Austin, Texas: The College Town That Became a Metropolis however Kept Its Soul

Travel

When it was finished in 1937, the 307-foot-tall University of Texas Tower ended up being the highest structure in Austin, therefore it stayed for the next 35 years. The main Texas city was the state’s capital and home to its second-largest university, for years it stayed a drowsy location best understood for the slackers represented by Richard Linklater and prominent regional artists like Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. “When I was at UT in the 1990s, we called Austin the Velvet Coffin, because it was comfy to remain here and not have much aspiration,” states Austin author and reporter Chris Tomlinson. “But in the early 2000s, it began to end up being a tech center and a genuine city.”

The city gets its name from Stephen F. Austin, the Virginia-born “Father of Texas,” who brought the very first Anglo-American inhabitants to what was then Mexico in 1825. In 1845, the city ended up being the capital of the brand-new state of Texas. Its very first capitol was a two-room log cabin, however the existing, circa-1888 building is a far grander affair– a pink-granite building with a 302-foot-tall dome. Because its starting in 1883, the University of Texas at Austin has actually formed the city’s culture and history.

As Austin ended up being a federal government and education center, a live music scene bubbled up, starting with the choral and European folk music carried out in the late 1800s at German American beer gardens. For much of the 20th century it was an essential stop on the R&B and rock circuit, with many Mexican bands assisting form the regional noise, however what actually assisted Austin end up being the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World” was the arrival in 1972 of native Texan Willie Nelson after a not successful stint in Nashville. 2 years later on, the pioneering PBS program Austin City Limits started taping (the spin-off live music celebration released in 2002) and in 1987 the music conference South by Southwest debuted, later on diversifying into movie and tech.

Today Austin is a modern-day metropolitan area of a million-plus individuals with towering high-rise buildings– consisting of the 1,034-foot-tall Waterline, which ended up being the city’s highest structure when it peaked in 2025– that overshadow the UT Tower and the capitol dome. Something hasn’t altered, though: Whenever the University of Texas Longhorns football group wins a video game, the top of the UT Tower is still brightened in the school’s hallmark scorched orange.

Travel Leading Things to Do

Dive into Texas history by taking among the totally free day-to-day trips at the Capitol Building, which highlight information like an early 20th-century terrazzo flooring with pictures of considerable fights(consisting of the Alamo)and an eccentric space committed to state farming. Go much deeper at the Bullock State History Museumwhich uses substantial insight into Austin itself. Later, head over to the modernist structure on the neighboring UT school real estate the LBJ Presidential Library where images, artifacts, and interactive exhibitions commemorate the 36th president, who was born in close-by Hill Country. On school is the Blanton Art Museumwhose collection of 22,000 works consists of modern American paintings, Latin American sculptures, and the site-specific . Austin by Ellsworth Kelly, a chapel-like structure that’s calm and cool even on a sweltering summer season day.

Even beyond SXSW(kept in March all over town)and Austin City Limits(kept in October in Zilker Park), the city is alive with music. Nation and rock intermingle at long-running clubs such as the Continental Clubestablished in 1955 on buzzy South Congress Avenue, and the Broken Spokea honky-tonk casino open because 1964. You can likewise capture regional and global acts at locations like ACL Live at the Moody Theater (where the Austin City Limits program is shot)and the blues focused Antone’s

Go clothes shopping, too . Austin has a lot of cowboy boot shops, like Allens Boots on South Congress, and lots of vintage stores, like Devil’s Details Boutiquea fashion jewelry and devices shop cuddled into a stone cottage. According to owner Rebekka Adams,”College trainees are purchasing 1950s and 1960s watches like grannies utilized to use.”Utilize the online Vintage Around Town Guide to discover shops offering whatever from Western wear to mid-century furnishings.

Austin is likewise famous for its natural charm. “Access to water is all over in Austin,” states Kaz Edwards, a UT alum and the chef de food at renowned Japanese dining establishment Uchi“In college, we ‘d gravitate to the outside Barton Springs Pool– which remains cold year-round– and go swimming before class. “Make certain to go to Lady Bird Lakea manufactured sanctuary called for the previous First Lady, where 10 miles of paved tracks backed by the downtown horizon draw bicycle riders, runners, and walkers. State howdy to the life-sized bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn near the South First Street Bridge and from spring to fall watch Mexican freetail bats emerge each night at sunset from underneath the Congress Avenue Bridge.

And, in between August and November, you need to participate in a Longhorns video game.”Our football home video games are so filled with custom at Texas Memorial Stadium, “states UT alum Tessie Watson Crow, owner of the college clothes store Longhorn Fashions”Over 100,000 individuals can suit that arena, and it ends up being a sea of orange with fireworks and drone programs. “

Travel Where to Eat and Drink

Barbecue fans have actually long made the expedition to Austin. “The Texas Trinity is brisket, sausage, and ribs, “Tomlison states. “Of course, Franklin Barbecue is the very best, however you need to stand in line and it offers out by 11 a.m. The other location I ‘d have a look at is Terry Black’swhich is type of old-fashioned. You can extend at a picnic table with a beer and view the world pass.”

The city is likewise ground no for excellent Tex-Mex, and no dining establishment is more vital than Matt’s El Rancho[

.renowned for its eye-wateringly strong margaritas and Bob Armstrong Dip, a collection of queso, beef taco meat, and guacamole. For something more raised, attempt the nontraditional Japanese with a Texas twist at Uchi.

The altering city has actually brought a host of clever barroom like the Powder Roomhowever school nearby dives like the Hole in the Wallwhich has actually been slinging shots(and hosting up-and-coming artists)given that 1974 and is still doing its finest to” Keep Austin Weird,” as the decal states. For a genuinely old-school experience, raise a mug at Scholz Gartenwhich has actually been serving beer and hosting efficiencies in a redbrick structure and live oak-shaded garden near the Capitol because 1866.

Travel Where to Stay

Open considering that 1886 and fresh off a significant restoration finished in 2026, the 60-room Driskill Hotel inhabits a grand Romanesque Revival brick-and-limestone structure downtown with Western touches like stone guide head accessory on its exterior. Near the UT school, Hotel Ella deals 47 spaces behind the columned deck of a circa-1900 estate constructed by among the creators of the university. Famed Texas hotelier Liz Lambert assisted introduce the elegant motor court pattern with the 40-room shop Hotel San José on South Congress. And her fellow female hotelier Kelly Wearstler lags the pleasant high-end of the 238-room Austin Proper Hotelthroughout from Lady Bird Lake.

Travel Finest Time to Visit

Austin gets hot in summer season, y’ all. (Highs can reach the upper 90s). Go to in between October through March for the mildest temperature levels– and the bustle of UT classes in session. Homecoming Weekend, normally in September or October, brings tailgating and a huge football video game. Beginning Weekend in May sees countless trainees in graduation gowns in the football arena, plus graduates presenting for selfies behind the 12-foot-tall fiberglass longhorn statue placed behind the trainee Co-Op.

Travel Arriving

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is simply a 15-minute drive or trip from downtown. CapMetro[19459196]the city’s public transport system, runs the Route 20 bus from the airport into the city.

Jennifer Barger is a previous senior travel editor at National Geographic.