55 Best Sights in Austin, Texas

The story goes that Austin musician Amy Cook took a can of red spray paint to write her then-partner, Liz Lambert, a love letter on the side of Jo’s Coffee (one of Lambert’s businesses). The mural has since become a photo op for locals and visitors alike, and on any given day, you could see a couple getting engagement photos snapped or best friends hamming it up for Instagram against the now-famous mint-green backdrop. Lines for a quick photo op can stretch around the block on weekends.

This Mesozoic-era karst cavern 24 miles north of Austin was discovered in 1963 and opened to the public three years later. Visitors enter from a 1¼-mile hiking path. Tours vary in length from just a little more than an hour to nearly four hours, the latter not suitable for kids under 13. The temperature is a year-round 72°. Sometimes there are $1 coupons on the website.

This 43-acre complex, founded in 1982 by Lady Bird Johnson and actress Helen Hayes, has extensive plantings of native Texas wildflowers that bloom year-round (although spring is an especially attractive time). The grounds include a visitor's center, nature trails, an observation tower, elaborate stone terraces, and flower-filled meadows. Seasonal calendars include various family-friendly and educational events that are free and open to the public. 

The artifacts and documents on exhibit here provide some insight into the 36th president's mind and motivations, and though his foibles are downplayed, a clear sense of the man—earthy, conniving, sensitive, and wry—emerges. In an age when the average car is loaded with digital gadgets and 12-year-olds with cell phones are commonplace, Johnson's black Lincoln limousine and clunky, command-central telephone seem quaintly archaic, though they were state-of-the-art during his presidency. If you schedule your visit to the reading room in advance of your arrival, you can listen to recordings of conversations Johnson had using that telephone. The 30-plus hours of tape recordings include ruminations on Vietnam, economic inflation, and a New York City transit strike. Gordon Bunshaft designed the monolithic travertine building that houses the library; like the limo and the phone, it's a bit of a period piece. There are rotating temporary exhibits on the ground floor.

Be sure to check out the second floor, where a life-size audio-animatronic figure of LBJ spins humorous anecdotes; it's a hoot.

Owned by art enthusiast and collector Lora Reynolds, this gallery encompasses a wide range of artistic media. Having worked in London and New York galleries, Reynolds was inspired to bring a vast diversity of contemporary art to Austin in the downtown area. The small, linear art space is a one-of-a-kind in the Austin art community, attracting international artists with a modern aesthetic who show original drawings, sculptures, photography, and painting exhibits in the main exhibition space and the "Project Room," where more than a dozen artists are featured throughout the year.

Decidedly un-artsy in its former incarnation as an auto-body shop, this space now hosts an exciting, artist-managed gallery that has launched many a contemporary artist onto the scene. In addition to the 1,500 square feet of gallery space, there are several project studios where local and national artists create new works in a variety of media, making for a singularly unique gallery experience for visitors. MASS also has a lively program of seasonal film screenings, musical performances, artist talks, and community outreach activities.

Founded in 1984, this museum is a beguiling, moderate-size showcase devoted to traditional and contemporary Mexican and Latin American art. The permanent collection includes lithographs, prints, silkscreens, etchings, and traditional ritual masks. If you're in town for their popular annual Day of the Dead celebration, the Viva la Vida Fest (late October or early November), you're in for a treat. Admission is free on Sunday. 

Writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, rented this modest cottage from 1893 to 1895. Moved a few blocks from its original location, the home today contains O. Henry memorabilia, including original drawings, artifacts, and period furniture. It also hosts the extraordinarily popular O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships, held in its backyard every May since 1977. 

In 1876, Swedish baker Charles Lundberg built this charming building near the Capitol and operated it as a bakery for the next 60 years. Rescued from demolition after years of neglect, the bakery is now a registered National Historic Landmark, owned by the city, and remains a beautiful mainstay of Congress Avenue. The Old Bakery is a welcoming space that houses historical collections that display Austin's transformation since the pioneer days, plus an art gallery featuring handmade artisanal crafts made by citizens aged 50 and over. It makes for a nice stop before or after touring the Capitol.

