Things to do in Austin for a weekend (Spring, Liberty: house, college)

[justsomeguy]

What is a good list of things to do in Austin from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon if one wanted to get a good feel for the vibe of the city and one were staying in downtown Austin, but can drive basically anywhere? Restaurant recommendations welcome.

[DMChicago]

Saturday afternoon: Drive out to The Oasis.

BUT, do not go there. Go upstairs to the Oasis Texas Brewing Company and have a few beers end enjoy the same view.

Pretty good food as well.

[El Senor]

Not nearly enough info:

1. Athletic or no?
2. You and your SO? Or date, relative, hitchhiker?
3. Prefer land or water?
4. What kind of food?
5. What’s a drive v walkable?
6. Uber in play?

Essentially. You’re saying “let me judge your city in 36 hours”

So. Let us judge if you’re worthy.

[justsomeguy]

Physically fit. Me and SO. Prefer being on land, but near water is nice. Any kind of food as long as its highly recommended. Walkable better but driving is ok. Uber is an option.

[centralaustinite]

Bit dated and a few places mentioned no longer exist but here is the NYT's take "36 hours in Austin Texas"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...tin-texas.html

[10scoachrick]

https://freefuninaustin.com/

[RoamingTX]

Are you staying downtown?

[CapitalCityTodd]

A few recommendations:

1. kayak on Lady Bird Lake downtown
2. hike in the greenbelt
3. check out Zilker Park, and especially the Barton Springs Pool there, a natural springs-fed pool and destination for hot summer days
4. shop in the funky stores of south Lamar
5. Check out the Domain area (an outdoor shopping/dining area that is great to explore)
6. Check out Mt Bonnell
7. Tour of UT, and in particular the clock tower (you need to schedule/reserve your spot to do the tower)
8. The most well-known night time section is 6th street, but in reality that is filled mostly with young college kids and tourists. If you want much better bars/night spots, then I highly recommend Rainey Street.
9. If it's the kind of thing that sounds interesting, a tour of the Texas State Capital can be fun
10. If you like the Capital, right around the corner is the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
11. If museums interest you the Harry Ransom Center at UT has an interesting, though not large, collection which includes one of 5 complete copies of a Guttenberg Bible in the entire world, and has a current exhibit on Vaudeville that is pretty interesting and got good reviews.

Food:
Texas BBQ is one of 4 great types of BBQ in the country, and Austin/Central Texas are the home/center/origin of Texas BBQ. You won't find better -que anywhere in Texas. A few recommendations:
1. Franklin's is the world renowned destination that literally people travel from all over for. It is the best brisket on the planet, bar-none. That said, while it is a typical Austin experience, it also comes with a 3 hour wait, even if you line up at 8am for the 11am opening.
2. La BBQ is probably the next best place in town, and possibly/probably overall better. It sometimes has a bit of a wait too, but nothing at all like Franklin's
3. If you want to skip all of the wait, but stay close to downtown, the food-truck offerings if Micklethwait's are just up the street from Franklin's, and are also one of the top places in the state. In particular here they are known for their sausage, and if sides mean anything to you, they have jalapeno-cheddar grits that will "make you wanna slap your mamma".
4. Freedman's is another personal favorite, and is unlikely to have a wait most times of the day, in more of a sit down experience.

Stepping away from BBQ some other recommendations (no particular order):
1. Sway - amazing Thai-asian fusion place
2. if you wind up on south Lamar then Vespaio is one of our better Italian restaurants, and one of my favorite spots in town.
3. Fixe in central downtown is an amazing southern cooking done in a foodie style restaurant, that has some of the best biscuits on the planet, and shrimp and grits that will change your life.
4. If you wind up in the Domain, I recommend Cullinary Dropout as a fun, laid back and very good experience, with a great and usually busy happy hour.
5. Dai Due - butcher shop & steak house that has great food. Limited, seasonal menu with daily specials, and everything is top notch.
6. Loro is one of the new hottest places in town. It is the meeting of 2 of our greatest culinary minds - Franklin of Franklin's BBQ fame and the chef behind Uchi, a nationally renowned sushi restaurant have teamed up to start this "Asian smokehouse" that is getting rave reviews.
7. Barlata's has an amazing Spanish tapas menu
8. Vino Vino is a good place if you are a wine fan. The food is very good (not GREAT, but top notch), but it is all built around their awesome wine selection/options. Any win aficionado/fan will love this spot.

Lastly, for deserts, 3 things:
1. Gourdoughs - this is almost a must do, it is a typically Austin stop that is stupidly indulgent but yummy. Basically it is a collection of the best donuts you've ever had, Texas sized and with all kinds of crazy twists. There are several locations, but I most recommend checking out the trailer on south 1st for the typical Austin experience.
2. Amy's Ice Cream - there are several locations, but the one on 6th street is the one I recommend, as it usually comes with a show of crazy ice-cream throwing/juggling by the employees. Their ice creams are all home made, with some great flavours that change regularly. I don't even like ice cream and I love Amy's.
3. The other 2 are more typically Austin and so I would recommend more for a weekend stay, but I would be remiss not to mention Sugar Mama's Bakeshop. They are home of some of the best cupcakes you'll ever have. They have won cupcake wars on Food Network, and their stuff is bar none the best cupcakes I've ever had. Special shout outs to the Marrilyn Monroe (vanilla cupcake with a vanilla-bourbon icing), and their baklava cupcake (the former they always have, the latter only some days).

