First-Time Visitors Guide: 25 Things To Do in Austin

By Kelsey Kennedy | July 31, 2024

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There are so many cool things to do in Austin, but let’s face it…

…this is a kind of a tourist’s city now. A lot of ideas out there with the “things to do in Austin” are full of tourist traps.

So if it's your first time visiting, I'll share 25 things to do in Austin that are totally worth your time and money. These are all things that I love to do as a local Austinite.

About me: I’m Kelsey, a bestselling travel book author and the creator of 3 Texas travel websites. As a native Texan, I spend my own time and money exploring this state to help millions of readers find the best food, things to do, places to stay in Austin and beyond. Check out my other sites: TheSanAntonioThings.com and TheWacoThings.com!

Here are 25 things to do in Austin that locals actually do. None of these are tourist traps (promise!) or a waste of your time. Some things might look gimmicky from the surface (like number 1) or kind of geeky (number 17), but just read the descriptions and you’ll see: everything here is worthwhile.

25 Things To Do In Austin (According To A Local)

1. Lady Bird Lake (FREE)

I can't say enough great things about Lady Bird Lake! It's the portion of the Colorado River that’s next to downtown, and it's always busy with locals and visitors. People come here to go jogging on the trail, kayaking in the water, and the University of Texas rowing team even practices here in the early mornings.

You can stop by for a quick view of the water, or you can make a full day of this and rent kayaks or bikes and hang out in the area.

If you want to keep things casual, grab some coffee at Alfred Coffee at the LINE Hotel or the coffee bar at Carpenter Hotel and take your latte while you walk around the (on the Hike and Bike Trail). Or, put on your swimsuit and rent a paddle board/kayak for a few hours. Visiting Lady Bird Lake is a really fun thing to do in Austin because you get an unobstructed view of the beautiful Austin Skyline!

Psst: if you want to rent a kayak or SUP, I've used Austin Paddle Shack a bunch and have always had a good experience with them. It’s right on the water, and the staff is friendly and helpful.

2. Swim At Deep Eddy Swimming Pool

Everyone will tell you to swim at 3-acre swimming pool Barton Springs and I'm here to tell you to go to Deep Eddy Swimming Pool instead! It's another historic, spring-fed pool here in Austin. And although it's just about 5 minutes away from Barton Springs, Deep Eddy WAY less crowded.

Just like Barton Springs, Deep Eddy Pool spring-fed and stays around 68 degrees year round, which means you'll get that cold plunge in the water even when it’s 100 degrees outside.

Another perk to Deep Eddy instead of Barton Springs? Deep Eddy has a cement floor, so your feet won't touch all the creepy-crawly plants and such on the pool floor like they will at Barton Springs. Deep Eddy has a beach entry, so it's a lot easier to visit with kids. And when you're done swimming, you can just walk across the parking lot to Pool Burger for lunch! is an outdoor pool that’s fed directly from a spring - Barton Spring, in fact. 😉

WEBSITE | 401 Deep Eddy Ave, Austin, TX 78703

3. Get tickets to an Austin FC game

Grab a pair of tickets to a soccer game!

Q2 Stadium in north Austin is brand new and a beautiful place to grab some local food (Black's BBQ and One Taco are two amazing food booths at Q2 Stadium) and cheer on the Austin Verde.

Austin FC has a really loyal and energetic fan base, so come ready to cheer and shout!

Psst: if you want to go all out, get tickets in the “supporter section” and be prepared to cheer nonstop during the entire game. This is Austin’s first professional sports team and we are MEGA proud of them!!

WEBSITE | 10414 Mc Kalla Pl, Austin

4. Stand in line at Franklin Barbecue

Ok, hear me out: the line is long, it's on every list of “best things to do in Austin,” AND visiting Franklin Barbecue absolutely one of the best things to do in Austin, but only if you have the time to spare.

Franklin Barbecue is theeee most iconic barbecue in Austin. It’s won pretty much every award out there, including a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest (Aaron Franklin in 2015) and top spots on Texas Monthly’s Best BBQ list.

If you have time for it, show up to Franklin Barbecue eeeaaarly in the morning to get one of the good spots in line. You’ll wait all morning (bring a few chairs and a cooler of beers!) until the door opens. Often, Aaron Franklin himself will open the front door and greet the first few guests! Enjoy a huge plate of barbecue and then head back to your hotel for a well-deserved nap.

