Austin Travel

About 50% of you currently don’t live in Austin (we say currently b/c everyone seems to be moving here, and certainly after you visit, you will want to move here too!). We have created a full list of where to stay, where to eat, and what to do. Austin is a pretty fun city, so if you are coming into town, we recommend adding on a couple of extra days before and/or after to explore the city. If you have any questions, you can reach us at zaleskitomyheart@gmail.com

 

Where To Stay / How To get Around

Hotels: We actually recommend checking out Vacation Home Rentals (like VRBO and Airbnb) and renting a condo/house/etc instead of grabbing a hotel room. We prefer VRBO. We find that VRBO is often cheaper than most hotels and are more spacious.

VRBO: If you are new to VRBO, here are our key tips: 1) Make sure the listing has at least 10 reviews (which should be positive) 2) Make sure the location is within 5 mi of Chateau Bellevue (if possible) 3) Be leery of listings that don’t offer some form of cancellation. https://www.vrbo.com/

Flying in: There is only one Airport in Austin: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. There are lots of direct flights from places (like Ohio!), but carriers vary. Check out the direct flight list here:https://www.austintexas.gov/department/nonstop-flights-out-aus . Austin airport is about 15-20 min south of downtown Austin.

Getting around: Once you arrive in Austin, we highly recommend NOT getting a rental car. Rental car prices can be pretty high right now, and most places downtown charge an insane amount to park. We prefer ride shares (like Lyft or Uber). If you are haven’t used a ride share service before and are interested in this option, reach out to us. We are happy to walk you through it. If you are staying within the 5mi distance from the event, a one way trip will usually cost $5-$15. Downtown Austin is very walkable, but we do recommend being thoughtful/cautious of walking alone, especially at night. Like all cities, Austin can be both safe and not-so-safe. Happy to provide more details, if you have any concerns.

Where To Fill Your Belly

We LOVE to eat. Here are a few of our favorite places in Austin that are within 5 mi of our event venue. Most of these places have a very diverse menu and patios. Note: Almost every single place in Austin needs reservations. So check before you go.

Best Quick Burger: P. Terry’s Burger Stand (multiple locations). They also have great fries.

Best Fancy Burger: Jacoby’s (3235 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702). They have a great patio, wonderful brunch, and good drinks.

Other Burger Honorable Mention: Hopdoddy (1400 S Congress Ave Suite A190, Austin, TX 78704). You can get bison and other options.

Best Italian: Red Ash (Colorado Tower, 303 Colorado St #200, Austin, TX 78701). Reservations are almost impossible to get, and if you go here, you will see why. No Patio. If you show up at 4pm, you might be able to score one of the few walk-in spots. Our picks: Angolotti, Gnocchi, Meatballs, Burrata.

Best Sit Down Mexican Food: Mi Madre’s (2201 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78722). The booze selection is limited, but the food is outstanding. Our picks: Carnita Tacos, Queso, Chili Relleno.

Best Tacos: Too many good ones: Taco Joint, Austin Taco Project, El Tacorrido, Veracruz, Taco Con Madre

Best BBQ: Cooper’s (2201 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78722). We love everything. Our Picks: Brisket, Pork Ribs, Turkey, Jalapeno Mac ‘n cheese, Cobbler, baked potatoes, potato salad. Cafeteria-style ordering. They have a hidden patio out back and upstairs seating that nobody seems to know about.

Best Asian: 1618 (1618 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78741). Everything is delicious. Their Old Fashioned Cocktails are an experience. Huge gluten free menu. Our picks: Salt & Pepper Calamari, any of the soups, egg rolls, Pho, Combo Fried Rice, Vietnamese Bowl, Steamed Salmon, Sugar cane shrimp, soup dumplings. Their dim sum brunch is delightful.

Best Pizza: Jet’s Pizza (3003 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704) Every type crust (including deep dish, gluten free, thin). The only place that has banana peppers as a topping. Incredible sauce. Other pizza contenders: Via313 and Home Slice.

Best Steak: Perry’s (114 W 7th St, Austin, TX 78701). Our picks: Filet Mignon, Pork Chops (Pork Chop Friday Lunch is the best deal ever), pork chop bits, Lobster Bisque (best in the city)

Best Seafood: Tied: Perla’s (1400 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704) and Truluck’s (400 Colorado St, Austin, TX 78701)

Best Asian/BBQ Fusion: Tied: Kemuri Tatsu-Ya (2713 E 2nd St, Austin, TX 78702) Japanese meets BBQ. Our pick: Hot Pocketz. Loro (2115 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704)

Best Immersive Dining: Tiki Tatsu-ya (1300 S. Lamar Blvd. Austin, Texas 78704). Reservations go live online about 2 months in advance at mid-night, and they sell out within a few hours. Their homemade spam is phenomenal.

Best French: We hate french food, but 1417 (1417 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704) is incredible. Great patio. Fantastic brunch.

Best Mediterranean: Aba (1011 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704)

Best Date Night: Tillery (3201 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702) Our picks: everything

Best Poke: Poke Works (1920 E Riverside Dr #110, Austin, TX 78741). Poke-Poke (3100 S Congress Ave ste a, Austin, TX 78704) is a great option as well. We like the Tuna. Poke Works has a great Spam side.

