← AUSTIN TRAVEL GUIDE🎸
US SOUTH · USA
The 6 Best Things to Do in Austin
Live music, barbecue, tacos, and swimming holes
Austin is Texas’s laid-back, creative capital — live music every night, legendary barbecue and breakfast tacos, spring-fed swimming holes, and a bat bridge at dusk.
BEST TIME
March–May and September–November
TYPICAL BUDGET
$800–$1,800 per person for a long weekend
6 best things to do in Austin
1
Live music on South Congress and 6th Street
2
Franklin-style Texas barbecue
4
Bat bats at Congress Avenue Bridge
How to fit it into a day
Live music on South Congress and 6th Street
Spend the morning on the highlight, then in the afternoon or evening: franklin-style texas barbecue.
See it laid out day by day: the 3-day Austin itinerary →
LOCAL TIP
Get to the famous barbecue joints before 11am — the best cuts sell out by early afternoon.
Turn this list into a real trip
ShowUp builds a personalized Austin plan around these — real hotels, restaurants, and live prices, booked piece by piece, with one honest all-in total. Free.
Build my Austin trip — free →Austin itineraries by length
Things to do elsewhere