And if you don't 3-5 hours to stand in line, here's a map of the best bbq spots in Austin. Honestly, all of these options will get you brisket that's just as good as Franklin BBQ, but at a fraction of the wait in line. (But it's also kind of cool to say that you went to the actual Franklin BBQ.)

WEBSITE | 900 E 11th St, Austin

5. Shop on South Congress

I'm sharing the shops at South Congress with a major caveat...every local Austinite know that this street was WAY cooler about 15 years ago. It's now the primary tourist, shopping, and restaurant street in south Austin, and there are more national chains and designer label stores and very few local Austin shops. 🙁

But this is one that’s on a lot of lists of the top activities in Austin, and I actually do think it's worthwhile if it's your first time visiting Austin!

Take pictures by some of the iconic murals, like that famous “I love you so much” sign on the side of Jo’s Coffee. Enjoy some shopping (lots of the original Austin shops are gone, but there are still a few independent stores in addition to the big chains (Lululemon) and luxury stores (Hermes). And of course, eat at some of the amazing Austin restaurants on South Congress. Here’s a guide to all the best ones!

South Congress Ave, Austin

6. Eat breakfast tacos...but not at Torchy's

There are so many amazing breakfast tacos in Austin. Here’s a map of the best ones! People who don’t know Austin very well will tell you to definitely check out Torchy’s, but honestly…there are way better breakfast tacos than Torchy's. Sure, Torchy’s is an Austin original, but at this point it’s a national chain and most Austinites will tell you that these AREN'T the best breakfast tacos in Austin.

Instead, try seeking out a small, local taco truck like El Primo or go to a fun and unique spot like Lazarus Brewery, which also roasts their own coffee and serves breakfast tacos in the morning.

There are so many AMAZING breakfast tacos in Austin, so don’t waste your time going to Torchy’s.

(PS: you definitely SHOULD go try the queso at Torchy’s, though. All of the Austin locals completely love it.)

7. Visit an Austin craft brewery

Austin, more than any other city in Texas, has seen a massive growth in the craft brewery movement. Here's a handy map of the Austin breweries that have won the most awards, but the hard part is choosing which brewery to visit! Here are 3 good options to get you started:

Hold Out Brewing - it’s in downtown Austin, has a HUGE free parking lot, and makes amazing beers + food.
ABGB - it’s in south Austin, about 2 miles south of downtown, and has won all sorts of international awards for its Pilsners. They have delicious pizza + live music on their indoor stage!
Meanwhile Brewing - they’re new(ish) in Austin, but they’ve already won some gold medals at World Beer Cup and Great American Brewing Festival. This east Austin brewery has a giant outdoor playground for little ones, some amazing food trucks, and a soccer field!

If it helps you can always start here with the 10 must-visit breweries in Austin. I've been to all of these multiple times, and these are the 10 breweries I always recommend to Austin visitors.

8. Climb Mount Bonnell (FREE)

Mount Bonnell is called a “mountain” (but it's basically a hill…) and it overlooks the Colorado River.

Walk up the 102 stone steps, and you’ll get one of the best sunset views in the entire city. From the top of Mount Bonnell you can see the Austin Skyline, the Colorado River, and all of the amazing mansions built along the water.

How many steps are there at Mount Bonnell in Austin?

It’s a kid-friendly thing to do in Austin, too! The steps only take about 3 minutes to climb, and there’s lots of space to wander around and climb at the top. Be careful with very young children, though…there are a few places that would be easy for them to wander off the trail and get close to the edge of the cliff, so keep an eye on them.

3800 Mount Bonnell Rd; Austin

9. Go to Austin City Limits Music Festival

If you’re lucky enough to be in Austin in October, you have to get tickets to Austin City Limits Music Festival!

It’s a 3-day fest with 2 weekends, 8 stages, and 130 bands. The festival takes place at Zilker Park, so in addition to listening to some awesome music, you get a beautiful view of downtown Austin all weekend long.

The ACL Food Court offers some of the best food Austin has to offer from local restaurants, which I think makes this one of the best music festivals in the country. And there’s even an “Austin Kiddie Limits” with kid-friendly music and activities for the little ones (who can get in for free with a paying adult!)

WEBSITE | 2207 Lou Nef Rd, Austin

10. See live music at Moody Amphitheater

This outdoor venue in downtown Austin is epic!! I'm so obsessed with it!

If you can’t swing a trip to Austin during ACL Fest in October, you at least have to get a ticket to listen to some live music! Here are some of the best live music venues in Austin.

