All Sorts of Eclectic Fun in Downtown Austin
Like an oasis spring in the desert, Austin rises out of the sand and overflows with culture, charm, and personality. It has a reputation for being a weird city, but that should encourage you to pay a visit rather than deter you. A lot of Austin's charm is predictable things like a thriving nightlife or a rich international food scene, but if you ask an Austinite about unique local things to do in Austin, the answers are sure to surprise you.
01 Go kayaking off Congress Avenue
Congress Avenue Kayaks provides rentals of kayaks and paddleboards for either half hours or half days. You might want to go for a shorter rental if you haven’t hit the gym recently, but it’s a highlight of any visit to Austin either way. You and your companions can easily go exploring the riverside or even take the short trip over to the Congress Avenue Bridge and go bat-spotting. That’s right, bat-spotting.
02 Go bat-spotting on the Congress Avenue Bridge
From March to October, it’s bat season in Austin. As many as 1.5 million bats underneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge form the largest urban bat colony in the United States. About twenty minutes before sundown every day, they begin to take flight in such great numbers as to turn the sky black. It’s an otherworldly sight, and to make it all the better the bats are there up until Halloween.
03 Immerse yourself in Austin’s Cathedral of Junk
The Cathedral of Junk is a tremendous assembly of other people’s trash, turned into a structure you explore inside out. The only explanation the creator Vince Hanneman has ever given about this work of modern art is ‘why not make a trash castle?’ Either way, the Cathedral of Junk is some of the most bizarre fun you can have in Austin.
04 View the exhibits at Women & Their Work
One of the best destinations for art lovers, feminists, and art-loving feminists, Women & Their Work is a major voice in empowering female artists. They have a suite of rotating exhibits that draw crowds every year, but their support doesn’t end at the visual arts. Women & Their Work is a regular venue for the performance arts, as well.
05 Explore the odd shops of South Congress
South Congress might be the weirdest part of Austin. Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds is a brilliantly-named shop where you can buy enough costumes, wigs, and makeup to assume a totally new identity. Another store is simply named “Uncommon Objects,” a hyper-eccentric shop where you can find one of America’s richest selection of purchasable antiques.
06 Tour Austin by land and water in a Waterbus
With Austin Duck Adventures, you can take a comprehensive tour of the city in one of their amphibious buses. You’ll start out on land, but eventually, the bus will drive straight into the water and float right along. If you’ve never ridden a waterbus before, it’s a novel experience that a regular bus tour can’t compare to.
07 Find magical creatures at the Zilker Botanical Garden
Walk along the carefully curated paths of the beautiful Zilker Botanical Garden and enjoy the lush and vibrant assortment of greenery there. However, be careful not to step on its tiny inhabitants! The garden is dotted with handcrafted villages of gnomes and fairies, and finding them all takes the form of a sort of treasure hunt. That said, if any Irish faeries request your name, do not give it to them.
08 Enjoy modern art at the Contemporary Austin-Jones Center
The Jones Center is a great spot for anyone who appreciates contemporary art. People often visit to see the Moody Rooftop and Jim Hodges’ famous sculpture Liberty and Justice For All (A Work in Progress). To top it off, you can take breathtaking views of the Austin skyline from the Moody Rooftop too.
09 Learn Texan history at the Bullock Texas State History Museum
The Bullock Texas State History Museum holds hundreds of artifacts, works of art, and pieces of history that educate people on the state's past. One of its most interesting exhibitions is the Texas Story Project, which compiles countless firsthand stories of living in Texas throughout its history. The blend of traditional museum exhibits and person-focused storytelling really makes for a unique site that should be on your Austin itinerary.
10 Dance at the Container Bar
If you love recycling, this is a bar for you. The founders of the Container Bar built it entirely out of recycled old freight containers. Despite the unusual construction, the bar has interior lighting, an impressive sound system, and everything else you'd expect fo find in a hole-in-the-wall bar like this. It’s surprisingly roomy, and it’s a favorite locale among the Austinites. It’s always full of people dancing, drinking, and having a good time. The Container Bar exclusively hires top-notch DJs who really know their way around a turntable.
Scroll Down
for the Next Article
