19 Must-Visit Attractions and Things To Do in Austin

Franklin Barbecue, Austin’s legendary barbecue joint, has a major reputation – and the epically long three-hour lines to prove it. Nonetheless, head chef and much-loved local celebrity Aaron Franklin cooks up some of the most succulent sausages and beef ribs you’ve ever tasted, so the wait is well worth it. Bring a folding chair, a deck of cards and a cooler full of Lone Star tallboys to make the time pass faster.

As Austin’s premier art museum, the Blanton has an impressive, dizzyingly genre-spanning collection that includes more than 19,000 works, including Renaissance paintings, modern Native American art, a massive prints collection, Roman-era pottery and one of the best Latin American collections in the country. Don’t miss Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin, a 2,715sq ft (252sq m) stone chapel with colored glass windows and black-and-white marble panels; it’s among his most notable works.

In true Austin fashion, there’s another honky-tonk on this list. The White Horse is the East Side’s charmingly gritty, no-frills alternative to the Broken Spoke, and while both are great, The White Horse is where you should go to have a rollicking good time you’ll remember for years to come (unless you drink too many cheap whiskey shots, that is). Let an old cowboy spin you around the dance floor while you soak up the live country and western tunes, or sign up for free Texas two-stepping lessons, which take place throughout the week.

Dedicated to the 45th governor of Texas and long-term Austin resident Ann W Richards, the Congress Avenue Bridge is also home to a few other long-term Austinites: Mexican free-tailed bats. The migratory colony is the world’s largest urban bat colony, with between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats residing under the bridge in summer and wintering in Mexico. Every year, as many as 100,000 tourists watch the bats emerge at dusk and fly across Lady Bird Lake to feed themselves. If you want to experience this extraordinary moment in an entirely different way, take an evening kayak tour where you’ll be able to witness this phenomenon away from the crowds and enjoy the twinkling city lights on your way back.

The Circuit of the Americas features a 3.41mi (5.49km) racetrack and hosts the Formula One United States Grand Prix, the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas and various other racing championships throughout the year. Musical guests from Mumford & Sons to Taylor Swift and Chance the Rapper have performed on the on-site Germania Insurance Amphitheater stage.

With one of the highest vantage points in Austin, 775ft (236m) above the Colorado River (Lake Austin), Mount Bonnell boasts some of the best views of the city, especially at sunset. Also called Covert Park, the site is one of Austin’s oldest tourist attractions, inspiring visitors with its panoramas since the 1850s. From the hill’s crest, look east toward the city skyline Downtown or west to take in the winding Colorado River, snaking its way towards Pennybacker Bridge on Loop 360. You can even team this trip with a guided boat tour of Lake Austin for 22mi (35km) of charming Austin waterfront views.