My Favorite Things to Do in Austin (2025)

I’ll tell you the best things to do in Austin, Texas.

You can use this as a guide for visiting the city. If you live in Austin, maybe you’ll get some new ideas.

My list includes specific tips and tricks for:

• Barton Springs Pool
• the best tacos from a local chain
• 3 good museums
• 10 restaurants I enjoy
• plus more local gems.

Hi, my name is Nick Gray. I've lived in Austin for four years. These are the recommendations that I tell my best friends when they visit.

Things to Do in Austin

There is only 1 item on my must-do list:

1. Swim at Barton Springs Pool

I’ll tell you why you absolutely must go to Barton Springs Pool below. But that’s the only must-do thing. 

These suggestions are also good things to do:

1. Bike or walk around the Hike & Bike Trail near Zilker Park
2. Visit the Austin Central Library on Cesar Chavez
3. Eat tacos at Taco Deli
4. See the bats on a Boats & Bats guided tour
5. Get a fast food hamburger from P. Terry’s
6. Visit the Bullock Texas State History Museum
7. Explore the LBJ Presidential Library
8. Check out the Blanton Museum of Art
9. Go to an adult skate night at Playland Skate Center on Tuesday and Saturday nights
10. See live music or line dancing at The Broken Spoke or The White Horse

Note that I haven’t included standup comedy or BBQ in my list. I’ll explain why I omitted those below and give you some suggestions if you want to try.

Barton Springs Pool

Let’s start with the best: Barton Springs Pool. It is one of the main reasons I live in Austin.

Barton Springs Pool is a natural limestone spring near downtown. It maintains a constant 68°F / 20°C temperature year-round. There are no chemicals and the water is crystal clear.

Personally, I love to swim in clear fresh water. Especially when I can see some fish. Barton Springs Pool is the closest I can get to that in a big American city without living in South Florida.

I have dragged visiting friends to Barton Springs Pool. They say things like: “I don’t want to go swimming,” or “My schedule is too busy,” or “What’s so special about a spring?”

And then we get there, and we jump in, and it takes their breath away.

Barton Springs Pool Pro-Tips:

• The pool is open every day but closed on Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for cleaning.
• Admission is $6. It is free from November to February.
• There are two entrances. My friends and I always enter through what locals call the “back entrance,” also called the South Gate.
• Parking is difficult to impossible on weekends. So ride a bike or have your rideshare app drop you off at the South Parking Lot.
• Bring your own towels and water. No coolers, but backpacks are OK. Do not bring food or non-water drinks. The lifeguards will yell at you if you do.

Finally, the hill lawn at Barton Springs Pool on the south side during a warm weekend day is an absolute scene. You’ll see hard bodies and soft bodies and hipsters and hippies. Sometimes topless women (yes it is legal), acro-yoga, drum circles, and more. People reading books and making friends. I love people-watching here.

For one locals-only bonus tip about Barton Springs Pool, email me and I will tell you.

Tacos in Austin

I eat tacos at least three times per week for either breakfast or lunch. Austin is serious about tacos. They’re not just food here – they’re a lifestyle. 

Taco Deli is my favorite local chain. There are tons of locations around town, and there’s even a Taco Deli location at the Austin airport.

My go-to order is anything with the Akaushi ground beef. In the morning, get it with eggs in a breakfast taco. In the afternoon, enjoy it as a regular taco.

Their mild green salsa is my favorite. 

For other taco chain options, Torchy’s Tacos is a solid runner-up and Cabo Bob’s gets an honorable mention.

Nick’s note: There are many amazing taco stands throughout the city which blow Taco Deli and these others out of the water. But I’m giving you Taco Deli as my tip because locals enjoy it, I go there most often, and it’s reliable and consistent and widespread. Please try lots of places to build your own leaderboard.

Restaurants

The food scene in Austin is booming, but I’m not much of a foodie. I defer to other guides and people on which Austin restaurants you should check out.

That being said, here are some of my favorite spots that I frequent:

Near Barton Springs and Zilker Park:

• Lou’s – simple American food, emphasis on chicken. Never a wait, order via QR codes, about $20 per person. I like the Larry’s Bowl and the Rotisserie Cobb salads. The fried pickles are a fun appetizer.
• P. Terry’s – local fast-food chain of hamburger restaurants. I always order the double cheeseburger, no cheese, lettuce wrap. Add bacon if you’re feeling chonky.
• Casa de Luz – I sorta hate the idea of vegan food but shocked to say that I love this place. It is an absolute vibe. Don’t bring your laptop or loud, boisterous conversations. Chill. Set menu, $15 pp.
• Elizabeth Street Cafe – Vietnamese trendy. Cute. Owned by the same restaurant group that does Lou’s and Pool Burger.
• For sushi, I love Uchi and Neighborhood Sushi. I have another sushi spot that I love that my girlfriend introduced me to, 10 minutes away, but you have to email me for that recommendation.