One of the coolest new venues is an amphitheater right in the heart of downtown Austin! It’s called Moody Amphitheater, and you get a view of the Texas State Capitol over the stage. It’s located in a gorgeous green space called Waterloo Park. Moody Amphitheater is one of the coolest places to listen to live music in Austin. I love this spot and highly recommend getting tickets to see your favorite artist perform here!

WEBSITE | 500 E 12th St, Austin

11. Drive Out To The Texas Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country encompasses a lot of small cities and towns on the western side of Austin. You can drive for about an hour and reach rolling hills, beautiful sunset views, and lots of fun places to eat and drink.

Take a drive out to the Texas Hill Countryand visit a bunch of fabulous wineries (here are my favorite wineries in Driftwood) and breweries (go to Jester King Brewery for a day of enjoying award-winning farmhouse beer, eating pizzas, and visiting their goat farm!)

Or you can head all the way out to Fredericksburg and visit some wineries, climb Enchanted Rock, or just go shopping on Main Street.

12. Take your kids to the Alliance Children's Garden

Looking for things to do in Austin with kids? You have to take them to Alliance Children's Garden! It’s a new $6 million, 2-acre playground, nature center, and cultural space at Butler Park.

There are giant cement slides, tunnels, a climbing wall, a splash pad, and an AMAZING view of downtown Austin! It’s located at 1000 Barton Springs Rd. (Psst: for more on the best playgrounds in Austin + parking info, read here.)

WEBSITE | 1000 Barton Springs Rd, Austin

13. Bar hop on East 6th St (NOT Dirty Sixth)

Is East 6th the same thing as Dirty Sixth? Nope. “Dirty Sixth” is the portion of East 6th on the west side of I35, and East 6th is the portion on the east side of I35. Confusing…

Here’s the simple stuff: if you want to visit some legit cool cocktail bars, restaurants, and local craft breweries, stay on the east side of I35. (If you want to get wasted with all the tourist bachelor parties and college bros, go to Dirty Sixth.)

A few places worth visiting on East 6th: Via 313 Detroit-Style Pizza, Liberty Bar dive bar, Zilker Brewing craft brewery, and Whisler’s cocktail bar.

14. Stay at a really cool Austin hotel

Austin has some amazing hotels, and I love booking an overnight stay as an Austin local and enjoying a staycation in my own city. If you're visiting, here's a guide to the 3 best neighborhoods to stay in during your first trip to Austin.

And if a rooftop pool is a priority, here are the best Austin hotels with pools. Use this guide if you're visiting in the summer months!

Does a "hotel stay" count as a fun thing to do in Austin? It does in my book! Especially if I'm splurging on one of these beautiful boutique hotels in Austin!

15. Sip cocktails from a rooftop bar

Cocktails + views…one of the most iconic duos. And if you want to find some beautiful rooftop bars in Austin, use this map.

16. Go out to an Austin brunch Restaurant

You can’t visit Austin without going out for an amazing brunch! With so many great brunch restaurants in Austin, the hardest part is just picking a spot. I recommend using this map to narrow down your choices, beach picking a brunch spot in Austin can be overwhelming. A few tips:

Popular brunch spots in Austin fill up early, so make reservations in advance!
If you forget reservations, there’s a section on this map of brunch spots in Austin that don’t take reservations. You can just walk in.
Looking for a good brunch spot in Austin for a big group, like a birthday party or a bachelorette party? Here ya go! These spots all cater to big brunch groups in Austin.

17. Walk through the Austin Public Library (FREE)

TIME Magazine called it one of the Greatest Places In The World, and I agree! The Austin Public Library in downtown Austin has breathtaking views overlooking Lady Bird Lake and Shoal Creek. It’s a $125 million project with 6 floors, and underground parking garage, a cafe, an art gallery, a rooftop garden, and 37-foot clock hanging in the atrium.

Whether you spend 10 minutes doing a quick walk-though or you camp out for a few hours of reading, it’s well worth a visit.

WEBSITE | 710 W Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701

18. Get tickets to the Blanton Museum of Art (FREE on Tuesdays)

If you’re an art buff (or you just enjoy beautiful museums), a visit to the Blanton Museum of Art is one of the best things to do in Austin. And it's FREE to visit every single Tuesday. (There are also some other Austin museums that offer free entry.)

Located at the University of Texas at Austin, the Blanton one of the largest university art museums in the country.

You should plan on about 1-2 hours to walk though (although you could definitely spend much more time, if you wanted.) There are more than 21,000 works in the permanent collection alone!

