Downtown Austin

 

Downtown Austin is an exciting urban neighborhood with lots to see and do. The Texas State Capitol is the historic centerpiece of Downtown Austin. Congress Avenue leads to the Capitol with well-preserved Victorian buildings. The Downtown area also features many high-rise towers with luxurious contemporary condominiums. 

 

Downtown Austin offers a dynamic dining scene with many outstanding eateries and stylish boutiques in the 2nd Street District, and numerous live music venues. Downtown Austin is also a thriving business district with many employment opportunities. Green spaces such as the new Waterloo Park and Shoal Beach at Town Lake Metropolitan Park provide plenty of scenic outdoor recreation.

Downtown is at the heart of everything in Austin. This dynamic neighborhood is home to many of the city’s finest restaurants, shops, music venues, and cultural attractions. Companies headquartered in Downtown Austin include Whole Foods Market, the Schlotzsky’s restaurant group, the GSD&M Idea City advertising agency, and many start-ups. 

 

Most residents of Downtown Austin live in high-rise towers such as the Independent, the Austonian, and 360 Condominiums, which are the three tallest condo buildings west of the Mississippi River. These soaring towers offer stylish living space in an ultra-convenient location close to a wide variety of attractions and amenities.

Downtown’s 2nd Street District is an exciting stretch of shopping, dining, and entertainment venues. Retail standouts include upscale home furnishings store Blu Dot, custom and designer jewelry shop Eliza Page, children’s emporium Toy Joy, menswear specialists Bonobos and League of Rebels, and womenswear boutiques Francesca’s, Hemline, and Luxe Apothetique. 2nd Street District’s diverse dining options include cutting-edge Japanese cuisine at Bar Chi Sushi, delicious Mexican fare at La Condesa, sophisticated farm-to-table dishes at Trace, and nutrition-focused eats and smoothies at The Well. III Forks is a refined steakhouse on 2nd Street pairing the finest quality steaks and seafood with an extensive global wine list. Cru Food & Wine Bar offers more than 300 international wine labels alongside charcuterie platters, cheese boards, sophisticated entrees, and scrumptious brunch specials. Lamberts combines gourmet Texas BBQ with live music performances. 

 

With a diverse lineup of over 100 concerts every year, ACL Live at the Moody Theater is one of the best places in Austin to see live music. The adjacent smaller venue of 3Ten ACL Live hosts intimate performances from an eclectic mix of local and touring acts. 2nd Street entertainment options also include independent, documentary, and foreign film screenings at Violet Crown Cinema.

The iconic Texas State Capitol has been home to the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and Governor since 1885. Built in a beautiful Italian Renaissance Revival style, the Capitol was the seventh-largest building in the world when it was first constructed, and it remains a stunning architectural landmark today. Guided tours of the Capitol are available every day of the week. The surrounding 22-acre grounds feature beautiful landscaping, open lawns, and 17 historically significant monuments. Other Downtown Austin cultural attractions include the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and the offbeat Museum of the Weird. 

 

Located just east of the Capitol, Waterloo Park recently underwent a massive eight-year renovation project, which was completed in 2021. Spanning 11 acres, this outstanding new greenspace features more than 90,000 plants from 170 different species. The centerpiece of Waterloo Park is the 5,000 capacity Moody Amphitheater. Together with the rolling Great Lawn, Waterloo Park is poised to become one of Austin’s top destinations for outdoor concerts, festivals, and events. 

 

Along the Colorado River waterfront at Downtown’s southern edge, Shoal Beach at Town Lake Metropolitan Park features scenic walking trails and kayak launches for water-based recreation. Straddling the Colorado River, the ornate Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the largest bats colony in North America. At dusk between April and October, large crowds gather on the bridge to see as many as 1.5 million bats take to the skies.

Downtown Austin is served by the Austin Independent School District.