Downtown-ish:

• Sip Pho – Vietnamese. Great interior. Get the big brisket Pho. Huge piece of meat in a nice bowl of noodles.
• Pecan Square Cafe – very cute. Great date spot.
• Flower Child – another chain, but consistently good. People are going to roast me for including so many chains on this list, but I sort of eat more for the macros and convenience than I do for vibes and taste.
• Thai Fresh – local’s type of spot. It is consistently and solid.
• Suerte – Tacos and stuff. I don’t actually remember going here, but my girlfriend said I should include it. This place and others of the ilk will be on plenty of “Must Eat in Austin” lists.
• Terry Black’s – I have to include one BBQ place or else this isn’t an Austin list. I live near here. My complaint with Terry Black’s is that you’re going to spend like $70 for two people and eat with plastic forks. To avoid the ridiculously long line, avoid the weekends and 6-9PM.

Zilker Park & The Hike & Bike Trail

Zilker Park is like Austin’s Central Park. It’s a massive green space. Play volleyball, throw frisbee, have a picnic, or chase your dog around.

I’m not including Zilker Park in my must-do stuff because it’s just a park. Many cities have parks, and this one isn’t especially interesting. But if you like being outdoors, and if you like big parks, and maybe if you’re from a smaller town and you’ve never been to Central Park in NYC, then sure, come here.

There’s a 10-mile loop trail that goes all around Lady Bird Lake (nee Town Lake) that connects to Zilker Park. This is Austin’s Hike & Bike Trail. I use it almost every day to commute downtown on my bike. Or to walk and talk on phone calls. Like Barton Springs Pool, this trail is also a bit of a scene. My favorite spot is on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge around sunset.

Museums

The Blanton Museum of Art at UT Austin is the city’s premier art museum. The permanent collection includes European paintings, modern and contemporary American art, and Latin American art. It’s good for an hour or two if you like museums.

Nearby, the Bullock Texas State History Museum offers three floors of Texas history. It’s interactive and engaging even if you’re not a history buff. I like the stuff about drilling and oil upstairs.

The LBJ Presidential Library on the UT campus is also interesting. Most of my friends have never been. I was once on a quest to visit every Presidential Library, but that’s another story. This is probably my least favorite of all the ones I visited… but still cool if you’re nearby for a 30-minute sprint through.

The Austin Contemporary downtown is hit or miss. But I like some of their shows and they’re nice enough to invite me to a bunch of openings.

Live Music and Comedy

For live music, I don’t go out much, so I don’t have extensive suggestions. But I have enjoyed bringing visitors to these two places:

1. The Broken Spoke. It is an authentic Texas dance hall that’s been around since 1964. A slice of old Austin.
2. The White Horse in East Austin is a hipster honky-tonk with live music and dancing most nights.

For comedy, Austin has a great scene relative to other non-NYC cities. I don’t enjoy most live standup comedy myself. But I asked my smartest, most plugged-in comedy friend here what he recommends.

Joel Runyon says that these are 3 spots you should visit:

1. Comedy Mothership. Everyone will tell you to come here, and for good reason. Check out your favorite headliners coming through town or a Kill Tony episode if you can get tickets. Shows sell out weeks in advance.
2. Black Rabbit Comedy Club. The coolest underground comedy club in town. BYOB and regular nightly shows makes this feel like an underground New York comedy show.
3. Creek & Cave. This is your local comedy hang. You can see touring comedians here and regular pop-ins from around town. If you go out on the back patio you’ll rub shoulders with some of the local comics – and if you’re lucky – maybe even your favorite headliner. 

For a list of updated, ongoing indie comedy shows around town, check out austincomedyshows.com

Hotels

Austin Proper Hotel is one of the nicest in Austin. It’s in a skyscraper in a central downtown location. The lobby bar is one of the hottest places to see and be seen on Wednesday, Thursday, or weekend nights.

The rooms are expensive and there’s no desk inside to work. But the vibe is solid. If you like design hotels, you might like this.

The Carpenter Hotel has a more laid-back Austin feel. It’s a renovated union hall with a great restaurant and pool. The rooms are small but I like the location.

For a more budget-friendly option, try the Residence Inn Marriott South. All-suite rooms with kitchens etc. It’s only a 10- or 15-minute drive to downtown from here with free parking, free breakfast, etc.

Conclusion

Austin has a uniquely relaxed vibe. The pace of life is slower than New York City, but faster than Dallas or Denver.

The traffic isn’t so bad as long as you stay within a one or two mile radius of downtown. The people are friendly and you can walk to a lot of places. I feel like my life is more balanced here.

My friends are what keep me around and the reason I can’t think of living anywhere else.

To add to my list of spots or ask questions, please leave a comment below. I read everything and I usually write back!

Update 2025-03-31: If you’re moving to Austin and want a good guide, my friend Connor made a great list here. You have to sign up for his newsletter to get the Google Doc, but it’s good (and free).