edit Austin Travel Guide

• South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival. MARCH. One of the biggest music festival in the United States, with more than 1,400 performers playing dozens of venues around Austin for four days. The wrist bands are loved by college students here, but be warned that you'll be turned away at the door at many of the venues even with one. You can still get into some of the larger venues without a wristband if you'd simply like to sample a band or two and check out the atmosphere; you can usually pick one "official" venue where you think you'll like all the bands, and then go early and pay the cover. Hardcore music fans usually make a week long calendar and plan to arrive at different venues for different acts.

• Austin City Limits Festival. SEPTEMBER. An annual three day outdoor music festival. It brings together more than 130 bands on eight stages, including rock, country, folk, indie, Americana, hip-hop, reggae, and bluegrass, and attracts a crowd of about 65,000 music-lovers each day. A great mix of big names as well as local acts, but be prepared to deal with the heat.It is often said that ACL is the locals version of SXSW a little more mellow in terms of crowd but still with all the great music.

• Zilker Park. Undoubtedly Austin's favorite park. Amazing location on the banks of Town Lake with several miles of hiking and biking trails.

• Barton Springs Pool is one of Austin's most unique (and a refreshing 68 degrees year-round!) attractions: a beautiful spring-fed pool over 3 times longer than a football field, nestled in the heart of the city at Zilker Park. $3 entrance fee for the whole day. If you are short of cash or have a dog, head downstream just on the other side of the fence and find more clear beautiful water.

By plane

Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). 6 miles (10km) southeast of the city center, it is served by most major carriers, with non-stop service to 34 destinations. There are a selection of buses, taxis, shuttles and car rentals to get you into town and back. Chauffeured sedans or limos are also available to pick you up or drop you off at the airport but normally require advance reservations. Taxi fare to downtown Austin is approximately $30.

By train

Austin Amtrak station, 250 North Lamar Blvd. Served by the Texas Eagle Line with service from Chicago to San Antonio.

By car

Austin is located on several major freeways. From San Antonio, head north on IH-35, about two hours. From Dallas, head south on IH-35, about three hours. From Houston, head west on US-290, about three hours.

By bus

Greyhound Bus Line, (station is on IH-35 near Highland Mall), +1 800-231-2222. Serves Austin daily. Schedules may change. Passengers can catch the number 7 bus to downtown from there.

By Car

Driving is not too difficult, if you're used to living in a large city. Traffic is bad from 7-9 am and 4-6 pm Monday through Fridays, though I-35 through town can be jammed at other times as well

There are two major north-south expressways: I-35 and Loop 1 (also called the Mo-Pac Freeway for former owner of the railroad which runs along it, Missouri-Pacific - or "Slo-Pac" for anyone who has experienced it at rush hour). There is only one true major east-west freeway in Austin located south of the city center, known as Ben White or US 290 West/Texas highway 71. The freeway section of 290 West/Ben White currently runs from I-35 to just east of Oak Hill. Freeway extensions are currently being constructed east on 71 to the airport, and the beginning stages of construction are taking place west towards and past Oak Hill.

Oak Hill is the point at which 71 and 290 split apart and go in separate directions, and in case this isn't confusing enough, some people make the distinction between 290 West and 290 East because at I-35 290 East actually heads up the interstate, and then continues on to the east in North Austin. There is a second freeway that runs from the Northwest side of the city down to the Southeast side of the city past the airport. This freeway is called US 183, and in North Austin it may also be referred to as Research Blvd. Most of it is freeway now, however there are still several major intersections which are currently being constructed and turned into freeway.

I-35 has no loop that circumnavigates the city, so watch out for aggressive, confused drivers. Also, keep your eyes open for the upper deck/lower deck split between Airport Blvd and Martin Luther King Jr Blvd; it's confusing, and accidents occur there frequently. Drivers going through Austin without stopping, or those who wish to avoid the chaos of the lower deck, should use the right two lanes as the deck split approaches, in contrast to other cities where through traffic uses the left lane. On the northbound side, traffic entering I-35 at Martin Luther King Jr Blvd goes directly to the upper deck.

Out-of-towners be warned: on-ramps on I-35, especially the lower deck, are very short.

