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Things to Do in Austin, Texas

One live number and a lot of published records. The creek reading below comes from a USGS gauge; restaurant scores come from Austin Public Health as it files them; bar figures come from the Texas Comptroller as it publishes them. The rest — 468 guides across 14 subjects, and 65 neighbourhood profiles — is written by us and says so.

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Barton Creek right now

Dry — 0.0 cfs at Barton Creek at Loop 360

USGS gauge reading observed Oct 7, 7:00 AM Austin time

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Editorial illustration of paddling on Lady Bird LakeFind your Austin
ATX Things · Editorial illustration
The local field guide

Three anchors for an Austin day

Build the day around a place, then choose the route between stops. These official visitor resources make the Capitol, Barton Springs and Lady Bird Lake easier to compare.

4 linked sources · Checked

History without an admission ticket

Texas Capitol guided tours are free and begin in the South Foyer. Tours take about 40 minutes; a self-guided visit is another option during building hours.[1]

A pool with its own operating schedule

Barton Springs is a three-acre, spring-fed public pool. Plan around its admission rules and Thursday cleaning closure; a creek-flow reading does not describe pool access.[2]

Choose a trail segment, not necessarily ten miles

The Butler Trail forms a ten-mile loop. The Trail Conservancy maps routes, entry points, amenities and parking so you can choose a segment that fits the time you have.[3]

Plan a little better

Before you go

Match the bus to the corridor
CapMetro Rapid 801 serves North Lamar and South Congress; 803 serves Burnet and South Lamar. Both pass through downtown and UT. Use the trip planner for your actual stops.[4]
Separate the ticket from the trip
Check the City pool page for ticket purchases and closure notices, then the Trail Conservancy map for access and parking. Admission and parking are different decisions.[2][3]

A few things to know

Can I tour the Capitol without a reservation?

Individuals can join the free public tours. The State Preservation Board asks groups of more than ten people to arrange a group tour in advance.[1]

Do I have to walk the entire lake loop?

No. Use the Trail Conservancy’s maps of routes and access points to choose a shorter segment or an out-and-back walk. The full circuit is ten miles.[3]

Sources & research notes

Local context is based on the sources below. Confirm current access, schedules, and reservations with the operator. Civic figures elsewhere on this page retain their own reporting periods.

  1. SPB - Capitol ToursTexas State Preservation Board · Checked 2026-09-05
  2. Visit Barton Springs Pool | City of Austin Services | AustinTexas.govCity of Austin · Checked 2026-09-05
  3. Maps & Parking - The Trail ConservancyThe Trail Conservancy · Checked 2026-09-05
  4. 803 – Capital Metro – Austin Public TransitCapMetro · Checked 2026-09-05

Which page answers which question

Several of these guides cover overlapping ground — weekends, free things and overlooked places all touch the Greenbelt, and rooftops, East 6th and date night all touch downtown drinking. Each card says what that page holds that its neighbours do not, so you can pick one rather than opening four.

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Is the creek flowing?

Live USGS gauge readings for Barton Creek, so you know whether Sculpture Falls and Twin Falls have water in them.

Not the same as its neighbours: The only page here that answers a question about right now.

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Restaurant health scores

Top scorers from the most recent Austin Public Health inspection filings, each with the date it was inspected.

Not the same as its neighbours: Computed from a public dataset — the only food page here with no opinion in it.

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Bar receipts data

Mixed-beverage gross receipts filed with the Texas Comptroller, venue by venue across the Austin metro.

Not the same as its neighbours: Money, not picks: what venues report taking, not what we think of them.

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Rooftop bars

Downtown rooftops with the hotel and floor each one sits on, plus the price band.

Not the same as its neighbours: Almost all hotel roofs, $$$ and up. Shares no venues with the East 6th list.

🥞

Brunch

Migas counters in East Austin, bottomless mimosas, and a 24-hour diner on South Congress.

Not the same as its neighbours: Weekend mornings and sit-down rooms, where the coffee list is counters and roasters.

