Austin

The capital city of Texas, Austin has recently become one of the nation’s hippest, coolest cities. With an unrivaled live music scene (the city is known as “The Live Music Capital of the World), the flagship campus of the nation’s largest public university—the University of Texas—and a growing technology sector that’s got the area labeled Silicon Hills, Austin is an arty, educated community surrounded by some spectacular natural scenery.

As far as annual events go, they don’t get much bigger than Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW). Held in March, SXSW attracts the best and brightest in music, film and the multimedia arts. Fans of the long-running PBS show “Austin City Limits” can tour the studios where the show is taped. Much of the live music scene today can be found around East 6th Street in downtown Austin, which is approximately halfway between the Capitol Complex and the Congress Avenue Bridge.

One of Austin’s must-sees is the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, located on the UT campus. LBJ’s library features some truly odd exhibits, such as a perfectly scaled, exact replica of the Oval Office. The Archer M. Huntington Gallery, also on UT’s campus, has a collection focused on 20th Century American art; but its most prized possession is an incredibly rare Gutenberg Bible.

When you’re outside in Austin, the first thing to do is watch for the bats. Approximately 1.5 million bats reside under the Congress Avenue Bridge, and seeing them take off for feeding every night at dusk has become an Austin tradition.

Austin also has some beautiful surrounding scenery. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center aims to preserve the natural beauty of Texas Hill Country, while the 99 steps leading to the top of Mount Bonnell will give you a spectacular view of the entire city. Barton Spring, an artesian-fed natural swimming pool, maintains warm water year-round.

While there aren’t any major professional sports teams in Austin, the University of Texas is always in the running for top honors in NCAA football, basketball, and baseball. The Austin area also features dozens of public and private golf courses.

Austin

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