Austin, Texas

Background Illustration for Sights

The logical place to begin an exploration of the city is downtown, where the pink-granite Texas State Capitol, built in 1888, is the most visible manmade attraction. The Colorado River, which slices through Austin, was once an unpredictable waterway but has since been tamed into a series of lakes, including two within the city limits. Twenty-two-mile-long Lake Austin, in the western part of the city, flows into Lady Bird Lake, a narrow stretch of water that meanders for 5 miles through the center of downtown. There are also 10 miles of riverside hiking and biking trails.

The sprawling University of Texas, one of the largest universities in the United States, flanks the capitol's north end. Among other things, it is home to several world class museums. Just to the northwest of the university is a fun and funky student-centered commercial street called Guadalupe ("The Drag").

Almost every street in downtown, from Cesar Chavez to 15th, is hopping with bars, music venues, and restaurants. The best shopping is either in the Second Street District or on South Congress Ave.

From March to October, check out the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, under which the world’s largest urban colony of Mexican free-tailed bats hangs out (literally). The bats make their exodus a half an hour after sunset to feed on insects.

Zilker Park

West Austin Fodor's Choice

A former Native American gathering place and later a site of Franciscan missions in the 1700s, present-day Zilker Park is Austin's biggest public green space. Locals consider the 351-acre park complex their own backyard, albeit a massive one that stretches along the shores of Lady Bird Lake and includes adjacent sites like Barton Springs, botanical gardens, and various lakeside trails. Parking is increasingly difficult in recent years, so take the free Zilker Shuttle that runs May through September to avoid the congestion. In spring, the park hosts a beloved annual kite festival plus a long-running concert series at the Zilker Hillside Theater, a natural outdoor amphitheater shaded by century-old pecan trees; musicals and plays take over in the summer. The annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, along with hundreds of thousands of attendees, descend on the park for two weeks in October.

Auditorium Shores at Town Lake Metropolitan Park

South Austin

Depending on when you visit this lush green park, you’ll have a totally different experience. If you manage to make it here for a concert or festival (whether it's SXSW or the annual Austin Reggae Festival), the park transforms into a venue with one of the finest views of the downtown skyline as a backdrop. On any random day of the week, however, you’ll find that the wide-open, lakeside green space is the perfect place to stretch out and read a book, catch a pickup game of Frisbee, or snap a photo of the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial statue along the hike-and-bike trail.