{"id":169332,"date":"2026-02-18T06:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/169332\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T06:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T06:47:11","slug":"how-to-have-the-perfect-weekend-in-austin-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/169332\/","title":{"rendered":"How to have the perfect weekend in Austin, Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"<\/p>\n

(UNSPLASH)<\/p>\n

When I lived in Austin,<\/a> Texas for a year, I was reminded of an article that George Orwell once wrote for this very newspaper about his favourite London pub, The Moon Under Water. It was hidden away on a quiet side street (though two minutes from a bus stop), full of regulars but always quiet enough to talk, and furnished with an excellent snack counter. The interiors were all wood, with roaring fires in winter and a foliage-filled beer garden for warmer days. The small catch, he reveals at the end, is that the pub does not exist.<\/p>\n

To me, Austin is the real-life Moon Under Water of cities. It has eye-rollingly good restaurants, a lively music scene, laidback locals and a balmy climate in spring and autumn. Unlike most American cities it is eminently walkable and small enough to cycle from one end to the other, but big enough to be vibrant and diverse. In the summer, locals cool off in a three-acre, spring-fed natural swimming pool.<\/p>\n

\"Barton<\/p>\n

Barton Springs, where locals cool off in the summer (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

I recently came back for the first time in six years and found my favourite city thrumming with life. I revisited old favourites that I had learned about from locals, as well as some of the newer spots that everyone is talking about.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the best way to spend a weekend in the Lone Star State capital.<\/p>\n

Where to eat<\/p>\n

We have the Full English, Austinites have breakfast tacos. They are a tonic for the sins of a night out and will give you all that slow-release energy you need to conquer the day.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s Bakery and Coffee Shop in East Austin (joesbakery.com<\/a>) is a no-frills, family run diner that\u2019s been going since 1962. It\u2019s almost like the Tex-Mex equivalent of a British caff. Their generously stuffed breakfast tacos feature pillowy homemade tortillas and mostly cost less than $3. Go for any combination of egg, cheese, beans, chorizo or potatoes, wash it down with a sizable iced coffee, and you\u2019ll be ready to tear up the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuzzy\u201d is an overused word, but it really is true of Austin\u2019s food scene. The city is broadly anti-chain, and has strived to live by its motto, \u201cKeep Austin Weird\u201d, in the face of gentrification.<\/p>\n

This has allowed for an independent restaurant scene to flourish. Suerte (suerteatx.com<\/a>) marries modern Mexican cooking with Texan ingredients in a pared back, minimalist space. It occupies one of the many single storey, bungalow-style buildings on East Sixth street and emanates an inviting amber glow.<\/p>\n

\"Suerte<\/p>\n

Suerte serves experimental Mexican fare in a warm, minimalist space (Suerte)<\/p>\n

Attention to detail is the M.O. here, down to the veggie side dishes. Start with one of their inventive cocktails \u2013 my favourite is the mezcalita sour shaken with smoked rhubarb and hibiscus. The suadero tacos are a must-order: melty confit brisket with avocado crudo and \u201cblack magic oil\u201d, a spicy cult condiment so good that it has its own Reddit thread.<\/p>\n

After dinner, wander towards the city down East Sixth, which will be bathed in the glow of neon bar signs. Stop into any that appeals \u2013 east Austin is where the cool kids hang out and it\u2019s hard to go wrong. Hotel Vegas (texashotelvegas.com<\/a>) often has live music and is fun for a little dance.<\/p>\n

Another rite of passage is Texas barbecue. It hits all the spots for me: big hunks of smoked meats served with sharp pickles, cheap white bread and a smorgasbord of southern comfort sides. The most famous joint in the city is Franklin Barbecue (franklinbbq.com<\/a>), and people queue like it\u2019s a Taylor Swift concert \u2013 pulling up with deck chairs in the early hours of the morning, prepared to wait up to five hours for their meaty fix. I\u2019m told that it\u2019s worth the hype, but with so many other great barbecue spots, it\u2019s a pass from me.<\/p>\n

