Austin, Texas, is one of the fastest growing cities in the US according to CNN’s Money magazine. As of 2006, it is the 16th largest city in the US and the fourth largest in Texas. It is fast becoming the center of commerce combined with a high quality of life.
With an above-average income and relatively low housing costs, in recent years there has been a flood of land to be featured in this No. 2 “Best Places to Live” (also according to Money Magazine). Below are seven attractions in Austin divided into three categories: Music, Museums, and Bat Bridge (a category of its own). If you live in Texas, take a weekend trip and enjoy what Austin has to offer.
Music festivals
Austin is known as the “Music Capital of the World,” and the most famous of festivals continues that tradition. Austin City Limits Music Festival is a three-day arts and music festival with more than 130 bands and 65,000 visitors a day. The festival has put Austin back on the map after a ten-year hiatus out of the eye of public music lovers. Many acts have been recorded live and later shown on PBS, including Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello, Tori Amos, Cold Play, and many others. On any given night, the popular 6th Street plays host to hundreds of bands that play nightly in bars. South by Southwest is another annual event that brings together original bands and music producers in the hope that a deal will be reached.
Museums
Many of Austin’s most popular museums have only opened in the last ten years, including the Texas Memorial Museum located in the main exhibit hall of the Texas Natural Science Center at the University of Texas at Austin. It houses 5.7 million specimens in the fields of geology, ichthyology, herpetology, biology, entomology, and paleontology, and has 75,000 visitors a year. The Blanton Museum of Art, which was expanded in 2006, is the largest collegiate art museum in the United States. He has 12 million in fine arts from the Houston Endowment. Last but not least, museums to see in Austin: The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. It has three floors of interactive sites dedicated to telling the history of Texas.
Bat bridge
Up to 1.5 million bats hang out under the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. This is the largest urban bat population in the world. Every night these Mexican free-tailed bats surface to search for insects and insects. This curiously attracts 100,000 viewers annually. After taking refuge under the bridge during the summer, spring and fall months, the bats head towards Mexico in the winter, which is an even more amazing site to see. I recommend seeing bats whether you live in Austin or are just visiting.