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Weekend essentials

Places that run every weekend — a 1955 music venue, a 1964 dance hall, two Saturday markets.

Not the same as its neighbours: Evergreen by design. It is not an events calendar and has no dated listings.

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Things that cost nothing

The Capitol, the bat bridge at dusk, the Central Library roof, the Butler Trail, the Greenbelt.

Not the same as its neighbours: Filtered by admission price, with the ones that only look free flagged as such.

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Dog-friendly patios

Beer gardens and patios that welcome dogs, noting which put a water bowl down unasked.

Not the same as its neighbours: One constraint applied to the whole city: can the dog come?

☕

Coffee shops

Independent cafes and the Austin roasters behind them, with addresses.

Not the same as its neighbours: Who roasts their own beans — and an admission that we do not rate wifi.

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Date night

Restaurants and wine bars ordered by price band, cheapest first.

Not the same as its neighbours: The only list here with a computed order. All sit-down; no activities.

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Overlooked places

A park with peacocks, a grocery store trading since 1909, a back garden of welded salvage.

Not the same as its neighbours: Filtered by obscurity rather than category or cost. Several are free; one needs a phone call.

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East 6th bars

One walkable street: dive bars, a honky-tonk, natural wine, a punk venue and a speakeasy.

Not the same as its neighbours: Ground level and cheap — nothing on it is above $$, which is the opposite of the rooftop list.

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Neighborhoods

Interactive maps, permits, inspections and venue records by planning area.

Not the same as its neighbours: Geography as the index, rather than an activity or a meal.

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Austin economy

Austin MSA housing, employment and GDP indicators, each with the period it covers.

Not the same as its neighbours: Not a going-out page at all — federal and state series, published monthly or quarterly.

Latest Austin Guides

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Food & Restaurants

More Food →

Austin data tools

Three datasets, three very different refresh behaviours — stated per tool rather than covered by one freshness badge, because only one of them is live.

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Greenbelt swim tracker

USGS gauges record every five minutes and publish in batches, so the newest reading is usually 15–30 minutes old.

Now: Dry

Observed Oct 7, 7:00 AM Austin time

🍽️

Restaurant health scores

Search inspection scores by restaurant. New scores appear as Austin Public Health publishes them — irregular batches, historically with weeks of lag.

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Bar receipts

Mixed-beverage gross receipts for Austin-area venues, as the Texas Comptroller publishes them — monthly, with a three to four week lag.

Events & Entertainment

More Events →

Hidden Austin

More Hidden Gems →

Explore 65 Austin neighbourhoods

Interactive maps, construction permits, restaurant inspection scores and venue records for each of the 65 planning areas the city's neighbourhood geography defines.

🗺️ Explore neighbourhoods

Your complete guide to things to do in Austin, TX

ATX Things is built on public records rather than on opinion polls. Restaurant ratings here are health inspection scores published by Austin Public Health. Bar figures are mixed-beverage gross receipts filed with the Texas Comptroller. Swimming conditions come from USGS gauges on Barton Creek. Where we do have an opinion — the brunch list, the coffee list, the overlooked-places list — the page says so at the top rather than dressing a preference up as a ranking.

We currently publish 468 guides across 14 subjects, alongside profiles for 65 Austin planning areas. Those three figures are counted from the live content and dataset at the moment this page renders, not typed in by hand.

How current each thing actually is

  • Barton Creek gauge readings — genuinely live. USGS records every five minutes and publishes in batches, so the newest reading is usually 15–30 minutes old. Five minutes is the gauge's recording interval, not a promise about our page.
  • Restaurant health scores — as Austin Public Health publishes them. Irregular batches, historically weeks of lag between an inspection and its filing.
  • Bar receipts — as the Texas Comptroller publishes them. Monthly, with a three to four week lag.
  • Neighbourhood profiles — built on the city's planning-area geography, which changes rarely and is not a live feed.
  • Guides and listicles — written by us and updated when we update them. No schedule, and none claimed.