Austin
Travel Guide > North America > USA > Southern United States > Texas > Austin
In this Article
- Introduction
- Neighborhoods
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Weather
- Getting There
- Getting Around
- Eat
- Drink
- Sleep
- Work
- Learn
- Keep Connected
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Introduction
Walking down Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, it's easy to hear why the Texas capital declares itself "The Live Music Capital of the World." With its many live music venues (more per capita than other music cities like Los Angeles or Nashville), temperate climate, lush parks, and hilly terrain, Austin holds a special place in the hearts of many.
In addition to the young folks drawn to Austin to pursue their music careers or follow their favorite band, Austin is also home to the University of Texas at Austin, the fifth largest university in the USA with nearly 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff.
Austin was listed second in the Best Big City category of "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2006[1], and the "Greenest City in America" by MSN in 2007 ("Greenest" referring to a commitment to sustainable living)[2].
Neighborhoods
Downtown Austin music scene revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street running east from Congress street toward Red River Street, which tend to draw young crowds. An older crowd can be found in the Warehouse district centered along 4th street, running west from Congress. In addition, there a few gay bars along 4th street as well.
The University of Texas is located north of the downtown core, and the large campus provides a nice place for a stroll. The most famous building on campus is the Main Building with its 27-story tower topped by four 12-foot wide clocks and a 56-bell carillon, the largest in Texas. Designed by architect Paul Cret, the tower is a symbol of the university and a landmark visible from most places on the campus and from most locations throughout the city. UT, as it is known, is also home to some excellent collegiate sports teams, with football and basketball leading the pack. The area to the west of the University along Guadalupe Street is known as "The Drag" and has a number of restaurants and stores catering to students.
Sights and Activities
The Texas State Capitol
The Texas State Capitol at Congress and 11th, Originally designed by Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed from 1882–88 under the direction of civil engineer Lindsay Walker, and a $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. The Capitol Visitors Center is located at 112 East 11th Street (southeast corner of the Capitol grounds). Self-guided tours of the Capitol and Grounds are available during business hours. Self-guided tour literature is also available in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. The English version can be downloaded from the State Government's website.
Congress Avenue Bridge
The Congress Avenue Bridge houses the world's largest urban population of Mexican free-tailed bats. Starting in late February, up to 1.5 million bats take up residence inside the bridge's expansion and contraction zones as well as in long horizontal grooves running the length of the bridge's underside, an environment ideally suited for raising their young. Every evening around sunset, the bats emerge in search of insects, an exit visible on weather radar. Watching the bat emergence is an event that is popular with locals and tourists, with more than 100,000 viewers per year.
The Blanton Museum of Art
The largest collection of art in Central Texas is housed in the Blanton Museum of Art, located at the intersection of Congress Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. The museum's permanent collection of more than 18,000 works is recognized for its European paintings, an encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings, and modern and contemporary American and Latin American art. The museum is part of the University of Texas at Austin, so students and faculty, as well as museum members, enjoy free admission. Admission fees for all other visitors range from $3 to $7; admission on Thursdays is free for everyone. The museum is closed Mondays.
Other Sights and Activities
The Austin Zoo is a non-profit rescue zoo and animal sanctuary located in Austin, Texas. Housing over 300 animals belonging to over 100 species, the zoo is located in the Oak Hill neighborhood just north of U.S. 290.
Events and Festivals
South by Southwest
South by Southwest festival is 3 festivals in one - a music festival, a film festival and a new media festival. For those outside of those industries, however, the big draws are the chance to see live music and new films. The festival is usually in March, with 2008 dates running from March 7 through March 16. More information can be found at South by Southwest's offical site
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day music and art festival in Austin, Texas's Zilker Park. The Festival 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 visitors each day. The festival runs the last two weeks of September.
Weather
In general, Central Texas has a temperate climate with mild winters. However, summers can get hot and stay hot for weeks on end. Temperatures can easily hit 40 °C or a little more from June to August.