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by CapitalCityTodd

A few recommendations:

1. kayak on Lady Bird Lake downtown
2. hike in the greenbelt
3. check out Zilker Park, and especially the Barton Springs Pool there, a natural springs-fed pool and destination for hot summer days
4. shop in the funky stores of south Lamar
5. Check out the Domain area (an outdoor shopping/dining area that is great to explore)
6. Check out Mt Bonnell
7. Tour of UT, and in particular the clock tower (you need to schedule/reserve your spot to do the tower)
8. The most well-known night time section is 6th street, but in reality that is filled mostly with young college kids and tourists. If you want much better bars/night spots, then I highly recommend Rainey Street.
9. If it's the kind of thing that sounds interesting, a tour of the Texas State Capital can be fun
10. If you like the Capital, right around the corner is the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
11. If museums interest you the Harry Ransom Center at UT has an interesting, though not large, collection which includes one of 5 complete copies of a Guttenberg Bible in the entire world, and has a current exhibit on Vaudeville that is pretty interesting and got good reviews.

Food:
Texas BBQ is one of 4 great types of BBQ in the country, and Austin/Central Texas are the home/center/origin of Texas BBQ. You won't find better -que anywhere in Texas. A few recommendations:
1. Franklin's is the world renowned destination that literally people travel from all over for. It is the best brisket on the planet, bar-none. That said, while it is a typical Austin experience, it also comes with a 3 hour wait, even if you line up at 8am for the 11am opening.
2. La BBQ is probably the next best place in town, and possibly/probably overall better. It sometimes has a bit of a wait too, but nothing at all like Franklin's
3. If you want to skip all of the wait, but stay close to downtown, the food-truck offerings if Micklethwait's are just up the street from Franklin's, and are also one of the top places in the state. In particular here they are known for their sausage, and if sides mean anything to you, they have jalapeno-cheddar grits that will "make you wanna slap your mamma".
4. Freedman's is another personal favorite, and is unlikely to have a wait most times of the day, in more of a sit down experience.

Stepping away from BBQ some other recommendations (no particular order):
1. Sway - amazing Thai-asian fusion place
2. if you wind up on south Lamar then Vespaio is one of our better Italian restaurants, and one of my favorite spots in town.
3. Fixe in central downtown is an amazing southern cooking done in a foodie style restaurant, that has some of the best biscuits on the planet, and shrimp and grits that will change your life.
4. If you wind up in the Domain, I recommend Cullinary Dropout as a fun, laid back and very good experience, with a great and usually busy happy hour.
5. Dai Due - butcher shop & steak house that has great food. Limited, seasonal menu with daily specials, and everything is top notch.
6. Loro is one of the new hottest places in town. It is the meeting of 2 of our greatest culinary minds - Franklin of Franklin's BBQ fame and the chef behind Uchi, a nationally renowned sushi restaurant have teamed up to start this "Asian smokehouse" that is getting rave reviews.
7. Barlata's has an amazing Spanish tapas menu
8. Vino Vino is a good place if you are a wine fan. The food is very good (not GREAT, but top notch), but it is all built around their awesome wine selection/options. Any win aficionado/fan will love this spot.

Lastly, for deserts, 3 things:
1. Gourdoughs - this is almost a must do, it is a typically Austin stop that is stupidly indulgent but yummy. Basically it is a collection of the best donuts you've ever had, Texas sized and with all kinds of crazy twists. There are several locations, but I most recommend checking out the trailer on south 1st for the typical Austin experience.
2. Amy's Ice Cream - there are several locations, but the one on 6th street is the one I recommend, as it usually comes with a show of crazy ice-cream throwing/juggling by the employees. Their ice creams are all home made, with some great flavours that change regularly. I don't even like ice cream and I love Amy's.
3. The other 2 are more typically Austin and so I would recommend more for a weekend stay, but I would be remiss not to mention Sugar Mama's Bakeshop. They are home of some of the best cupcakes you'll ever have. They have won cupcake wars on Food Network, and their stuff is bar none the best cupcakes I've ever had. Special shout outs to the Marrilyn Monroe (vanilla cupcake with a vanilla-bourbon icing), and their baklava cupcake (the former they always have, the latter only some days).

Thanks for the reply, very helpful info.

[El Senor]

Todd dropped a pretty good list for you. I’d add:

South Congress Cafe for brunch (get the short rib hash or carrot cake French toast), then wander a bit and check out the shops there, have a drink on the patio at Guero’s.

Have a beer at Liberty bar in east Austin, with a bite from ESK food truck.

Barton Springs Pool

Catch a show at Moody