The home of the Austin Football Club (the city's first major professional sports team) is a state-of-the-art stadium located just north of downtown off Burnet Road. There are clear-bag restrictions at the gate, but staff is helpful and informative when it comes to navigating the facility, which includes a great selection of local food stalls, like Tacodeli and Bao'd Up. You'll see fans decked out in green throughout the city on game days as they head to the stadium. A bevy of local restaurants, bars, and breweries are nearby for pre- or postgame parties. 

As war stories go, the most defining for Texas is, of course, the Alamo, and although Davy Crockett and James Bowie are often names you’ll hear in association with that infamous 1836 battle, Susanna Dickinson, who lost her husband there, was the person who carried the news of its demise to Sam Houston. She became a renowned Texas figure and was dubbed the “Messenger of the Alamo.” Today, her home is open to the public, showcasing belongings and artifacts from her life and that of her second husband, Joseph Hannig, in the permanent exhibit, with occasional traveling exhibits. The museum is one of three Brushy Square museums, including the O. Henry Museum and the Austin Fire Museum, all located on the same block. Advance reservations are required to visit.

Located on the southeast corner of the Capitol grounds in the only surviving government building from Austin's first 30 years, the Texas Capitol Visitors Center owes its Gothic style to its German-born architect, Conrad Stremme. This 2½-story structure of stuccoed stone and brick was opened for business in 1858 as the first home of the Texas General Land Office. Writer O. Henry worked as a draftsman here and used the building as the setting for two of his short stories. In 1989, the legislature approved a $4.5-million renovation project to restore the building to its original 1890s appearance. It now houses permanent and traveling exhibits, the visitor center, and a gift shop.

French architect Paul Cret's 1936 plans for Texas Memorial Museum called for north and south wings to extend from a central building, a tailored limestone box with subtle art deco flourishes. The wings were scuttled because of funding difficulties, leaving only Cret's alabaster midsection. But the chic interior, with brass doors, glass embellishments, and blood-red marble walls, floors, and ceilings, mitigates any sense of abridgement. Among the popular draws at the museum are the dinosaur models (including a 30-foot-long mosasaur and a 40-foot-long pterosaur) and the life-size dioramas, which depict buffalo, roadrunners, cougars, mountain lions, and flying squirrels.

Here you’ll find exhibits dedicated to preserving the history of the military in Texas, from the inception of the Texas Militia to the modern war on terror. Artillery, a half-track, and tanks are on permanent display in the 45,000-square-foot museum. They also host living history events, including World War II reenactments, on certain weekends throughout the year.

Remember to bring your valid photo ID—you'll need it to get on the Camp Mabry grounds.

In 1851, the general Edward Burleson was the first person to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery. Today it’s the final resting place of some of the state's most important figures, including Stephen F. Austin, John Connally, Darrell K Royal, Ann Richards, and Bob Bullock. Inside the cemetery, you'll find monuments dedicated to September 11th, the Vietnam War, and the War of 1812; you'll also find special headstones for the mothers who have lost sons and daughters in wars and a Purple Heart monument.

If you make time to stroll through one Austin hotel even though you're not staying there, make it The Driskill. A monument to Romanesque style right in the middle of Sixth Street, this delightful—and many say haunted—grande dame is embellished with limestone busts of its original owner, cattle baron Jesse Driskill, and his sons. Check out its gorgeous two-story porches with Romanesque Revival columns surrounding the arched entrances and the Texas-size lobby and mezzanine, where a café, bakery, and bar are open to the public. Over the years, countless legislators, lobbyists, and social leaders have held court behind the hotel's limestone walls, and it seems a few of them never left: according to guests, lights turn on by themselves, pipes bang eerily, and elevators without passengers go up and down. But management is quick to point out that the ghosts seem friendly, so don't let them stop you from paying a visit. 

You’ll want to visit the Long Center as much for what’s happening inside as for the ultra-modern exterior. The lakefront community gathering place and performance venue space is home to a range of live performances, including lyric opera, ballets, rock concerts, and many of Austin’s prime foodie events, including the Austin Food + Wine Festival. Food trucks and pop-up art installations and special events are also featured on the City Terrace, which offers up one of the best views of downtown and Lady Bird Lake. 

