Austin
DESTINATION GUIDE
Here's what you need to know
about the incredible city of
Austin, Texas...
HIGHLIGHTS
What do you get if you mix big city energy with country vibes, add in a whole lot of cool and a dash of weird? Austin, that’s what. Since F1 first raced at the Circuit of The Americas on the outskirts of the Texan state capital in 2012, it’s been a firm favourite with the F1 fraternity and one of the more eagerly anticipated Grands Prix of the season.
Boasting world famous music festivals SXSW (South by Southwest) and Austin City Limits, the place has a long history of embracing and supporting up and coming musicians and bands, with many local businesses donating to charities and initiatives which help the music community to continue to thrive – particularly in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic which saw many musicians without work.
If you want to the full Austin experience then you should buy yourself cowboy boots.
Family-owned Austin institution Allen’s Boots has been selling traditional western boots and accessories, served with a side of Texas hospitality, to Austinites and celebrities alike from their location on South Congress Avenue since 1977.
Stocked with thousands of boots from floor to ceiling, you’ll be spoiled for choice whether you opt for a traditional style or a more flamboyant design to complete your look. With its giant red boot on the side of the store, you simply can’t miss it.
Once you've purchased cowboy boots – and possibly even a cowboy hat - you should check out the venues that house the incredible music scene that has been created in Austin.
With over 250 venues across the city where you can enjoy live music on any given day, Austin’s moniker of ‘Live music capital of the world’ is certainly justified.
FUN FACT
Austin plays host to many festivals throughout the year, but perhaps the most esoteric takes place on the last Saturday in April when over 5,000 people gather in Peace Park to celebrate a fictional donkey’s birthday.
If it's more sport that interests you then the Texas Longhorns, taking their name from the native cattle, are the football team of the University of Texas in Austin and regularly attract huge crowds of spectators to their games.
Spanning Ladybird Lake in downtown Austin, the Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. Large numbers of bats began roosting under the bridge in the 1980s when it was renovated, and it is now estimated that 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats call the bridge home.
Once misunderstood and feared by locals, the bats are now synonymous with the city. They have become such a popular tourist attraction that hundreds of people gather near the bridge each evening at dusk to witness the incredible sight of seemingly endless columns of these nocturnal mammals streaming out from under the bridge to feed.
For an alternative vantage point, book onto one of the nightly bat watching cruises operating on Ladybird Lake and enjoy a front row view of this spectacular show at sunset.
WHAT TO EAT
There’s a long history of barbecue in America practised in one form or another, but Texans owe their particular style of BBQ to the European immigrants who settled in the state in the mid-1800s opening grocery stores and meat markets throughout central Texas.
The butchers would smoke leftover meat to keep it from spoiling, and soon these leftovers became a staple for cowboys and impoverished migrant cotton pickers, and as such many people considered BBQ a poor man’s dish.
In the 1950s BBQ joints started to offer brisket, and this fatty cut of beef cooked long and slow in the BBQ pits is what makes Texan BBQ so special. “The BBQ is a big attraction for me,” said Ricciardo. “The brisket is what I normally get, a little bit of fatty brisket… mmmmm!” With so many BBQ joints in town, you really will be spoiled for choice.