Instead, head south to Leroy and Lewis (leroyandlewisbbq.com<\/a>), a relative new kid on the block with a focus on provenance and precision that has earned them a Michelin star. They are proud to source their meats from local farmers, and as well as the classic sides, there are some decidedly un-traditional ones on offer, like miso-glazed carrots and kimchi (which sweetly has its own explainer on the website\u2019s FAQs).<\/p>\n

\"Leroy<\/p>\n

Leroy and Lewis\u2019s \u201cnew school\u201d barbecue has earned them a Michelin star (Claudia Cockerell)<\/p>\n

We rolled up just before midday and there was no queue. I had flat iron beef with sausage, kimchi and cauliflower burnt ends, paired with a flight of condiments and rounded off by their excellent banana pudding. You will, at this point, be wanting to walk it all off. If you have a car, head east to McKinney Falls, a pretty national park where waterfalls cascade between big, flat rocks. Some of the natural pools are for swimming and there are several hiking trails, though it\u2019s small enough to simply meander around.<\/p>\n

Restaurants pop up like whack-a-moles here and it can be hard to disentangle quality from hype. If in doubt, I revert to the tried-and-tested favourites. Uchi (uchi.uchirestaurants.com<\/a>) is famed for its inventive Japanese fare, while Odd Duck (oddduckaustin.com<\/a>) started life as a food truck in a parking lot and is now a stalwart of farm-to-table, elevated small plates. Grab an ice cream from Lick Honest Ice Creams (ilikelick.com<\/a>) round the corner for dessert.<\/p>\n

A former local\u2019s tip: if your wallet is starting to feel a little strained, Austin is an excellent city for happy hours, and not just in bars. If you\u2019re willing to dine at slightly eccentric hours, then lots of the best restaurants (including Suerte, Odd Duck and Uchi) offer discounted plates and drinks. Perfect for a jetlagged visitor in search of an early dinner.<\/p>\n

Where to drink and dance<\/p>\n

My favourite place in the world is Donn\u2019s Depot (donnsdepot.com<\/a>), a piano bar in a former train depot in west Austin. Its 85-year-old owner Donn Adelman will sometimes have a tinker on the keys in spite of the arthritis in his fingers. There\u2019s a little sunken dancefloor where people of all ages twist about. The last time I was there, a pair of cowboys approached my sister and I and asked us to dance. We are both completely malcoordinated and failed to step in time with them. \u201cY\u2019all are leadin\u2019! Quit leadin\u2019!\u201d they reproached. We did not get a second dance. The barmaid and chatelaine of Donn\u2019s, Tammi, has worked there for over 30 years and makes an extra dirty martini. Don\u2019t miss the ladies room, which is set in an old train carriage.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The delightfully kitschy interiors at Donn\u2019s Depot in old West Austin (Donn’s Depot)<\/p>\n

In East Austin, trendy wine bars sit cheek by jowl with old school honky tonk joints, where young people and pensioners dance the two-step. The White Horse (thewhitehorseaustin.com<\/a>) is the classic of the genre. Every night they have live bands and even do two step lessons a couple of nights a week, so you won\u2019t embarrass yourself on the \u2018floor like I did.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s right in the action, so you can go bar hopping afterwards. The main drag of Sixth Street is known as \u201cDirty Sixth\u201d for a reason. It’s a pilgrimage site for bachelorette parties, wasted students and lads on tour. However, East Sixth is more refined and has everything from concept bars to microbreweries.<\/p>\n

\"Cheer<\/p>\n

Cheer Up Charlies is a guaranteed good time (Visit Austin)<\/p>\n

I have never, ever, had a bad time at Cheer Up Charlies (cheerupcharlies.com<\/a>) a few blocks north. The music is always great, they make these incredible batch cocktails in-house (the raspberry and rose one and the coconut milk one are the best), and they have kombucha on tap for teetotallers \u2013 how chic. I saw Dorian Electra play live there in the capacious smoking area with an outdoor dancefloor, where the stage is set into a sheer rock face.<\/p>\n

