It seems like everyone is moving to Austin as of late, and while I love my hometown, I fell head over heels for this place (along with everyone else). Out of all the cities we saw along our cross-country roadtrip, for me, Austin takes 1st place...and I wasn't expecting it to! While Austin, TX doesn't sound like a vacation destination - for those looking for a walkable city with tons of great food, weather, activities, and most of all vibe, this is your place! There's a lot of different areas throughout the city so I'll be breaking my recommendations down by neighborhood.
south congress
Full of great restaurants, boutiques, and the infamous Allen's boots, the South Congress neighborhood is the perfect place to stay on a trip to ATX. Hotel San Jose & South Congress Hotel aren't cheap but they're worth it. You're steps away from some of the best restaurants and outdoor patio bars in town. No car needed! My favorite restaurants in the neighborhood when we visited were: Joann's Fine Foods, Perla's, Aba, Two Hands, Li'l Nonna's, and June's.
P E R L A ' S
T W O H A N D S
sixth street
While it's been nicknamed "dirty sixth", west and east 6th street are night and day. Think of east as bourbon street lite, and west as clubs and rooftop bars. If you're in Austin to mainly go out to bars and clubs there's a few hotels right on 6th! Canopy Austin Downtown & Aloft Austin Downtown are right at the heart of it all. Restaurant wise, around 6th/ in the downtown area, I recommend Taquero Mucho, Caroline's, and Corner. Taquero Mucho seriously has the best chips and dip...you must go. It's also one of the few restaurants that right on 6th, so you can stop in between bars and get a snack. They're open late so it's really convenient and the decor is amazing - if you're going to ATX on a girl's trip, this stop is mandatory...says me.
the domain
The Domain area is north of downtown, and home to tons of name brand shops, restaurants, and more upscale clubs. We came here the first night to try Velvet Taco and came back a different day to walk around the shops and grab lunch. Since it's farther out, we never made it here at night to see what the clubs were like, but from the looks of it, Wonderbar ATX looked like a lot of fun! In terms of staying in this area, it's much quieter and around 10/15 mins by car to downtown, but you can usually get a better deal on hotels.
rainey street
One of my favorite neighborhoods in Austin to go out at night, Rainey street has a more laid-back vibe. Almost every bar on the street has huge patio areas with swings, hammocks, and great drinks. Rainey is also home to tons of food trucks. There's 2 food truck parks on the strip and then many stand alone ones in between bars. One thing you'll quickly learn about Austin is that the food trucks are where you can find some of the best (and most reasonably priced food in town). We couldn't try them all, but of the ones we did, we were very impressed. Whether you're craving a gyro, poutine, empanadas, or indian food - it's on Rainey & it's affordable. You can't go wrong with any of the bars on rainey, that being said I do have some faves: Lucille, Unbarleivable (also have a 6th st location), and Stagger Lee Bar. Stand out food trucks (of the ones we tried): Olaya Peruvian, Little Lucy's, Happy Lobster and then there's a poutine truck & empanada one I cannot find the name of but they're there every day!
L U C I L L E ' S
Austin is one of the only cities I in the US I could see myself living in besides Tampa - it's just so full of life! Next time you have a long weekend, consider visiting this Texas gem. I promise you will not regret it!
Till next time,
xoxo Tori