Travel Austin's Best?

missmustard

missmustard

Prima Donna Assoluta
O.G.
Oct 15, 2006
4,756
5
#1
Hi guys!

So and I are going to Austin in May to see Morrissey (yay!) at the Austin Music Hall. This would be my first time actually staying in Austin for the weekend; and I was wondering if you could recommend good places to check out?

We shoud be arriving around noon on a Friday, so we have the rest of the day to walk around/eat, etc. Then most of Saturday free as well (the concert isn't until 7:00pm).

We're staying at the AMCO Hotel at 2700 S. Interstate 35.

Thanks in advance!
 
#4
Austin, TX is my very favorite city in the US. I lived there for 5 years and I miss it every day. I've been very strongly trying to convince my DF that we should relocate back home!

Make sure you have a rental car or a bike reserved because your hotel is not walking distance to the venue. It's also tough to get taxis reliably around Austin so be sure to line up transportation. Actually the venue is pretty close to the W hotel on 2d so you can probably snag one there but I would not rely on taxis to get around Austin.

South Congress is the best area for walking around and boutique shopping. It's just south of downtown, between downtown and where you're staying. Definitely go for drinks at the Hotel San Jose - you can take your drinks out to the pool, it's super relaxing. If you are there on a Thursday night you should check out the Continental Gallery to see if there's anything happening. It's upstairs from the Continental Club which is one of the most iconic music clubs in town, it's an art gallery and shows there are usually free.

Austin Music Hall is right downtown near all the cuteness on 2d street which is where you'll find the most upscale shopping downtown. LV and all the other truly high end stuff is NW at the Domain (it's a drive, not a walk). 4th Street is the Warehouse district where you'll find a lot of music and clubs and West 6th St you'll find lower key patio type places for food and drink. 6th St west of Congress is the crazy 6th St where they shut down the streets with barricades. But I do have to say people watching from the roof of Maggie May's is definitely worthwhile if you want to venture to Dirty Sixth. East 6th is really where Austin is happening though - you should go check out East Side Kings. It's a food trailer operated by one of the Top Chef winners and the food is amazing. It's also near the White Horse Tavern which is a lot of fun.

Oh and the Hula Hut is a great spot for boat drinks. There's also a great coffee shop called Mozart's in the same general area if you're in the mood for coffee. Both with huge patios right on Lake Austin.

Hope that helps! Enjoy Austin & keep it weird :smile:
 
#5
Sorry I can't edit anymore -- 6th St E of Congress and W of I-35 is the part that is barricaded to cars and is 100% walking on weekend nights. Definitely gets crowded!

You can also rent kayaks and paddle boards on Town Lake pretty inexpensively from the dock right by Austin High School. It's really fun to paddle into downtown with the skyline next to you on a nice day! Barton Springs is also worth a visit if you want to go for a swim.
 
#6
Traffic on I-35 is beyond HORRIFIC right now, but if you have time, there's an awesome outlet mall in San Marcos between Austin and San Antonio. It has Prada, Gucci, Saks, NM, Lululemon, Restoration Hardware, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, etc. . .
 
#7
LVk8 said:
Austin, TX is my very favorite city in the US. I lived there for 5 years and I miss it every day. I've been very strongly trying to convince my DF that we should relocate back home!

Make sure you have a rental car or a bike reserved because your hotel is not walking distance to the venue. It's also tough to get taxis reliably around Austin so be sure to line up transportation. Actually the venue is pretty close to the W hotel on 2d so you can probably snag one there but I would not rely on taxis to get around Austin.

South Congress is the best area for walking around and boutique shopping. It's just south of downtown, between downtown and where you're staying. Definitely go for drinks at the Hotel San Jose - you can take your drinks out to the pool, it's super relaxing. If you are there on a Thursday night you should check out the Continental Gallery to see if there's anything happening. It's upstairs from the Continental Club which is one of the most iconic music clubs in town, it's an art gallery and shows there are usually free.

Austin Music Hall is right downtown near all the cuteness on 2d street which is where you'll find the most upscale shopping downtown. LV and all the other truly high end stuff is NW at the Domain (it's a drive, not a walk). 4th Street is the Warehouse district where you'll find a lot of music and clubs and West 6th St you'll find lower key patio type places for food and drink. 6th St west of Congress is the crazy 6th St where they shut down the streets with barricades. But I do have to say people watching from the roof of Maggie May's is definitely worthwhile if you want to venture to Dirty Sixth. East 6th is really where Austin is happening though - you should go check out East Side Kings. It's a food trailer operated by one of the Top Chef winners and the food is amazing. It's also near the White Horse Tavern which is a lot of fun.

Oh and the Hula Hut is a great spot for boat drinks. There's also a great coffee shop called Mozart's in the same general area if you're in the mood for coffee. Both with huge patios right on Lake Austin.

Hope that helps! Enjoy Austin & keep it weird :smile:
Click to expand...

Thank you so much!! This is exactly what I was looking for. We will be driving there, so I don't think we'll be needing transportation (I assume the venue has parking space?). I only hope we don't get too lost lol.

I was also hoping we could park somewhere and then just walk around downtown? Also, is that safe? Are there any areas we should avoid?
 
#8
Swanky Mama Of Three said:
Traffic on I-35 is beyond HORRIFIC right now, but if you have time, there's an awesome outlet mall in San Marcos between Austin and San Antonio. It has Prada, Gucci, Saks, NM, Lululemon, Restoration Hardware, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, etc. . .
Click to expand...

Thanks swanky!! I've been to San Marcos a couple of times before, on our way to Dallas, and I am very much looking forward to it!

BTW, why is traffic so bad on I-35 now? We will be driving all of I-35 from Laredo to Austin :S
 
#9
Traffic is always bad on 35 in Austin. Basically it's needs an additional lane considering the traffic but there isn't any room for the road to expand.

You can definitely drive and park - there's tons of lots around downtown. Parking is expensive by TX standards but cheap by any other city's standards.

I'd also skip the outlets unless you're stopping by on your way in or out of town. Austin is too good to take half a day away from the fun you could be having there!
 
#11
35 in austin can be a bucket of SUCK around rush hour. Beware. :biggrin:

Good things: Rainey st (bangers for brunch), Moonshine (brunch or dinner), Franks, Max's, Bacon, Uchi/Uchico, South Congress, Second bar and Kitchen and many, many more.

Make sure to enjoy a stroll around Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake - bah!), you can rent canoes and paddle boats too. And bikes!

Check out airbnb if you want to be a bit closer to downtown. It's a bit odd here though. Plenty of weekend events to drive hotel prices up - so if they seem high, there is probably an event.

Have fun!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back