Places in Austin to Add to Your Bucket List

What makes Austin, Texas so special? Is it the fact that it’s the state capital? Or is it that it’s the 11^th most popular city in America? That’s all well and good, but it wouldn’t amount to much if there wasn’t anything fun to do or see or taste.

Fortunately, Austin has plenty of all three. You don’t need to start scouting Austin houses for sale to enjoy the best the city has to offer, though. All you need is a handy-dandy list of some of the city’s coolest and most Can’t-miss attractions. A list kind of like… well… this:

The Moody Theater

Austin is famously known as “The Live Music Capital of the World,” and few performance venues in the city encapsulate why as well as the one-of-a-kind Moody Theater. Visitors know they’re in for something special the moment they see the life-sized Willie Nelson out front. Inside, the theater boasts a seating capacity of around 2,700. Some of the biggest musicians in history have taken the stage here, including Brian Wilson, Sting, and Pat Benatar, making the theater a popular spot for live concert broadcasts and recordings.

Franklin Barbecue

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Texas? If it’s not cowboy hats, it’s probably barbecue. Want to taste some of the very best food the Lone Star State has on offer? If so, you cannot pass up a chance to eat at Franklin Barbecue. For more than a decade, chef and proprietor Aaron Franklin have been serving up mouth-watering plates of pulled pork, ribs, and brisket, impressing everyone from Gordon Ramsay to former president Barack Obama. Find out for yourself why Bon Appetit Magazine named Franklin’s barbecue “the best in the world.”

The Broken Spoke

After you’ve eaten your fill of smoked meat and enjoyed a night of live music at one of the most famous venues in the world, you might think you’ve got what it takes to be a true blue Austinite. But ask yourself this: do you know how to cut a rug? The only way to know for sure is to visit the “last of the true Texas dance halls,” the Broken Spoke. For over 50 years, Austin locals have danced traditional two-step and western swing at this historic honky-tonk bar, making it not just a regional icon but also a living Texas time machine.

Congress Avenue Bridge

What’s so special about a bridge? Congress Avenue Bridge may lack the beauty of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and the size of Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys, but it has one thing its competitors don’t have: bats. Lots and lots of bats! In fact, the underside of Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the largest urban bat colony on Earth, with over 1.5 million of the winged critters emerging each night to hunt mosquitoes. There are so many that it can take up to 45 minutes to watch the entire scene take place. The memory, however, will last much longer.