Getting There
By Plane
Austin's airport is Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (IATA code AUS), located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the city. The approximate cost of a taxi from the airport to downtown is $20 - $30 depending on traffic conditions, and should take 20 minutes. A bus to downtown is available at a cost of $0.50, and also takes approximately 20 - 30 minutes. Details on Route 100 can be found at the Cap Metro website.
By Train
Amtrak runs service to Austin on the The Texas Eagle route. The Texas Eagle is a 1306-mile (2102 km) passenger train route that runs daily between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas. Details on schedule and pricing can be found at the Amtrak website. The station is at 250 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX, at 3rd street, west of the downtown.
By Car
Interstate Highway 35 runs north-south through the city and connects Austin to San Antonio to the south, and Waco, Temple, Dallas, and Fort Worth to the north. US Highway 290 traverses the city from west to east, and leads to Houston to the east and Fort Stockton and El Paso (via Interstate 10) to the west.
By Bus
Austin is served by Greyhound bus service. The terminal is located at the intersection of E. Koenig Lane and Middle Fiskville Road, on the southeast side of Highland Mall. Several moderately-priced hotels are within walking distance of the terminal, though it should be noted that the terminal is several miles north of the city center (downtown). Downtown as well as other destinations may be reached by taking the city bus, which is run by Capital Metro.
Getting Around
An interactive map can be found at Map Network.
By Car
Austin is easy to navigate by car. Parking is free virtually everywhere except in downtown and around the university.
By Public Transport
Capital Metro runs public buses in Austin. The website has a trip planner. Base bus fare is $0.50, though some buses require additional fares. The trip planner will outline the cost of the trip.
In downtown, free bus-trolleys (called "the 'Dillo") run on a few different routes. The 'Dillos mostly run from 6:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., about every 15 - 20 minutes and more often during peak hours.
The 'Dillo routes are colour coded:
- Silver runs via 5th and 6th Street between Pleasant Valley and Veterans'Drive, just west of Mopac.
- Orange runs from Memorial Stadium, on the UT campus, to South Congress.
- Red runs from 22nd and Guadalupe to ACC's Rio Grande campus, down Congress to Cesar Chavez and to the Park and Ride lot at Austin High School.
- Gold has a similar route to Red, except the Gold continues south on Congress to Barton Springs Road, then to the Park and Ride lot on Toomey Road, just behind Zachary Scott Theatre.
- Blue runs during lunch only (11am-2pm) from Congress and MLK to 15th St. then south on San Jacinto to the Austin Convention Center. The blue then heads back to MLK via Lavaca.
By Foot
By Bike
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Budget
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostelling International Austin | 2200 S. Lakeshore Blvd. 78741 | Hostel | 83 |
Mid-Range
Upscale
Work
Learn
The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a doctoral/research university located in Austin, Texas. It is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located less than a mile from the Texas State Capitol in Austin. According to The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001) by Howard and Matthew Greene, The University of Texas at Austin is one of America's "Public Ivy" institutions of higher education, defined by the authors as a public institution that "provides an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price."
Founded in 1883, the university has had the fifth largest single-campus enrollment in the nation as of fall 2006 (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997–2003), with nearly 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff. It currently holds the largest enrollment of all colleges in the state of Texas.
Keep Connected
Internet
Free wi-fi is a popular offering in many restaurants and coffee houses throughout the city, including the Schlotzky's sandwich shop chain. Paid wi-fi is available at all Starbuck's coffee locations.
Phone
See also: International Telephone Calls
Post
References
- 1 10 Best Big Cities. Money Magazine. Retrieved on 2009–09–19.
- 2 The 10 Greenest Cities in America. MSN City Guides. Internet Archive (2007–05–19). Retrieved on 2009–09–20.
This is version 20. Last edited at 8:44 on Oct 2, 09 by Utrecht (-65). 6 articles link to this page.
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