A Walking Tour Of Austin Texas

Austin, Texas, is well known as a great place to live, especially because of its vibrant culture, stunning natural beauty, and welcoming community. Since the city’s development boom occurred after the advent of the car, the city is broken up into distant pockets; however, there are several walking routes visitors can take to experience the essence of the city. Join us as we explore the most interesting routes.

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Start at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium

Darrell K Royal Stadium is home to the Texas Longhorns

Austin is home to the flagship campus of the University of Texas, and there is no better place to start a walking tour than at the heart that pumps the blood of the city – Darrell K Royal Stadium, home of the Texas Longhorns. Its seating capacity, which exceeds 100,000, has made it the eighth-largest football stadium in the United States.

Check out Littlefield Fountain with the UT Clock Tower in the background

Head west down 21st Street and you’ll see two of the campus’s prominent monuments: the Littlefield Fountain and, situated right behind it, the UT Clock Tower. Although a beautiful piece of architecture, the tower holds a bit of an eerie history: it’s where the gunman stationed himself before committing one of the country’s first mass shootings, in 1966.

Visit Blanton Museum of Art

From the Littlefield Fountain head down University Avenue and make a left on Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and you will enter the city’s self-declared museum district. On your left, you’ll see the Blanton Museum of Art where there are unique pieces and exhibitions from around the world. Across the street, down Congress Avenue you will see the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Stop by the Texas Capitol building

The Capitol’s pink dome is one of Austin’s chief landmarks

Continue straight down Congress Avenue and you will be greeted by the Texas State Capitol, a national historic landmark that sits right in the core of the city. Also known as the Pink Dome, it’s where the Texas legislature convenes every odd year. At 303 feet (92 meters) tall, it is taller than the United States Capitol in Washington DC and is the sixth-tallest state capitol in the country. The facility is open to the public, so feel free to head straight in, or enjoy the campus ground surrounding the building.

Stroll along historic Congress Avenue

Continue through the Capitol and you will reach the mouth of Austin’s historic Congress Avenue. Just head south and check out the famous Paramount Theater, where A-list acts in music and comedy are often headlining. Next, stop at the Jones Center for Contemporary Art to see what the latest exhibition is.

Eat and drink on Sixth Street

Restaurants and bars line Austin’s Sixth Street

At this point in the walk, you’re probably getting a little hungry, maybe a little thirsty. Well, off Congress Avenue make a left onto Sixth Street and introduce yourself to a litany of bars and restaurants in the city’s most electric entertainment district. Must-sees are the historic Driskill Hotel, where the back bar has the best local beers and handcrafted cocktails, and Easy Tiger, a bakery with amazing bread and an underground bar with one of the most niche beer selections you’ll find in the city.

Catch some tunes in the Red River Street Cultural District

After you leave Easy Tiger, continue in the same direction to Red River Street and check out the Red River Cultural District, an entire street dedicated to music venues. The Mohawk at 10th and Red River streets is saddled up right next to Cheer Up Charlie’s. A couple paces south you will see Stubb’s Amphitheater. You can stop into any of these places and check out the bar, or if there’s a show going on, grab some tickets and rock out.

Admire the views and bats off South Congress Bridge

Austin’s bats have become a source of local pride

Head back down Red River Street, make a right on Fourth Street and make your way back to Congress Avenue to head south along the South Congress Bridge. The bridge boasts one of the best views of the city against the Colorado River. If it’s around dusk, you may be able to catch Austin’s world-famous bat show, where some of the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that live under the bridge come out at once to eat insects. The congregation of bats under the bridge is the largest urban bat colony in the world.

Head down South Congress Avenue and eat tacos

There are plenty of cowboy boots to choose from at Allen’s Boots, Austin

If you continue south on South Congress Avenue, you will eventually touch the South Congress, an entertainment district where world-class restaurants, shopping and music venues converge. Near the north end of the neighborhood you can find the world-famous blues joint the Continental Club. Across the street is Jo’s Coffee, where you can snap a picture in front of the “I Love You So Much” graffiti mural. Right next door sits the very chic Hotel San Jose where Austin celebrities can often be found enjoying a drink. Up the hill, you can find June’s All Day, a French brunch spot. But no Austin tour is complete without some tacos. Touch the top of the hill and you will encounter Torchy’s Tacos, an institution inseparable from the city’s identity. Grab a breakfast taco and some of the beloved queso and call it a day.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.