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Austin

Travoley
Austin
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Austin Travel Guide

  • About Austin
A creative university city and techie hub, Austin boasts phenomenal festivals and a wanna-have outdoor lifestyle thanks to balmy temperatures and 300 days of annual sunshine. It’s no wonder Americans are moving here in droves.Whether you’re a cowboy, tech wunderkind, musician or retiree, the booming state capital of Texas seems to be every American’s dream city. This is the place to launch a start-up, kick-start a musical career or unleash your inner artist.Music is king in Austin, the self-proclaimed ‘Live music capital of the world’. Arrive on a weekday afternoon, and you’re welcomed with live music before you’ve even left the airport. Then there are the 250 or so venues across town, staging a smorgasbord of rock, jazz, honky tonk and everything in between. Don your Stetson and cowboy boots and giddy up to the Broken Spoke dance hall for country jamming or listen to good ole American tunes at The Continental Club, entertaining fans for half a century.Austin’s festivals are epic. Biggies SXSW and Austin City Limits Music Festival draw the crowds and big-name artists from across the globe, while movie stars converge on the city for the Austin Film Festival. Comedy, kites, fashion and bats all get their moment in the spotlight too.When it comes to shopping, Austin embraces its ‘go local’ motto. The South Congress Avenue shopping strip, a straight shot south from the State Capitol, features Austin’s most beloved independent clothing boutiques and antique stores. Head into the arty district of East Austin, which is crammed with galleries, cocktail bars, food trucks and taquerias.Want to grab a slice of the outdoors? Pedal or jog the 16km (10-mile) Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake, which includes a 2.2km (1.4-mile) stretch of boardwalk across the water where you can spot kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders. Cool off in Barton Springs Pool, a spring-fed swimming spot spanning 1.2 hectares (3 acres) in Zilker Park.Don’t be alarmed if you hear chants of ‘Hook ‘em Longhorns!’. Just join the University of Texas’ 50,000 students in cheering on their college football team, the Texas Longhorns.
  • Austin History
After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1835-1836, the newly formed Texas Congress decided to use Austin as its new capital, having named it after Stephen F. Austin, the man affectionately known as The Father of Texas. Stephen F. Austin is famous for having established the first colonies in the region.Between its settlement and the year the State Capitol was built in 1888, Austin witnessed the ebb and flow of its residents, due to the recession of Congress and fighting within the Texas government. By the late 1800s, Austin was back on its feet and in 1891 was one of the first American cities to utilize a vast street light system known as the Moonlight Towers. Several of these towers still exist and can be seen illuminating parts of the city.By the early 1900s, Austin was left in the shadow of big oil towns like Houston and Dallas. It wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s with its embracement of arts and culture, that Austin started to really show up on the map. The city developed big music venues like the Armadillo World Headquarters, Hole in the Wall, Continental Club, Liberty Lunch and Antone’s attracting musicians like Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan.Technology is also a big aspect of the city. Tech companies such as Dell, AMD, and Texas Instruments are located in the city, and Google, Facebook and Apple also have secondary offices here. With the influx of ambitious young people to the area, many startups and apps have been conceived in the city.Weather is also an important part of Austin history. Austin has seen devastating floods over the years, with the most recent damaging floods being in 2013 and 1981.What once started out as a sleepy town with a population of 22,000 in 1900 is now the 11th largest city in America with over 842,000 inhabitants in the city proper and over 1.8 million in the metro area.
  • Did you know?
In 2011, Texas saw its worst fire on record in the Austin suburb of Bastrop. Over 1,600 homes were destroyed after a record-breaking drought. About 1.5 million bats live under the Congress Avenue Bridge between March and November, making it the largest urban bat colony in North America. Texas State Capitol building is America’s largest state capitol building with the dome looming seven feet higher than the Capitol in Washington D.C.
  • Weather in Austin
The best time to visit Austin is during the months of September through May.Austin has an exceptionally hot summer with most days reaching 37C (100F) with high humidity. It is not advisable to visit during June, July or August unless you enjoy pools of sweat accumulating at your feet. It is also during this time that most foliage has died due to the heat and the area looks like the landscape of Mars.The fall and spring months are most enjoyable, with the weather typically resting between 21C (70F) and 26C (80F).

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