Discover 10 Unique Activities You Can Only Do in Austin, Texas
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📍- Austin, Texas
Austin is a city known for its sensational cuisine, lively musical performances, and general, deep rooted quirkiness. It’s the capital of Texas, but less populated than either Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas, with just under a million full-time residents. Its unique buildings give the city an iconic skyline, and it’s relative lack of city-like congestion means room for expansive parks and art installations that thread throughout the entire city.
If you can’t tell by now, I’ll now tell you honestly that I love the city of Austin, Texas, and if you’ll be visiting Austin any time soon, I’m willing to bet that you will love it too. In order to help you navigate your next trip to the live music capital of the world, I’ve put together this list of my top 10 unique activity recommendations that you can only do in Austin, Texas.
Get Lost in Wonderspaces
Wonderspaces is an interactive and immersive experience that we personally promise will leave you speechless. Right now, the Austin location of Wonderspaces has 14 art installations which use cutting edge technology and optical illusions to bring the installations to life and alert all of your senses. Whether you want to spend your time meditating in a calming golden dragon tail made out of tea bags (“Into the Breath” by Stefano Ogliari Badessi), or you want to travel through time and space with a virtual reality experience (“Transition” by Joost Jordens & Mike Von Rotz), Wonderspaces can provide it all and so much more. Did I forget to mention that they have a concession stand and bar for their adult patrons? Yup, we suggest doing everything I just mentioned with a cold cocktail in one hand. Tell them Discovery Detour sent you their way.
Our favorite installation was “Submergence” by Squidsoup, which is composed of over 8,000 individual lights which change color and illumination patterns in response to music.
Paddle around Lady Bird Lake
Some of the most beautiful spots in the city lie along the edges of Lady Bird Lake, in the heart of downtown Austin. This lake is a reservoir-like lake extension of the Colorado River and has a massive surface area of roughly 415 acres. No motorized boats are allowed on the river so its calm, clean, and refreshing waters make it a popular destination for kayaking and paddle boarding, especially when the Austin heat has reached oppressive levels. Lady Bird Lake offers a unique experience where a day on the river and a day in the city become one blended adventure.
If you don’t happen to own a paddle board or kayak, have no fear! There are plenty of businesses who rent them hourly along Lady Bird Lake Trail. Austin Paddle Shack, for example, rents paddle boards at a rate of $20/hour, and tandem kayaks at $30/hour.
A group of kayakers enjoy a warm day on the water here, surrounded by the beautiful Austin skyline.
Picnic at the Gigafactory
Fans of science, technology, and the hope of a greener future will absolutely want to marvel at Tesla Giga Texas. The Tesla Gigafactory is a 10 minute drive from downtown Austin, but is worth every second of the drive because the scale of the factory simply can’t be appreciated with anything but an in person visit. With a square footage of 3.3 square miles (8.5 squared kilometers), it is the largest car manufacturing plant in the world, and is among the ranks of one of the largest buildings ever constructed, all while being designed to function as a net zero energy factory which will be powered by renewable resources when complete. Because of the growing Tesla fanbase, there is even an established Giga Texas Observation Point, which is the perfect place to sit, eat some Tex Mex, and marvel at what humans are capable of with the right amount of ambition and drive.
This amazing building will be the birthplace of our future Cybertruck which we have been on the waitlist for ever since it was announced in 2019.
Witness the Exit of the Congress Bridge Bats
It’s pretty rare that an impressive wildlife display can reliably be found within city limits. This is why witnessing the twilight flight of the Congress Bridge Bats has become one of the most popular tourist attractions within the entire city. Every night, between March and September, the 1.5 million bats that call Congress Avenue Bridge home exit the bridge to put on a dazzling display of eager spectators. This colony of Mexican free-tailed bats is the world’s largest urban bat colony thanks to Congress Bridge’s structure, with small gaps between its concrete components, and location above the insect loving Lady Bird Lake. While several companies offer tours on the water for a VIP bat viewing experience, you can easily watch the display for free from atop Congress Avenue Bridge, or along the lawn of the Statesman Bat Observation Center. Show up an hour before sunset, bring a drink, a lawn chair, and your camera, and wait for the show to start around sunset.
As an added bonus, the light really illuminates Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset, making for a beautiful backdrop to the aerial display.
Play a game at Vigilante Gastropub
Vigilante Gastropub and Games is easily one of the coolest and most unique restaurants we have ever discovered on the road. They self proclaim their status of being a “gaming bar”, meaning that they offer their patrons a dining experience alongside their selection of expertly chosen board games. Their massive selection of games pair well alongside their small plates menu which they dish out to you throughout the duration of your game. Even their tables have been designed with the games in mind, featuring small extensions to hold your munchies so that nothing gets spilled when the dice get rolled. Vigilante is a prime example of quirky Austin vibes, and we are here for it!
Those boxes that line the wall behind Drew are filled with games and workers would frequently disappear behind a secret doorway built into the bookshelf. Nice touch, vigilante.