Best Brunch: you can’t go wrong really anywhere in the city. Almost every place has a brunch menu. Our favorites: Walton’s Fancy, Jacoby’s, Tillery, Winebelly, Snooze, Mattie’s, 1417

Best Fancy Fried Chicken: Mattie’s (811 W Live Oak St, Austin, TX 78704)

Best Not-so-fancy Fied chicken: Gus’s (117 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701)

Best Sushi: Austin has amazing sushi. Here’s a whole list, of varying price ranges: Kome (which is outside of the 5mi but is our favorite and is to-go and delivery only), Uchi (a bit overrated tbh), Uchiko, Soto, Otoko (we have never been, but we have heard this is the best in Austin), Uroko.

Best Bakery: Julie Myrtille Bakery (1023 Springdale Rd Building 1D, Austin, TX 78721)

Overrated and don’t recommend, even though they have solid yelp reviews: Odd Duck, South Congress Cafe, First Wok, Umi, The Little Darlin’, Once (the view is nice though), Sushi Junai, Torchy’s Tacos, Eberly.

Looking for something not on here? Send us an e-mail: zaleskitomyheart.com, and we will add our recommendation to the list.

Where to Entertain Yourself

Austin (and surrounding areas) really does have an endless number of things to do regardless of the time of year. Here are some of our favorites (favorite bars included as well):

For Games: Cidercade (600 E Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704) For $10, it’s all you can play arcade games (including Killer Queen!). They are on the lake and serve up pizzas and ciders.

For Swimming: Barton Springs Pool (2201 William Barton Dr, Austin, TX 78746). This is a fresh water pool, and it’s huge (with diving board) open year round. It’s lake fed, has salamanders, and stays cold AF all year long.

Speakeasy: Milonga Room(1201 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702) Our favorite speakeasy. 1920s vibes in the bottom/back of Buenos Aires Cafe. Pro tip: you can order pretty much any food item from Buenos Aires Cafe while at the Milonga Lounge, even if it’s not on Milonga’s menu. Different days sometimes have events such as belly dancing and tarot readings. Reservations required.

For Mani/Pedis: Organic Spa and Nails (1920 E Riverside Dr Ste 130, Austin, TX 78741). Complete with leg massages and great massage chairs.

For Movies: Alamo Drafthouse (1120 South Lamar Blvd, Austin, Tx 78741). Assigned seats that recline with food and beverage service

For Dancing/Clubbing: We have no idea. We reserve our dancing for weddings. :)

For Putt-Putt: Peter Pan Mini Golf (1207 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704). It’s nothing fancy, but you can BYOB. And it’s near some good restaurants.

For a show: Zach Theater, the Paramount, Stateside Theatre, Bass Concert Hall. These 4 have various shows (musicals, comedians, etc) going on during the year.

For a hike with a view: Mount Bonnell, which is about 6 mi from downtown (3800 Mount Bonnell Rd; Austin, Texas 78731). It’s a lot of steps and ends with a great view.

Anything on the water: Downtown Austin in on the water, so you can kayak, paddleboard, take out a boat, etc. Check out yelp for various companies.

Mural Walk: Austin has amazing murals. Some ones to check out: Before I die wall, Cathedral of Junk, https://www.austintexas.org/austin-insider-blog/post/austins-best-murals/

Watch the bats: If you come to Austin, someone will inevitably ask you if you saw the bats. Thousands of bats fly out from the South Congress bridge at Dusk (if the weather is right). People line South Congress Bridge to watch this. Pro tip, book a table at the odd AF place Once for a great view (or at the main restaurant at The Line).

Play in the Park: Waterloo Park (500 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78701). This park JUST opened. Hiking trails, Moody Amphitheater, and more https://waterloogreenway.org/

A great morning run: Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail (900 W Riverside Dr, Austin, TX 78704). The lake downtown has running trails. The address here is what’s listed online, but you can drop in almost anywhere.

Museum: Blanton Museum of Art (200 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78712) is just one of Austin’s many museums.

Visit a Garden: Umlauf Sculpture Garden (605 Azie Morton Rd, Austin, TX 78704)

Catch live music: Austin is known for their live music. ACL Moody Theatre is our favorite. Bars across the city will have live music any given night.

Go Shopping: The best places to shop in the city are South Congress (tons of cute, boutique shops down this street) and 2nd street.

Bar Hop: Most people that bar hop head over to Rainy Street (we generally don’t recommend 6th street unless you are really depressed and need a reminder on how bad life can actually be). Rainy street has a bunch of cute restaurants and bars. Seriously, though, we recommend avoiding 6th street after 11pm (the area between Brazos and I35. Everything on the other side of Brazos is okay).

Piano Bar: Pete’s Dualing Piano Bar: (421 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701) There is only 1 bar worth checking out on 6th street, and it’s this one. Come on a weekday or early. They will charge $$ for a cover.

Catch some improv: Hideout Theatre (617 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701). This is a theatre and coffee bar. Pgraph is our favorite improv group of ALL time. If they are doing a show, it’s worth seeing.

Do an escape room: The Escape Game Austin (405 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701). They are a pretty big company doing solid games downtown.