Austin Texas is an oasis in the South, filled with fun nightlife, cool street art, and a progressive vibe. Here’s our summary of a week in Austin Texas!
We traveled to Austin for a conference and spent the week exploring the city’s vibrant culture. We stayed downtown at the Fairmont Austin hotel. This is a central location that made it easy to navigate to all the hot spots. We could easily walk to Rainey Street or 6th Street but also used Ubers to get to South Congress or East Austin. Ubers were everywhere and super fast to respond, so getting around was a breeze. The Fairmont Austin hotel had a fun lobby bar, wonderful gym, and outdoor pool complete with tiki bar!
Here’s a rundown of Austin’s main neighborhoods that we frequented:
South Congress: we loved this neighborhood with an eclectic mix of shops, boutique hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. We strolled along after brunch, popping into little shops, trying on cowboy hats, and buying some cool wall art for our home. The retro architecture and people watching added to the flavor.
6th Street: the lively heart of Austin, which is closed to pedestrian traffic only each night and guarded by police on horseback. We had a blast visiting the Comedy Mothership on two of our nights in Austin – once in Little Boy and once in Fat Man, their two comedy rooms. LOL. We laughed until we cried!
Rainey Street: this little strip of bars and restaurants, just south of the convention center, is a fun spot to check out. Many of the bars are converted bungalow houses, although big skyrise condos are now surrounding this neighborhood too.
East Austin: breweries and coffee shops dot this neighborhood, some in old warehouses and converted homes. This seems like the ideal neighborhood, if we were looking to relocate to Austin! A little bit off the normal tourist path but definitely worth exploring.
Our favorite restaurants:
- Forthright Cafe in downtown
- Snooze in East Austin
- Corner Restaurant in downtown
- Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden on Rainey Street
- Cafe No Se on South Congress (great brunch!)
Our favorite coffee shops:
- Manana on South Congress
- Revolucion in downtown (try the fresh juices!)
- Jo’s on South Congress
- Alfred’s in downtown
Our favorite bars:
- Mitzi’s on 6th Street
- Diner Bar in the Thompson Austin hotel in downtown
We loved the overall vibe of Austin, including the modern street art and cool architecture. Check out some of our favorite murals:
Let us know how you’d spend your time if you had a week in Austin Texas!
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