The nearly 450-acre campus breeds Texas Longhorns, as passionate about football (and other sports) as they are about academics (UT has one of the country's top research libraries). The university is the largest employer in Austin (even more than the state government), employing more than 80,000 people. The number of students here is staggering, too: 39,500 undergraduates and more than 51,000 university-wide. Come to the grounds any time to stroll on your own, visit one of the museums or libraries (the Harry Ransom Center, for example, is the repository for the Watergate papers), or attend a fun annual event like Explore UT, Gone to Texas, or commencement, which includes fireworks.

This paved asphalt loop winds for a little more than 3 miles through Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park and is reserved exclusively for bicyclists and rollerbladers. Riders always travel in a one-way clockwise direction. It's a bit off-the-beaten path, but not far from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. There are no facilities other than a water fountain that sometimes doesn't work. The loop track is open every day, from dawn to dusk. No dogs are allowed. 

In 2013, the former Austin Children's Museum moved into a new state-of-the-art building and evolved into Thinkery, where kids (and kids at heart) can find fun exhibits brimming with opportunities to learn something new. Light Lab lets you play architect and build light structures; the Let's Grow exhibit aims to get kids moving and teach them the benefits of eating locally grown foods; and an Innovators' Workshop puts inquiring minds to work on creative problem-solving. All the exhibits blend education and recreation with ease; to utilize physical energy, there's a superb climbing and water play-area out in the backyard.

This pleasant space at the south end of Zilker Park houses 53 of Charles Umlauf's sculptures in the house where he lived and worked. Umlauf, who taught at the University of Texas Art Department from 1941 to 1981, created an incredibly diverse body of work that ranged in style from realistic to abstract, using such materials as granite, marble, bronze, wood, and terra-cotta. His subjects were equally wide-ranging, from religious figures and nudes to whimsical animals and family groupings. Visitors can admire the works in the verdant beauty of the surrounding gardens, which also hosts special events and community happenings, like food festivals, live music, outdoor yoga classes, and free family days, in addition to a coveted register of weddings. 

With a collection more akin to a first-class art museum than a commercial gallery, Lisa Russell's showcase, recently rebranded as West Chelsea Contemporary, has a long-standing reputation for being the go-to place in Austin for serious art collectors. The permanent collection has more than 100 original works, some dating back to the 1600s, including pieces by Rembrandt, Renoir, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, and more displayed year-round. Contemporary artists are also a main attraction, with work from the likes of Cody Hooper, Michael Kessler, and Daniel Maltzman. Check the website for special exhibits and events hosted throughout the year.

Stunning contrasting views of the Hill Country and the Austin skyline make it worth the trip to this area near the 360 Bridge. You can wander among the 227 acres on walking trails or take one of the guided tours offered on weekends (by reservation only). The cool folks at the on-site research center (partnered with local St. Edward's University) offer numerous outdoor-oriented classes, nighttime stargazing sessions, and even concerts by well-known touring musicians. Reservations to hike the basin trails are not required on weekdays but highly recommended on weekends. Staff closes the gates whenever the parking area is full.

Back in the 1970s, when the mainstream country music scene was based in Nashville, Willie Nelson kept his feet firmly planted in Texas. Playing around Austin at old haunts like the Armadillo World Headquarters, Nelson developed a name for himself strumming his beloved tunes, like the classic "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and his own "On the Road Again." Today, he's a living legend here in town, and in 2012 on, when else, 4/20, he was immortalized with his very own 8-foot-tall bronze statue, complete with his signature braids and his famed guitar Trigger, standing proudly right in front of ACL Live at the Moody Theater.

After nearly 25 years on South Congress Avenue, this contemporary folk art, fine art, and pop art gallery moved its wares to the Canopy artist studios on the city's east side. Founded in 1995, the local gallery features works by artists from the great American South, in addition to Canada and Europe. The modest space is open afternoons (Thursday–Saturday) as well as by appointment.