Austin has a mostly completed network of toll roads, see Central Texas Turnpike System and Central Texas Regional Mobile Authority. These include SH 130, an Austin bypass east of town; SH 45, an east-west artery in North Austin; the North MoPac extension; the US 183A bypass of Cedar Park and Leander; and SH 45SE in far south Austin. TxTag accounts are available for commuters. There has been significant opposition and accommodations have been made in some areas, see Austin Toll Party. Both 183A and MoPac are rather deceptive - if you keep going north on either 183 or MoPac, the freeway seamlessly transitions into a toll road and the signing is rather poor. To avoid the toll, you must keep a sharp eye out and get off the main lanes. Even worse, the first toll on 183A is "TxTag Only" meaning that you cannot pay cash.

Parts of the city are subject to flooding at times during the year, however it is not too common as Austin does not usually get an excessive amount of rain. 2007 has seen several flood episodes with the worst effects in Marble Falls, northwest of the city. See City of Austin Flood History for historic flooding.

Note: For those of you unfamiliar with proper treatment of flooded areas, NEVER drive through flooded low water crossings. You will lose your car and possibly your life. As little as one foot of running water can and does wash a car away and each year there are some deaths due to this. "Turn Around, Don't Drown."

Parking

While driving is not too bad, parking in the city center can be difficult; look for municipal parking garages as officers will ticket you in the blink of an eye. (Check meters, though, because many are free in the evenings, on weekends, and on major holidays.) Worse yet, vehicles illegally parked in private parking areas are very quickly towed, so make sure that you don't park in spots marked no parking. see http://www.texasfreeway.com/Austin/austin.shtml/

Parking is free in the Texas State History Museum garage near UT after hours and on weekends. As of 2005 under SB 1533, state employees may park in state garages during non-business hours for free.

By bike

Austin is hilly to the west but generally mildly sloping toward the river in the center of town. There are bike lanes on some major streets. Biking is a great way to get around year round and the weather is usually agreeable.

• Yellow Bike Project, Phone: 512-457-9880 Operates two community bike shops where individuals can go and repair their own bikes free of charge. Coordinators are present to answer any questions and guide you, but not to fix your bike for you. At the Main Shop on 51st street there are 10+ work stands and tools sets available for use. The Satellite Shop is better for minor repairs and only has as a few work stands. If you are looking for a cheap bike while in town and are willing to do a little maintenance work, visit The Yellow Bike Project and pick out a bike that needs a little love in exchange for a small donation. If you are interested getting away from touristy attractions on your visit the Yellow Bike shop is a great place to drop in and volunteer a few hours. Their hours change monthly but are up-to-date on their website. If you are lucky you might see one of the name-sake Yellow Bikes around town. If you see a Yellow Bike, feel free to ride it to your destination and leave it for the next person. Yellow Bikes are not to be locked up and you ride at your own risk. The Austin Yellow Bike Project has been operating for ten years and has released over 600 yellow bikes.

• Bicycle Sports Shop - Bike Rentals, Phone: 512-477-3472. The Bicycle Sports Shop is located Downtown and offers the largest selection of bike rentals in the city.

By Mass Transit

Capital Metro, The city's public bus network with a solid system of inexpensive neighborhood express and downtown routes. Busses cost 50c per trip, or you can get a 24 hour pass for $1. CapMetro also runs several free trolley-style buses around downtown, known as 'Dillos (short for Armadillo Express). "E-Bus" and "Night Owl" services serve the city's entertainment districts after hours. The Capital Metro website has a trip planner which can be used to find public transport options between two points in Austin.

By taxi

There are several cab companies on call if you'd prefer to avoid the driving hassle.

• Yellow Cab, Phone: 512-452-9999. website includes fare estimator and online booking
• Marriton Limousine, Phone: 512-329-7007, Toll free: 1-800-940-7007, For airport transfers or those who just demand a bit more luxury you can rent a chauffeured sedan, limousine or minibus.

By Foot

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Crime

Austin is a generally safe city. As with most American cities, credit cards are accepted nearly universally, especially for nightlife. Therefore, for convenience and safety, it's inadvisable to carry large amounts of cash.

The number for police, fire, and medical services is 911.

There is generally a large, visible police presence (mounted, foot, and cruiser) at night in the 6th St. area. They are quite willing to let belligerent drunks dry out overnight in the city jail. They do, however, provide a safe and secure area to enjoy yourself and Austin's famous live music. Austin police have a reputation for being aggressive and "Taser-happy."

Because surrounding hills concentrate the water, some streets in Austin and the surrounding area are prone to flooding during periods of heavy rain. These areas are typically marked as 'low water crossings' but in any event **Do not drive or walk across moving water** Each year several people are killed as they are swept away by flooding. You will also see many flood control structures built into the landscape. Small, dry low places with bounding berms during the dry season, these are dangerous places to be in, but keep Austin safer when the rains come.

