Austin Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

People who have lived in the city for more than 15 years often decry the loss of the "old Austin"—a place of low prices and little traffic. Happily, Austin retains its famous combination of southern friendliness and new-age optimism despite its growth and related traffic problems. More importantly, it is still a center for great music and big-time events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive Conference.

Even its newfound, caffeinated business savvy has emerged as one of its charms. Austin is a place where people still take things at their own pace; the food and drink are surprisingly good for what remains a small city; and the live-oak-covered hills are a fine place for walking, jogging or bicycling (at least until the broiling summer heat arrives).

Step into the right bar on the right night, and you'll find long-haired college students and cowboy-hatters grooving to the same band, just as in the days of old, as well as the computer professionals who have become a part of the social fabric in Austin. To this day, the city defines itself in iconoclastic terms—across town on bumper stickers and T-shirts you'll see the community's unofficial motto: "Keep Austin Weird."

Must See or Do

Sights—The Texas State Capitol, inside and out; the University of Texas Tower; Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Museums—The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum; the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum; the Blanton Museum of Art; The Contemporary Austin; Harry Ransom Center.

Memorable Meals—Anything from local-centric restaurant Wink (its menu changes daily); barbecue at Sam's BBQ or Franklin BBQ; world-class sushi at Uchi or Uchiko; blintzes at Blue Dahlia Bistro; cocktails at Peche; Amy's Ice Cream; Sugar Mama's cupcakes.

Late Night—Country music and dancing (likely two-stepping) at The White Horse; roots rock at the Continental Club; blues at Antone's; house music and dancing at Kingdom night club; beer and pretzels at Easy Tiger; people-watching, alcohol and more music on Sixth Street; barhopping on Rainey Street.

Walks—The Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake; Barton Creek Greenbelt in Zilker Park; the University of Texas campus; taking a dip in the breathtaking Hamilton Pool Preserve.

Especially for Kids—The bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge; the Thinkery or Austin Zoo; the Barton Springs Pool; an afternoon in Zilker Park.

Geography

Most things in Austin are located by their relationship to Interstate 35 and the Colorado River (not the same Colorado that runs through the Grand Canyon). The river, somewhat confusingly known as Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) in the downtown area and Lake Austin farther west because of damming, divides the north and south sides of town; I-35 divides east and west. Most attractions of interest to visitors are west of I-35 and within 3 mi/5 km of either side of the river.

Downtown sits on the north shore of the river immediately west of I-35. The university area begins north of downtown and the Capitol District. The West End is immediately west of downtown, on the far side of Lamar Boulevard. Austinites used to use the term "South Austin" to refer to any place south of the river, but with the city's growth, much of old South Austin is now pretty central. Regardless, central Austin attractions are generally found between the MoPac Expressway (Loop 1) and I-35. Likewise, East Austin can mean anything east of I-35, but the areas of most interest to visitors are the growing, increasingly gentrified neighborhoods adjacent to downtown and the university.

Most of the city's numbered streets are on the north side of the river and run east-west. The numbers get higher as you move north, away from the river, and the east and west designations indicate where the roads are in relation to Congress Avenue (the street running through the center of downtown to the Capitol). There are, however, a few numbered streets south of the river. They run north-south and are all designated as south. South First Street is one example.

History

Before it became the capital of Texas, Austin was actually the settlement of Waterloo and little more than a small group of log cabins. Mirabeau B. Lamar, vice president of the newly independent Republic of Texas, visited Waterloo the year it was founded (1838), which was two years after the Mexican Army was defeated at Goliad after the fall of the Alamo. The site apparently made an impression, for after becoming president of the republic the following year, Lamar established the modest settlement as the capital and renamed it in honor of the recently deceased Stephen F. Austin, who had led Anglo settlers into Texas.

The city remained the capital after Texas became part of the U.S. in 1845. During the Civil War, Austin saw no battles except for a brief pillaging of the state treasury by some rowdy Texas Confederates. Many in the Austin area were opposed to the state's secession from the U.S., an early indication of the liberal tendencies that the city continues to maintain. (Austin has started renaming streets with Confederate ties. For example, Robert E. Lee Road became Azie Taylor Morton Road after the first black treasurer.) In 1883, when the University of Texas opened, the city assumed the role of college town.

During the first half of the 1900s, Austin was a quiet and fairly small southern town, although prominent political leaders made their mark, among them Lyndon Johnson. The future president of the U.S. entered politics as a state legislator in Austin in the 1950s. In the 2000s, Austin saw both benefits and fallout from the rise and fall of the national Republican legislature under former Texas governor President George W. Bush, and his nearby home in Midland kept the city in the news.

