We recently traveled to Austin not too long ago + it quickly became one of my favorite places I’ve ever been to. The city is filled with so much culture, music, food, + nature?! I wasn’t expecting it but there’s a gorgeous river that flows through the heart of the city. Brady + I traveled to Austin to see our friends get married but decided to make a whole trip out of it (naturally) to further explore this music capital. Being the planner that I am, I did oodles of research beforehand that I’d like to share with you in today’s post. So if you’re traveling to Austin soon or if you’re deciding on where to book your next getaway, let this be an inspirational guide for you on where you should stay, eat + play… yay!

STAY

While we stayed in an Airbnb during our travels (cost reasons), we did explore through a few hotels in Austin (having a degree in tourism, I’m a little nerdy over hotels) + a few of them really stood out to me.

Line Hotel

The LINE Hotel located in downtown Austin is a DREAM. This boutique hotel looks straight out of an Anthropologie catalog. From the public restrooms to the three restaurants + the coffee shop to the stunning suites, you can tell that they really care about those pretty details + it doesn’t go unnoticed. If you’re able to book a room here with a group of girlfriends or for a special occasion with your love, the LINE Hotel is the place. Bonus: The hotel is settled right next to the Colorado River + the infamous Bat Bridge on Congress Avenue.

Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt

The Hotel Van Zandt is a sleek + unique hotel located in the Rainey Street Historic District. Its decor is a beautiful mix of wood, leather + brass which is stemmed from the musical instruments they incorporated into their creative design. The hip restaurant inside is called Geraldine’s but it also serves as a music venue + bar. You’ll start to notice that a lot of places have music venues attached to them. Bonus: The Hotel Van Zandt is right in between all the fun in the Rainey Street neighborhood which is lined with bungalow restaurants + nightlife. (more on that later…)

Austin Motel

The Austin Motel is part of the fabulous South Congress neighborhood. You may have seen their iconic Austin Motel sign scrolling through Instagram. It’s situated right in the heart of some of the best dining, shopping + nightlife in the city, the Austin Motel has an assortment of unique 70s’ themed rooms, a pool that stays open all year long + a diner footsteps away. Yes, this is the place.

The Westin Austin Downtown

The Westin is another energetic hotel located in downtown Austin. Like the other hotels in the bunch, they’ve also incorporated musical components into their lovely design. I mean, how can you not? Austin is the live music capital of the world! Their restaurant, Stella San Jac serves up Austin-American style food while Azul Rooftop Lounge on the 20th floor offers frozen libations + some of the best views of downtown.

EAT

Oh man, this list could go on for days. There are SO. MANY. DANG. restaurants + bars in Austin. And there are dozens of articles out there that give a more thorough explanation of all the best restaurants in Austin. However, for the sake of this post + because I really did read boatloads of those articles, I’m going to list some of the restaurants we either ate at or wanted to eat at.

Bangers Sausage House and Beer Garden is on the popular Rainey Street. They serve up handcrafted sausages (also offer vegetarian ones) + have over 100 craft beers on tap. They have family style seating with long communal tables + on Sundays, they have a big band brunch. Overall, good vibes!

Better Half Bar + Cafe is an all-day cafe serving American fare plus coffee, draft cocktails, wine, craft ciders + beer. I ordered the Better Half Breakfast Sandwich while Brady went with the Chicken Biscuit Sandwich smothered with jalapeno-honey butter. It was as heavenly as it sounds.

Matt’s El Rancho is a local staple in Austin that’s been serving up some of the best Tex-Mex food since 1952. This beloved restaurant is known for making everything homemade + known to have some of the best queso + margaritas in Austin.

The Oasis on Lake Travis is one of those iconic restaurants you just NEED to go to. Located on a cliff’s edge on Lake Travis, you’ll witness some of the most breathtaking views of Austin sitting from one of their multiple outdoor decks. Also known as the Sunset Capital of Texas, this 30,000 square foot Tex-Mex restaurant is certainly the perfect location to capture that gorgeous Texas sunset. They also have two stages for… You guessed it — live music!

If it’s one thing about Austin + Texas as a whole is that they truly love their smoked meats. There are hundreds of really great barbecue joints to get your hands on. A few of them in Austin include; Franklins, la Barbecue + Terry Black’s BBQ. Franklins is probably the most famous one of them all. They start serving up the meats at 11am but I suggest you get there a few hours beforehand + hold your place in line. We weren’t able to try it out ourselves because the line was already around the block by 10:30am! There’s also no guarantee you’ll be eating because when they run out of meat, they close up shop. So we went to the next one on our list which was la Barbecue. There was still about a 45-minute wait but the line was slightly shorter than the former. We decided to wait it out + it was well worth it. Go for their la Chopped sandwich, their brisket, their shells + cheese + housemade pickles — YUM! Last but certainly not least, Terry Black’s BBQ. This spacious space is a lot more casual than the other two but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Even the former First Lady, Michelle Obama, ordered food from this barbecue spot. You can’t go wrong with the brisket + sausage or the beef rib.

Valentina’s Tex-Mex Barbecue is a beautiful fusion between two of the most popular dishes in Texas: tacos + barbecue. Located in South Austin, this family-operated trailer offers some of the best meats on their own but when you combine it with a little Mexican flare, you get something that is beyond. Stop in for breakfast + try their breakfast tacos or come in later to get a BBQ taco on their homemade tortillas.

If you’re in the mood for some mouth-watering, cheesy pizza, do yourself a favor, stop at Craft Pride, grab a beer + make your way to the back patio where you’ll see Via 313. This Detroit-style pizza is sure to satisfy your hunger after drinking through Rainey Street. No worries if you’re not on Rainey Street, Via 313 has 4 other locations located around Austin as well.