Wait in Line for Franklin Barbeque
Come, One; Come, All; Come hungry to Franklin Barbeque. This once humble barbeque joint started out as a tiny trailer selling brisket made from a single handmade smoker become a national sensation, notably selling out of brisket on every single day that it has been in business. Franklin Barbeque has been recognized as the location of the world’s best barbeque by several world renowned food critics. Reviews from Bon Appétit, Texas Monthly, and even Anthony Bourdain himself have positively confirmed Franklin's brisket as “the finest [they]'ve ever had”.
As you may imagine, if the quality of the food at Franklin Barbeque was ever a secret, it certainly isn’t anymore. While they open their doors at 11am, expect to get in line by 9 at the latest on weekdays, and even earlier on the weekends. Due to how early the line starts to form, they technically sell out of their food before their doors even open, explaining why their hours of operation are officially listed as “11am - SOLD OUT!”. When we visited Franklin Barbeque, we arrived at 7am on a Friday, and joined the end of an already established line to learn that several people at the front had slept there overnight.
If the thought of waiting 4 hours for a taste of brisket seems insane to you, that’s because it absolutely is! The craziness of waiting in line here has become part of the Franklin experience. People bring lawn chairs, sunblock, coolers for snacks, water, and beer, so the whole shenanigan feels a lot more like a tailgate than waiting in line. We even met our first friends from Idaho from the experience (shout-out to Morgan and Jill who kept us entertained during the long wait).
Oh, and the food is worth it with some to spare. The brisket will absolutely ruin you for any other brisket.
If you are as lucky as we were, you’ll get to meet the man behind the meat himself, Aaron Franklin. Buy a t-shirt in line, and he’ll be happy to sign it for you as a keepsake!
Mix Music and Drinks on Rainey Street
Rainey Street is part of the historical district in downtown Austin. Lined with renovated houses which have since been converted into bungalow styled bars, this street is lively every night of the year and is recognized as one of the best places in the city for casual cocktail sipping. There are seemingly endless bars and food options to choose from, ranging from surprisingly stellar food trucks, to upscale and highly renowned dining experiences. Many of these historic bungalows have private backyards and small music stages for nightly performances, making it nearly impossible that you won’t be able to find a music and drink combination that you’ll love.
If this vibe looks like a fun time to you, then a night on Rainey Street is an absolute must!
Explore the University of Texas Campus
The University of Texas is one of the most beautiful places to walk around and explore if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the downtown city. Established in 1883, the 480 acres of the UT campus consists of stunning architecture, beautiful art sculptures, and private gardens for rest and relaxation. You can even see the picturesque dome of the Texas Capitol Building when standing outside on the steps of the UT Tower. As lovers of nature and wildlife, our favorite spot within the campus was the Turtle Pond, a small man-made water feature just north of the UT tower. Home to several dozen species of turtles, this pond is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a snack while also enjoying a bit of nature.
Turtles can often be seen sunbathing, like so, atop the numerous rock formations placed within the pond.
Sample Tacos at Nixta Taqueria
If you’re in Austin, you best be enjoying a healthy (or not so healthy) dose of tacos! But with so many taco establishments to choose from, it can be a little overwhelming when making the choice of where to eat. I’ll tell you now, that you need to look no further than Nixta Taqueria. Here you will find the most inspired and unique tacos and tostadas that will ever pass through your lips. They take pride in making their own tortillas from scratch to provide their customers with a traditional tortilla, then they load it up with innovative proteins and toppings that combine to create a taste experience like no other. They are upfront about their casual vibe, but with a consistent line that stretches to the sidewalk from their ordering counter, you know that the crowd is there for one thing only: the food.
Their duck carnitas taco practically melted in our mouths, taking all of my strength to resist instantly devouring it. Additionally, their sashimi grade tuna tostada is a sleeper on the menu, brightened by microgreens and complemented nicely with a satisfying crunch from their purple corn tortilla. I don’t actually think you can go wrong with anything on the menu here, but those are my personal recommendations.
With that said, I actually need to stop talking about this now because I’m starting to get hungry and I’m tempted to drive over there to give it another try.
You may think that tuna and tacos don’t really go together, but you would be wrong. Photo credit to Nixta Taqueria.
Take a Self-Guided Street Art Tour
Besides the vibrant music scene, Austin is also known for its abundance of art. Often showing up around the city as street art, there is enough free and impressive artwork along the streets of the city to keep you entertained all day long. The famous “Greetings from Austin” mural south of Lady Bird Lake is just the start to all of the free art peppered throughout Austin, and to make finding it super easy for you, The Dougherty Arts Center created an interactive map titled “Art is Everywhere” and is designed to serve as your interactive guide to free art in the city. It’s a wonderful tool that really captures the essence of how Austin uniquely highlights its art culture.
In Austin, art is truly around every corner.
Have any more unique Austin recommendations that I may have missed? Be sure to share them in the comments so we can help other travelers, together! And be sure to subscribe to Discovery Detour so you are notified every time we release a new destination guide.
Thank you for joining us at Discovery Detour where the destination is always unknown.