Smoking

Communications

Check out Free Austin area WiFi Hotspots, to see where you can ger free wireless!

Gay and Lesbian

Most gay and lesbian bars and night clubs are located downtown with the highest concentration in the the Warehouse district. Avoid Sapphire, they are not gay-friendly and don't deserve your business.

• Oilcan Harry's, 211 W 4th Street, ☎ 512-320-8823.

• Rain, 217b W 4th Street, ☎ 512-494-1150 (info@rainon4th.com).

• Fabric, 101 W 5th St, ☎ +1 512-322-9333

• Rainbow Cattle Company, 305 W 5th Street, ☎ 512-472-5288 (nTouch@rainbowcattleco.com), Tu-Fr 3PM-2AM, Sa-Su 8PM-2AM.

• Charlie's, 1301 Lavaca St +1 512-474-6481, Daily 2PM-3AM.

• Chain Drive, 504 Willow St, ☎ +1 512-480-9017.

• 1920's, 918 Congress Ave, ☎ +1 512-479-7979

• University of Texas at Austin, is a beautiful stroll. While there you might want to visit the Blanton Art Museum, The Harry Ransom Center, or Texas Memorial Museum of Science and History. The famous tower has reopened and is worth a look for the breathtaking views and history lesson. It is a tour though so you need to make reservations. The theater and music departments are both well regarded and have performances throughout the school year. If you visit during football season, you can see the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorn football team play at Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium.

• LBJ Presidential Library, always seems to have something interesting on display. They change their exhibits fairly frequently.

• The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. M-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su Noon-6PM. A very good survey of Texas History and Culture. As with most newer museums it suffers quite a bit in that it seems to have traded depth for lots of multimedia displays and an IMAX theater. What is there, however, is quite well done. Access to the museum and both theaters: $13.50/10.50/8.50/6.50 (General/Seniors 65+/Children 5-18/Children 3-4).

• The Texas State Capitol is worth peeking into. It's free and open seven days a week.

• Austin Bats. Yes, that's right, bats. Austin's Congress Avenue bridge is home to the largest Mexican free-tailed bat colony in North America (1.5 million). The bats are generally active at dusk every evening between March and November.

• Zilker Park Kite Festival, Phone: 512-448-KITE. The oldest continuous kite festival in the USA. MARCH. Hundreds of kites will dance in the sky the first Sunday in March (10 am to 5 pm) Admission is FREE. Everyone is welcome whether they fly a kite or just enjoy the spectacle that must be seen to be believed. Kite flying demonstrations will be held all day and delicious food of all kinds will be prepared fresh at the event. See kite ballet, kite battles, kite buggies and giant kites over 50 feet long. Come compete in both youth and adult kite contests with your homemade kite. Trophies are awarded to the winners. Proceeds from vendor sales go to break the cycle of child abuse. Free parking and shuttles. Come on down to Zilker Park and enjoy “Kite Day”. Zilker Park is located in Austin at 2200 Barton Springs Road. Rain date is the following Sunday.
• SPAMARAMA™ is a fun and irreverent homage to Spam™. APRIL. It includes a Cookoff, the SPAMALYMPICS™ (Contests, some athletic, some not), SPAMJAM® (Music), Arts/Crafts/Food booths and a Kid's Area. SPAMARAMA™ benefits the Disability Assistance of Central Texas, Inc. It was founded in 1976.
• Eeyore's Birthday Party. APRIL. Held on the last Saturday of every April to ring in spring, there are few things that seem so "Austin" as Eeyore's Birthday Party. It is a unique event: a free-form hang-out of several thousand people... sitting, walking, playing music, beating drums, eating, drinking beer, playing games. Be yourself... there are families, dogs, tattoos, costumes, hotties, hippies, gay, straight, black, white, brown, red, tan.... and a statue of Eeyore dressed like the Statue of Liberty. The drum circle is massive and the beat vibrates throughout the central city. It ends when the sun goes down and everyone leaves peacefully.
• Old Pecan Street Festival. MAY & OCTOBER. East Sixth Street (formerly Pecan Street) from Congress to IH-35 and adjacent streets are closed to traffic to host over 240 Arts, Crafts and other vendors. Several music stages offer live music.

Austin is very proud of its local stores. Great places to shop are South Congress (SoCo), The Drag, (Guadalupe, from 17th to 38th, along the West side of the UT campus) and South First. North Loop also has a few fun and funky shops, but you'll probably have to ask a local (or several) how to get there.