WEBSITE | 200 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin

19. Take a hike at the Barton Creek greenbelt (FREE)

This gem is one of my favorite places in Austin, year-round! Hiking in Texas is more like a walk than a hike, but the greenbelt has a few hills, some hidden swimming holes, and miles of trails. Here's a beginner's guide to the Austin Greenbelt, including the best places to enter the trail.

And if you don't have time to read that link above, try parking at the entrance on Spyglass right next to Tacodeli so you can grab some delicious tacos after your swim! This Tacodeli location is at 1500 Spyglass Dr Suite B, Austin, TX 78746. You’ll see the greenbelt entrance right across the street - you can’t miss it.

20. Visit The Peacocks At Mayfield Park

Mayfield Park is a historic cottage, garden, and nature preserve that has live peacocks wandering around!! It’s so cool to stop by, go on a walk, and see the peacocks. (Note that you can’t bring pets, due to the freely wandering peacocks.)

What does Mayfield Park cost? Nada! It’s free! Pair this with your visit to Mount Bonnel (another free thing to do in Austin) because they’re right next to each other!

WEBSITE | 3505 W 35th St, Austin

21. Go two-stepping at the Broken Spoke

NOT a tourist trap - promise! The Broken Spoke is about as old-school Austin as it gets. It’s a little dance hall that’s been around since 1964, and everyone from Dolly Parton to George Strait to Willie Nelson has played there.

And while Austin isn’t necessarily known as a country western town, two-stepping goes way back in any Texas city and we do have a handful of spots where you can country dance in Austin. So if you want to put on some boots in ATX, the Broken Spoke is the best place to go dancing.

This tiny little red building is tucked between all the sparkly new high rises. But it’s still going strong! They offer two-step lessons every Wed-Sat night from 8-9 pm, and live country music so you can dance afterward.

WEBSITE | 3201 S Lamar Blvd, Austin

22. Watch the Austin Bats Come Out (FREE!)

If you visit Austin in the summer months, this is for SURE one of the most unique things that you can only see in Austin!

Stand on or under the Congress bridge and watch the largest urban bat colony in the world emerge for their nightly feeding.

Whether you stand on the bridge or below it (or rent a paddle board and watch from the water), you’ll see 1 million bats fly out from under their bridge.

They go all around Austin at night and feast, and then return home in the morning. You can see them every night from mid-March to early November, but the best viewing months are June-August. Here's a beginner's guide to viewing the Austin bats, including where to park, how early to arrive, and where to eat nearby,

Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704

23. Visit the LBJ Presidential Library

If you’re a history buff, schedule a half day to walk through the LBJ Presidential Library. (Psst: Admission is half price on Tuesdays.) This 14-acre library and museum houses 45 million pages of historical documents.{Photo credit: LBJ Presidential Library}

WEBSITE | 2313 Red River St, Austin

24. Shop at BookPeople

This is the largest independent bookstore in Texas! It's been here in Austin since 1970, and if you enjoy literature you definitely need to stop by!

There’s a coffee shop inside, so you can buy a few new books and then sit and enjoy them while you sip a latte. The staff is so awesome, and they tag their favorite books in each department. You can wander around and read the staff recommendation cards to find some fun new reading material.

Since this is the largest indie bookstore around, it’s where authors typically stop for their international book tours. Check out their events calendar to see if any of your favorite authors are stopping by for a talk + book signing!

WEBSITE | 603 N Lamar Blvd, Austin

25. See a show at the Paramount Theatre

Over 100 years old, the Paramount is a historic theater in downtown Austin. It was built in 1915 and it’s still fully active. There are always great acts coming through!

During the holiday season you can watch popular holiday movies, and during the rest of the year you can see live music, comedy shows, and more. Here’s the events page, if you want to check it out.

WEBSITE | 713 Congress Ave, Austin

Clearly there are SO many great things to do in Austin. And while this list is designed to get you started, there's a lot more to do in Austin than I've mentioned here.

If you're looking for excellent restaurants, here's my guide to the best restaurants in Austin. I also have a list of excellent kid-friendly places to eat in Austin, and maps of where to find the best pizza, best tacos, and best burgers in Austin.

And if saving money is your #1 priority, here are 101 FREE things to do in Austin. I also have 20 tips to visit Austin on a budget.

And if you want more amazing local recommendations in Texas, be sure to visit my other Texas travel sites: TheSanAntonioThings.com, and TheWacoThings.com.

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