Austin's music scene exploded in the 1970s and '80s, led by Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The city mushroomed in other ways in the 1990s. As the home of computer-related companies since the 1960s, it was well-placed to capitalize on the technology boom. However, when the boom went bust in 2000, Austin's technology growth slowed dramatically. Today, homegrown Dell Computers remains one of the area's largest employers along with a resurgence in the tech industry. The city also credits its recovery to new jobs in the service and health industries led by companies relocating to Austin from other states.

Meanwhile, the Austin-born natural-foods grocery chain Whole Foods has gained a national profile and engendered local competition from the specialty supermarket Central Market. Local athlete Lance Armstrong survived cancer and won a record seven Tour de France championships before admitting to taking performance-enhancing drugs in 2013.

As many young people, attracted to Austin's economic opportunities and liberal politics, have flooded the city in recent years, the city has emerged as a leader in sustainable building and smart growth, though housing prices have increased dramatically, especially in Austin's central corridor. With the addition of the Frost Bank Tower in 2004 and the continuation of a skyscraper construction boom started in 2007, more high rises and condominium projects are being built, continually altering Austin's skyline.

Potpourri

Austin has been the setting for countless novels and the backdrop for an increasing number of movies (Dazed and Confused, The Ringer, SubUrbia). Politically minded readers will be curious to compare and contrast the novel Waterloo by Karen Olsson and the 1961 classic The Gay Place by Billy Lee Bremmer. Numerous authors currently live and work in Austin including Sarah Bird, Owen Egerton, David Lindsey and Turk Pipkin.

The city is home base for public television's national music show Austin City Limits, which is taped at the University of Texas. Since 2002, an immensely popular spin-off three-day outdoor music festival of the same name has brought an incredible array of talent to the city late each summer; acts range from Lucinda Williams to Elvis Costello to Al Green. Austin is also host to the South by Southwest music, film and interactive festivals, industry showcases that take place in the spring and draw lots of onlookers.

The most famous tree in Austin is Treaty Oak, located at Baylor and Sixth streets, a former meeting place for Native Americans. The 500-year-old oak was nearly killed when vandals attempted to poison the tree in 1989. Today, the city uses the tree to teach about conservation and history.

Austin is a leader in Wi-Fi technology, with dozens of parks and hundreds of businesses offering wireless service. Since 2004, a group of local entrepreneurs has been working to "Keep Wi-Fi Free." The Austin Wireless City project provides free hot spots, often powered by recycled computers, to any business that requests one.

One of Austin's favorite cult musicians, Daniel Johnston painted his iconic Hi, How Are You mural that features a sort of alien frog on the side of what was then a university-area record store. The artwork was later saved from demolition and can still be seen at the corner of 21st and Guadalupe streets.

Austin is a spot of blue in a sea of red. The liberal-for-Texas city is also pretty green—residents are ecominded, and the city has won kudos for its Green Building Program, which encourages the use of sustainable building techniques.

Austin is known for having the most highly educated population in the U.S. per capita. Not surprisingly, it also leads the country with the highest bookstore sales. The average household spends US$195 on books each year.

Despite the food truck craze in Austin, many Texans don't realize that these trucks are actually a Texas invention. In 1866, Cattle rancher and "father of the Texas panhandle," Charles Goodnight, came up with the idea of refitting an old Army wagon, which he then called a chuckwagon, so that he could cook decent meals during cattle drives. The idea caught on, and by the 1890s food trucks were popping up in every major city.

Overview

Introduction

One of the most explosive of the Nevada silver boomtowns, Austin was the second-largest city in Nevada in the 1880s but now boasts a population of less than 200. In its heyday, this town 250 mi/400 km northwest of Las Vegas was home to several hundred mining companies (including the Methodist Mining Company, run by the local church).

As you drive through town, look for the International Cafe (formerly home to the Sazarac Lying Club, famous for the tall tales it created) and Stokes Castle (a rich man's bizarre folly—it's supposed to look like a Roman battlement).

Another landmark is the Gridley Store, whose owner helped originate the Sanitary Fund Flour Sack. After losing a bet in 1864, he had to carry a sack of flour down Main Street. The sack was then auctioned—many times over and all across the country—eventually raising US$275,000 for charity.

South of Austin is the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, an unusual combination of ancient and more recent history. On one hand, the park preserves significant fossil finds, especially of gigantic ichthyosaurs—whale-sized marine reptiles that inhabited Nevada when it was covered with water more than 200 million years ago. The fossils, which have been named Nevada's state fossil, are now displayed in an enclosed building.

On the other hand, the park is home to Berlin, a tumble-down mining village that's perfectly deserted and spooky—one of Nevada's must-see ghost towns. The ranger-led tours of the park are essential: They will help you experience both aspects of this out-of-the-way window to the past. The 1,153-acre/467-hectare park has hiking trails and campgrounds. http://parks.nv.gov/parks/berlin-ichthyosaur.