If you’re in the SoCo area + in the mood for authentic NY-style pizza, hit up Home Slice Pizza. People rave about this place + for good reason. According to BizJournal, the pizza joint ranks up to be one of the country’s best. Stop in for a slice or order a whole dang pie to devour.

Something that really surprised me about Austin was how many food trucks there are — they actually call them food truck parks + they’re around all year long. Excellent for when you + your friends can’t decide on what to eat, search for one of these parks (you can find them scattered throughout the city) + eat whatever you fancy. A few to check out is Pangea Lounge on East 6th St for their cheesesteaks + falafels; the Rainey Street Food Trucks in the Historic Rainey Street Neighborhood is perfect after a night of bar hopping; + The Picnic in Barton Springs where you can spend a warm day at the Barton Springs pool then indulge in some delicious food after, plus they have a BYOB policy!

PLAY

One thing is for sure about Austin, Texas… there’s a lot of fun to be had! Austin is one of the best cities for nightlife. From all the live music transpiring throughout the city to experiencing the outdoors, there is something for everyone + being bored would be your own damn fault. Below are a few ideas of what you could do:

Dirty 6th Bars

This street is real fun + like the name says, dirty, but in like a good way? Think a smaller version of New Orleans or Las Vegas. Austin is home of the University of Texas so it has a college town feel to it but depending on what kind of mood you’re in that night, there’s a bar for everyone. Since the whole street is lined with bars it may be overwhelming to know where to go. Here are a few of the staples that won’t be filled with crowds of people or bad mixed drinks:

Midnight Cowboy is an intimate reservations-only speakeasy known for its hip vibe & old-school cocktail menu. You can either make a reservation on their website or if the red light bulb is illuminated outside the front door, then walk-ins are welcome. The Chuggin Monkey is a two-level divey bar with live music playing on the daily. The Jackalope is known for its cold beer + mouthwatering burgers. If you’re looking for some late night food, check out Easy Tiger + Casino El Camino. Easy Tiger is a pastry baking, sausage making, pretzel-twisting beer garden open til 2AM on the weekends + they have ping-pong! Casino El Camino has a moody, cool vibe + serves up generous plates of food from their burgers to their “brunch in a glass” bloody mary’s loaded with enough food to call it a meal. Buffalo Billiards is a great spot to go to when you want to kill a few hours. Between the shuffleboard, foosball + pool table, you + your friends could spend a whole night here.

Rainey Street

I’ve mentioned Rainey Street about 10 times already, but I need to include it again, ok? Rainey has gained a lot of popularity over the years + could be considered a step up from Dirty Sixth bars. Personally, I loved the atmosphere on this street. It’s basically an entire two blocks filled with the cutest bungalow restaurants + bars that pretty much all include live music. Some suggestions on where to go are Unbarlievable, The Container Bar, Craft Pride + Bangers.

A few other divey, yet fun places we spent time at were Mean Eyed Cat which was a Johnny Cash themed bar, Donn’s Depot which is a piano bar made up of old train cars, + Rustic Tap which is a sweet outdoor terrace that has fire pits for those chilly nights + yes, they all include live music. Duh.

Bat-Watch

This is a very popular activity to do in the warmer months. The Mexican free-tail bats arrive in the early spring + hang around until the first cold front in late October to mid-November. They hang out under the Congress Avenue bridge + they usually start to emerge 20 minutes before sundown. Bring a blanket + enjoy the view.

If you’re there on a warm day, anything on the water

Paddle boarding, kayaking, floating, or a sightseeing cruise? The river flows right through the heart of the city into Lady Bird Lake + has all of that. Plus, there are several lakes that are just a short drive away such as Lake Travis where you can fish, boat + water ski. If you’re looking to stay closer to town, Barton Hot Springs is one of Austin’s famous landmarks + easily the most popular swimming hole in the city.

Ladybird Lake Boardwalk

This mile long scenic + urban trail goes through Lady Bird Lake. As you go through the trail, you’ll notice signs with song lyrics from famous Texas singers + songwriters that are scattered throughout the trail. Are you surprised?

Learn how to Two Step

If you don’t go two stepping in Texas, did you really go to Texas? There’s a lot to choose from but some will charge you a pretty penny for lessons. Go to The White Horse where they offer free two step lessons followed by live music almost every night so you can put your moves to the test.

Check out Austin’s Street Art

On top of being known for their music scene, Austin also has some of the most iconic street art. A popular spot to check out the art scene is down South Congress also known as SoCo. Check out all the cutie shops + scout out some iconic murals such as the “Greetings from Austin” + “I Love You So Much” wall. There are a number of other murals all throughout the city that you can certainly make a day out of it. Check out Taste of Koko’s website for a comprehensive guide to all the murals in Austin.

SUNSET At Mount Bonnell

Last but not least, if you’re up for a little hiking (don’t worry, nothing too strenuous) + want to catch some breathtaking views, head up to Mount Bonnell. You’ll definitely get some *instagrammable* shots especially if you decide to make the trek at sunset. Bring a picnic, a loved one + cozy blanket so you spend a couple hours taking in the views.

I hope this provided some inspiration + was helpful to those who are looking to book a trip to Austin. It surely stole my heart + I’m already looking forward to my next visit. If you’ve been there before, leave a comment below about your favorite things to do or if you’ve been to any of the places mentioned, I’d love to know!

Love + light,

Cris

Austin: Stay, Eat, Play