2 days in Austin

Day by day

1. Day 1: Texas State Capitol and Sixth Street and Red River

   Texas State Capitol, Sixth Street and Red River, Lady Bird Lake and the Butler Trail and Barton Springs Pool, then Congress Avenue Bridge bats in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Texas State Capitol

      Free guided tours visit the rotunda, the House and Senate chambers and the underground extension, and the grounds hold monuments across 9 hectares of lawns.

   2. Late morning

      Sixth Street and Red River

      East Sixth Street between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35 is Austin's famous bar strip, closed to traffic on weekend nights, while the Red River Cultural District around the corner has many of the city's long-running original-music clubs.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Central Texas brisket

      Franklin Barbecue in East Austin and other well-known pits; queues form for hours before the most famous ones open, and Lockhart is an hour away.

   4. Afternoon

      Lady Bird Lake and the Butler Trail

      Motorboats are banned, so the water is popular with kayakers, canoeists and paddleboarders, and a boardwalk carries the trail over the water on the south shore.

   5. Late afternoon

      Barton Springs Pool

      It is home to the endangered Barton Springs salamander and is a central part of Austin summer life.

   6. Evening

      Congress Avenue Bridge bats

      Arrive about 30 minutes before sunset; August, when the young join the flight, is usually the biggest show. Bat-watching boat tours give a close view from the water.

2. Day 2: Zilker Park and Umlauf Sculpture Garden

   Zilker Park, Umlauf Sculpture Garden, South Congress Avenue and Bullock Texas State History Museum, then Continental Club in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Zilker Park

      It hosts the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October and the Trail of Lights in December.

   2. Late morning

      Umlauf Sculpture Garden

      A shady garden and small museum showing bronze and stone sculptures by Charles Umlauf, a long-time University of Texas art professor, set among ponds and paths just across from Zilker Park.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Breakfast tacos

      Taquerías and food trucks citywide, especially in East Austin and South Austin.

   4. Afternoon

      South Congress Avenue

      The best-known shopping and eating strip in Austin, with Western boots and vintage clothing shops, food trucks, neon signs, the 'I love you so much' mural and a direct view up Congress Avenue to the Capitol.

   5. Late afternoon

      Bullock Texas State History Museum

      It also has an IMAX theatre.

   6. Evening

      Continental Club

      Early evening happy-hour sets are often free or low-cost and less crowded.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Blanton Museum of Art (Hyde Park and the University): Visit 'Austin' in the morning when sunlight casts coloured patterns across the floor.
• Swap in LBJ Presidential Library (Hyde Park and the University): Allow time for the civil-rights galleries, which are the museum's strongest section.
• Swap in Harry Ransom Center (Hyde Park and the University): Entry is free; check the current exhibition before you go.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 16–26 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.2 hours in December to 14.1 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Bus. CapMetro buses, including frequent MetroRapid lines along Congress Avenue, Lamar Boulevard and Guadalupe Street, connect downtown with South Congress, the university and the airport.

More or fewer days

• One day in Austin
• 3 days in Austin
• 5 days in Austin

Questions travellers ask