Malls

• Barton Creek Mall southwest of town.
• Lakeline Mall northwest of town.
• Highland Mall north of downtown.
• Round Rock Premium Outlets opened in August, 2006 and features upscale outlet shopping in an outdoor courtyard style center. Just north of RM 1431 at I-35 in North Round Rock. 125 stores. IKEA Home furnishings will open nearby in November 2006.
• Prime Outlets San Marcos and adjacent Tanger Factory Outlets combine for over 200 stores and is worth the trip south from Austin.
• The Domain and The Shops at Arbor Walk will open at Braker and MoPac in 2007. The Domain will host Neiman Marcus, Tiffany's and Macy's.

There is a plethora of large retail box stores to the north and south of town (Target, Best Buy, etc.), but of particular note are the Apple Store located in Barton Creek Mall and the Crate and Barrel at Gateway Center.

Groceries

Austin is home of the original and the world headquarters of Whole Foods. Their flagship store is located downtown at W. 6th St. and Lamar, in the same building as their brand-new corporate headquarters. They have several other stores around town as well. The flagship store is a destination in and of itself.

Austin is also home to the original Central Market, near Lamar and 38th St., and a second location at Lamar and Westgate, down south.

Both Whole Foods and Central Market have a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, wines, beer, cheese, free-range meats, and seafood. The Whole Foods flagship store downtown also has a varied selection of gelato. Biggest Whole Foods in its chain. Spirits live music at night, a ice rink on top, and much much more.

Wheatsville Grocery 3101 Guadalupe, Austin TX 78705, Open Daily 9am-11pm. Wheatsville is now a thriving Co-op grocery and has been around for over 30 years. Their focus on food issues guaranteed an excellent selection of ethical produced products including organics, vegetarian, vegan, free range meats and eggs, fair trade, household items, bulk foods and a full service deli. The store is a much smaller than the large supermarkets and provides a much more personal grocery experience.

Austin also features a large variety of ethnic grocery stores, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and, of course, Mexican.

• MT Supermarket, North Lamar Blvd. and Braker Lane. 68,000 square foot Vietnamese and Chinese grocery supermarket, part of the 180,000 square foot Chinatown Center.
• Hong Kong, 8557 Research Blvd. Chinese groceries.
• Asahi Imports, 6105 Burnet Road. Japanese grocery store.
• Fiesta Mart, 3909 N. Interstate 35. Mexican groceries, strong selection of other international fare.

• HEB, one of the largest private (not publicly traded) corporations in America, has many supermarkets around town. They have great selection. Most markets have specialty, organic, and ethnic foods. Many are open 24 hours. Their newest large-scale supermarkets include everything from furniture to electronics to books to eggs.

Music

• Waterloo Records, Sixth & Lamar, . Known around town for having local artists play in-store. Wide selection of music, everything from Blues to Electronica to Country. Has a wall dedicated to local musicians, great if you need a real country fix, not that sugary syrup they play on the radio. Waterloo Video is just around the corner.

• Cheapo Discs, . Like the name says, Austin's home for cheap used CDs.

• End of an Ear. Experimental music, jazz, other "left of the dial" music. Regular in-store performances, usually on weekends.

Books

• Bookpeople, Sixth & Lamar. Across the street from Waterloo Records, this locally owned bookstore has two stories of books with lots of quiet corners to sit down for a read. Largest independent bookstore in Texas. Great selection of books on Texas history and architecture. http://www.bookpeople.com/

• BookWoman, 12th & Lamar. Independent feminist bookstore also specializing in LGBTQ texts. http://www.ebookwoman.com/

• Half-Price Books Five locations around town. This Texas-based chain's stores offer exceptional value for your dollar, and have an extremely diverse selection. A peek in these stores will show you what Austinites are really reading. http://www.halfpricebooks.com/

Toys

• Terratoys, 2438 W. Anderson Lane (newly re-located), Wide variety of toys and excellent selection of children's books.
• Hogwild, 100-A East North Loop. Vintage toys.
• Toy Joy, 2900 Guadalupe (29th & Guadalupe), Awesome selection of novelty, themed, and era-reminiscent toys, candy, and stationary.

Antiques

There are several antique stores on South Congress.

• Aqua 1415 S. Congress.

Clothing

• Blue Velvet, 3203 Red River.
• Buffalo Exchange, 2904 Guadalupe.
• Flashback, 2047 South Lamar.
• Storeyville Boutique, 5015 Duval St.
• Blackmail. All black clothing and various accessories.
• Parts & Labor. 1604 S. Congress. Lots of unique items (clothes, earrings, purses, etc.) made by local artists.