On this episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Wander the World” Podcast, Sharon K. Kurtz takes listeners on a personal Austin staycation, joined by fellow Austinite and travel writer Marika Flatt, travel editor and associate editor of Texas Lifestyle Magazine.
Staying right on the UT Austin campus at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, Sharon walked to the Texas State Capitol, the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum, caught a live taping of Austin City Limits, and ended her trip watching over a million bats stream out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.
Together, Sharon and Marika swap tips on live music venues, hidden-gem hotels, Lady Bird Lake, and the best spots for margaritas, museums, and shopping — everything you need for your own Austin getaway.
Watch the podcast episode below or download/listen to the audio version on Podbean:
Austin Staycation Highlights
Where Sharon and her Husband Stayed
AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, right on the UT Austin campus — a five-minute walk to the Capitol, the Blanton Museum, and the Bullock Museum.
Sharon got a tour from the general manager: the property is mid a $30 million refresh, with 297 hotel rooms and its own executive MBA program housed on-site.
Maggie Rose performing at ACL Live.Photo Scott Moore
Live Music & Austin City Limits
Sharon and Marika caught a live ACL taping featuring Maggie Rose's season debut — "it's a small venue... you can see through their monitors," Sharon says of watching the cameras work in real time.
ACL has aired on PBS for decades and is famously hard to get into — tickets are largely lottery-based.
Live music picks: Antone's, one of Austin's oldest venues (R&B, jazz, and rock and roll), and The Elephant Room.
Museums & Landmarks
The Blanton Museum of Art, home to Ellsworth Kelly's only building, simply titled Austin — a stained-glass space where the light shifts with the equinox.
A free walking tour of the Texas State Capitol, completed in 1888 and almost 15 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol.
The Bullock Texas State History Museum for the full sweep of Texas history, from early settlement through the oil boom.
Blanton Museum of Art. Photo Sharon Kurtz
The Bats
The Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world's largest urban bat colony — up to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats take flight most evenings.
Sharon watched the bats stream out at dusk alongside a family who had traveled from Amsterdam just to see them: "People come from all over the world to see these bats. It is such a spectacular sight."
Kurobuta Pork Belly at The Carillon. Photo Sharon Kurtz
Where to Eat, Drink & Stay
Texas Chili Parlor for a classic Austin lunch (and a guilt-free lunchtime margarita).
Fareground food hall for a rotating lineup of food stalls and patio seating.
French Cowboys' boutique hotels — Petit Cowboy and Hacienda del Rio — in nearby New Braunfels.
The Ruby in Round Rock, a boutique creekside hotel walkable to Main Street's bar and restaurant scene.
Sightseeing boats and kayakers gather on Lake Bird Lake to await the nightly emergfence of Austin's famous Congress Avenue Bridge bats. Photo Sharon Kurtz
Getting Around
The Lady Bird Lake Trail (formerly Town Lake Trail) is now a 10-mile loop with a new pedestrian bridge.
The Veloway, a protected bike trail near the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
Capitol Cruises for kayaking and paddleboarding right on Lady Bird Lake.