Best Things to Do in Austin With Visitors

Everyone visiting Austin has already read the same "top 10" list. Here's the version that actually holds up to a full day of showing someone around.

Zilker Park

Start here, especially on a nice afternoon. It's Austin's living room — bring a blanket, rent a kayak, or just watch the city do its thing on the Great Lawn.

Barton Springs Pool

A spring-fed, 68-degree pool in the middle of a park is not a normal city amenity, and visitors tend to clock that immediately. Go even if it's not that hot out.

Franklin Barbecue

Yes, the line is real. Go early, bring cash for the wait, and treat it as the one non-negotiable stop — it's genuinely the thing people mean when they say Austin barbecue.

Bullock Texas State History Museum

The move for a couple of hours when you want something indoors that isn't a chain restaurant. Genuinely good exhibits, not just a tourist-trap gift shop with a museum attached.

Uchi Austin

If you want to spend real money on one meal to make the point that Austin's food scene is serious, this is the one. Book ahead.

Waterloo Records & Video

Twenty minutes here tells a visitor more about Austin's actual music culture than any t-shirt shop on Sixth Street will.

Skip Sixth Street unless they specifically ask for a bachelorette-party experience. This list is the one that holds up the next morning.