HOW TO SPEND 1 DAY IN AUSTIN TEXAS
Updated: Dec 6, 2021
We recently had the chance to spend 1 day in Austin, Texas. Although we did not see everything there is to see in this awesome city, we do believe that we made the best out of the time that we had.
Here are the things that we were able to see, do and eat. We totally recommend that you check these places out!
SCHOLTZ GARTEN
1607 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701
The restaurant is a German inspired restaurant and beer garden. Scholtz Garten is super awesome because it is actually the oldest Biergarten in all of America and is also the oldest running business in the entire state of Texas!
How cool is that?!
To eat we tried the Bratwurst with caramelized onions and Dusseldorf mustard. It was on the most amazing toasted bun. All together the Bratwurst was very delicious. You can customize what you want on it if you do not like the options that I mentioned above.
We also tried a simple turkey sandwich which was delicious as well. We added waffle fries to both entries.
Of course we had to get beer while we were there too. Sam tried the Oktoberfest brew. He stated that it was comparable to any other Oktoberfest beers that he has had at any other brewery.
Keep in mind that this restaurant gets pretty busy. We attempted to sit outside, but all of the tables were taken so we had to settle for a table on the inside.
Overall, our experience at Scholtz Garten was great.
TEXAS STATE CAPITOL
1100 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
Our next stop was the Texas State Capitol, which was a 10 minute walk from Scholtz Garten.
You don't want to miss this stop because the Texas State Capitol was very impressive to see. I believe that it is the tallest state capitol in all of the USA!
You can just tell how old and unique this state capitol is the minute you see it. We have seen many state capitols during our travels, but I think this one takes the cake for the most impressive so far.
On the grounds of the capitol there are many memorials and statues about previous historic moments that you can view. Just walk around and you will see them. You will notice many famous ones including a small version of the statue of liberty, Pearl Harbor, World War 1 & 2 and many others.
The inside of the capitol building is just as impressive as the outside. They offer free tours Monday-Friday if you are interested. Check out the official website to verify hours and times.
https://tspb.texas.gov/plan/tours/tours.html
If you are not interested in tours, you can browse the building by yourself. This is the option that we chose.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CAMPUS
110 Inner Campus Drive, Austin, TX 78705
Austin is home to the University of Texas main campus.
We did not spend much time on the campus, but we did visit the main building.
Our main to do in the main building was to see the "Harry Potter" library. Many people say that it looks like the library from the movies, but we did not think so.
The campus itself is really beautiful. It is older looking, but they have kept the buildings up very nicely. I think with being 140 years old, they did an amazing job.
Don't forget to stop by the "drag" which is a part of a road that runs on the side of campus with shopping and restaurants.
You can also visit the UT football trophy room which is attached to the stadium. This was super cool to see all of the trophies and they even have a gigantic longhorn statue!
CONGRESS AVE BRIDGE BATS
Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78704
If you are in Austin between the months of March and October, you can watch thousands of bats fly out from the Congress Ave Bridge around sundown.
This is a big tourist attraction during these months, so you may want to head to the bridge early to get a good spot for sight seeing. Many people stand on top of the bridge, all along the trails that run on the side of it, and you can even book a boat tour or kayak and watch the bats from the water below!
We chose to watch the flight from down below on a trail that runs off to the side. I believe this trail is called the Butler hike and bike trail.
Nobody is certain exactly when the bats fly out from the bridge, as it is random each time. Your best bet is to arrive around 30 minutes before sunset and wait.
The time we caught the bats was around 7:20pm.
TORCHY'S TACOS
numerous locations
After many failed attempts to go to several other restaurants, we ended up at Torchy's. Torchy's came recommended to us, but we had already tried it before this trip. Nonetheless, we were not disappointed.
Torchy's is very delicious Tex Mex specializing in of course TACOS! Although it is a chain restaurant, it was founded in Austin.
During our visit, we tried several different kinds of tacos and also got the green chili queso dip with chips. We loved our choices and were especially loving the queso. We also tried their margaritas which were on point!!
That sums up our day spent in Austin. Have you ever been, and what are your favorite things to do there?