After not being able to make it down for SXSW this year, am heading down to Austin, TX for a few days; first trip to a city I’ve heard a lot of fantastic things about. Got some great suggestions for things to do there from Peter Merholz. A few things from the list:
…and a mess of other rec’s. Any other suggestions, including music venues and the like? Thanks!
Be sure and hit the original Chuy’s – the best Tex-Mex around! (I’m jealous you get to visit my homeland…)
You must visit:
Guero’s
http://austin.citysearch.com/profile/10210784/
Watch the bats fly out from under the bridge in the evening:
http://www.batcon.org/discover/congress.html
Go up to the observation deck of the UT tower
http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/99newsreleases/nr_199909/nr_tower990909.html
Try to make it to The Continental Club on S. Congress across from Hotel San Jose, which happens to be one of the coolest hotels on earth.
1. http://www.auschron.com is the definitive source for Austin goings-on. Look there first for live music acts you may want to see.
2. I’ll echo the food recmmendations above.
3. Local music venues vary in quality from ok to great; in general, none suck.
4. The nightlife scene is pretty segmented.
….6th street, while the most popular area, is really aimed at the college crowd (read: “young”)
….4th street is more upscale. Check out the GingerMan for its excellent selection of beers.
….Red River area houses a lot of “rock” venues, as does South Congress.
Thanks, all, for the suggestions. Had an awesome time. Good food, a few beverages, music, great weather, a burger-and-shake at Hut’s, and got to see the bats (cool!). Success on all objectives!