The venue that practically gives Austin its nickname as the \u201clive music capital of the world\u201d is the Continental Club (continentalclub.com<\/a>) on South Congress, where there jazz, blues, country and folk musicians perform each night. For a dance, go to the Continental Gallery upstairs and jive to a local band, who might enlist you as their tambourine player.<\/p>\n

What to do<\/p>\n

I like to spend as much time outdoors as possible. From downtown, seek out the trails that run along the river for a morning hike, and when it gets hot, go to Barton Springs for a swim in the natural, spring fed pool. Here you\u2019ll find locals relaxing on the grass by the water, often in various states of undress.<\/p>\n

Around a 45 minute drive from town is the breathtaking Hamilton Pool Preserve: jade green waters set in a dramatic limestone grotto that looks like something out of a fairytale. Book in advance and bring a picnic. You\u2019ll need a car \u2013 a friend and I somewhat foolhardily took an Uber there with no problem, but found there was no signal at the pools for our way back (and no Ubers in the area, anyway).<\/p>\n

\"Hamilton<\/p>\n

Hamilton Pools feels like stumbling into a fairy grotto (Claudia Cockerell)<\/p>\n

Luckily, a group of friendly women let us hop in with them to the local vineyard where they were headed. We spent the afternoon tasting wines and eating antipasti before the owner offered us a lift back to town. A spontaneous and lovely turn of events that I wouldn\u2019t necessarily advise.<\/p>\n

After all that touching grass, you can get a culture fix at The Blanton Museum of Art on the University of Texas campus (blantonmuseum.org<\/a>). They often have some fun temporary exhibitions, as well as a kaleidoscopic chapel by artist Ellsworth Kelly.<\/p>\n

Where to stay\"The<\/p>\n

The pool at The Line is perfect for celeb-spotting over South by SouthWest (Handout)<\/p>\n

The Line Hotel (thelinehotel.com<\/a>) is a classic. Bang in the middle of downtown, it’s the buzziest hotel during the music, tech and film festival South by Southwest in March. You\u2019ll find actors and musicians relaxing by the outdoor pool or propping up the bar into the wee hours. Much like the Chateau Marmont in LA, it\u2019s a little tired around the edges, but it is a guaranteed fun time. The rooms have sweeping views of the city through floor to ceiling windows, and it\u2019s right next door to the excellent Veracruz All Natural tacos, which you can access from the lobby.<\/p>\n

Rooms from \u00a3280 a night, thelinehotel.com\/austin<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The lush gardens at the Four Seasons Austin (Handout)<\/p>\n

For something a little more luxurious, the very swish Four Seasons is a few blocks down. I loved having lunch in their sprawling gardens and patio, which feels like being out back at some Gatsby-esque private mansion. It has direct access to the hiking trails along the river, where you can join the locals on their morning runs.<\/p>\n

Rooms from \u00a3858 a night, fourseasons.com\/austin<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A good night\u2019s sleep is guaranteed at Frame SoCo (Handout)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for peace and quiet, Frame Hotel off South Congress is a relatively new boutique offering with just 20 detached suites dotted around a peaceful garden. Everything has been considered here, from the super fast Wi-Fi to the crisp Italian bed linens. An oasis of calm that\u2019s a mere stone\u2019s throw from the action of SoCo.<\/p>\n

Rooms from \u00a3240 a night, framehotel.com\/soco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(UNSPLASH) When I lived in Austin, Texas for a year, I was reminded of an article that George…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[68558,132,134,133,68559,2924,68557,68560],"class_list":["post-169332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-american-cities","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-donn-adelman","tag-east-austin","tag-natural-swimming-pool","tag-quiet-side-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}