Welcome to Austin!

Please make yourself comfortable and enjoy your stay here in the
Capitol of Texas! Help yourself to any food/drink in the house and let
me know if you have any questions or concerns!
Cheers, Kari
414-322-5115


Gettin' Around
Bikes are the way to go in Austin and there is no shortage of places to rent them
from - I recommend Windmill and Spokefly, but we also have a bike-share
program called B-Cycle with stations all over town, including a few blocks from
here at Elizabeth and South Congress.

We also have car-sharing for $0.41/minute (plus tax); its called Car2Go and costs
$35 to sign up and become a lifetime member, and you can use it in any city they
have it (Denver, San Diego, Portland, DC, all over Europe).

Our bus system is also pretty reliable and cheap! Cost is $1/trip or $2/24 hours
(the Airport Flyer and the Rapid are a little more expensive at $1.50/$3, and the
MetroRail is $2.75/$5.50). The house is close to many routes; check out the map!
CapMetro also offers nighttime service from downtown until 3:10am (youd hop
on the 486 Nightowl to South Congress)

If you want instant gratification/transportation, taxis and rideshares are for you.
Yellow Taxi is notoriously awful here, but we do have Lyft and Uber now. If you
dont already have these apps, you can use the promo codes listed on the last
page to get your first ride free! For regular taxi service, I recommend Austin Cab
Company at 512-478-2222


The best way to get around the bar districts downtown on the weekends is to hail
a pedicab. Shameless self-promotion here; this is my weekend gig There are
hundreds of pedicabs downtown who can give you an experience no taxi cab can;
rates are negotiable and most riders work solely for tips ($5-10/person is a pretty
solid fare, but keep in mind hills, distance, and how awesome your operator is)


Noms
Everything in Austin is delicious, and you still wouldn't be able to try it all even if
you lived here for 3 years (trust me). Of course, you'll have to try some breakfast
tacos, BBQ, regular tacos, and queso.

Breakfast tacos: I recommend Tamale House East or El Primo (cash
only). However, the Tex-Mex BBQ trailer behind Star Bar - Valentina's - recently
started making breakfast tacos for the Sunday morning football crowd and they
are ah-ma-zing. I can't guarantee they'll have them while youre here, but
definitely worth a shot!

BBQ: Valentina's is also a great place for BBQ (and tacos, and BBQ tacos). You'll
also hear evvveryone talking about Franklin BBQ; TBH, it does live up to the hype,
and is totally worth the wait - expect to get in line by 8-9am and eat by 12pm. No
joke; there's a guy who rents out chairs and umbrellas, and you can sit and drink
(maybe bring a light breakfast), play games, and make friends with your line
neighbors (who are undoubtedly visiting as well, with plenty of stories to
share). Be aware they are closed Mondays. Another great BBQ place that just
opened is Terry Black's BBQ, on Barton Springs Road. Although I can't personally
vouch for them, I've heard great things about La Barbecue and Micklethwait Craft
Meats.

Tacos: You can't really go wrong, but I definitely recommend Torchy's. They also
have the. best. queso.

Breakfast/brunch: I advise checking out the recently-opened Sawyer & Co. They
open every day at 8am, and it is sooooo good (no really, Ive been there twice this
week already!). Banger's has an awesome Sunday brunch too, with live music
from the Urban Achievers Brass Band from 12-3pm.

Fancy-pants dinner: Get ready to spend some $$$ at Uchi, Uchiko, Sway, La
Condesa, Swift's Attic, and Justine's.

24 Hour Munchies: Magnolia Caf has a location just around the corner, and
boast being open 24/8 look for the Sorry, were Open sign. For killer
pancakes, Kerby Lane is the late-night go-to. For the best 4am meatloaf or hash
skillets, head over to 24diner, just west of Downtown.


Dranks
Fancy cocktails: Weather Up, Whisler's, East Side Show Room, Peche, Firehouse
Hostel, and Midnight Cowboy (which you need to make reservations to go to) are
all mixologist meccas.

Craft beer: Check out Banger's, Craft Pride, Star Bar, The Ginger Man, and Easy
Tiger for specialty suds.

Breweries/brewpubs: The ABGB serves up some awesome pizza and great live
bands alongside their fantastic line-up of brews. Hops & Grain is a little more on
the meh side but conducts tours Weds-Saturday. Austin Beerworks is a bit far
from Downtown, but they have a beer with edible sparkles in it!!

Bar scenes: Dirty 6
th
(What you may know as just Sixth Street) is the most
renowned, and messy, area of Downtown. Dirty has dozens of bars, clubs, and
restaurants per block. It's busy enough during the weekend evenings that the
street is closed to traffic and pedestrians are free to wander from bar to bar down
the middle of the road, as God intended.

West 6
th
is cleaner than Dirty. The drinks are more expensive and the kids dress
up more.

East 6
th
is the hipster portion of 6
th
Street, beginning on the East side of I-35 and
stretching towards Pleasant Valley.

Warehouse District is home to cocktails, coffee and smokes, and our Rainbow
Row.

2nd Street is the posh area of downtown. You can find winebars, cocktails, and an
upscale atmosphere here.

5th Street has the mm-tsah, mm-tsah dance clubs.

Rainey Street cluster of bars in a small area near I35 & Town Lake (aka Ladybird
Lake).

Red River, just off Dirty 6th, is home to music venues, dive bars, and tattoo
parlors.


FUN!
If youre in town during a TXRD bout, GO. Banked track roller derby was born
here in Austin, and the ladies of TXRD keep the spirit alive (although bruised and
embattled)

Texas loves BYOB, so you can go BYOB mini-golfing at Peter Pan, get the best
pedicure of your life while putting down a bottle of champagne at Great Nails, or
lounge by Barton Springs (68 degrees all year round!).

Texans are not shy about dancing either; you can learn to two-step any night of
the week at Broken Spoke, The Continental Club, or The White Horse! The second
Sunday of every month is also Second Sunday Sock Hop at White Horse; an all-
vinyl Motown, do-wop, soul, and rock 'n roll dance party. For more boogie-down
music, keep an eye out to see if The Matchmaker Band or The Nightowls are
playing anywhere; they're both fantastic (they usually play together every
Monday night at The Highball for Motown Mondays).

Speaking of The Highball, karaoke is abounds in Austin; The Highball has private
themed rooms that you can rent by the hour. The best karaoke in town is just
down the street at Egos; you might walk right past this dive, as its located in the
basement of an office building!

Austin is one of the fittest cities in America, largely due to our abundance of
outdoor activities! Kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals are all along the
lake. We have plenty of great jogging trails as well; go for a run around the Town
Lake Trail, or find a Greenbelt entrance for more naturally beautiful trails.

Did you know the Congress Avenue Bridge is home to 1.5 million Mexican Free-
tail bats? Well, now you do! The bats emerge every night around dusk to feed;
its quite the sight!!
Helpful Links

Getting Around
Bikes:
http://windmillbicycles.tumblr.com/rentals
https://www.spokefly.com/
https://austin.bcycle.com/
Car sharing:
https://www.car2go.com/en/austin/
Buses:
https://www.capmetro.org/
https://www.capmetro.org/latenight/
Taxis/ridesharing:
https://www.lyft.com/cities/austin Promo Code: kari455
https://www.uber.com/cities/austin Promo Code: karif
http://www.austincab.com/
http://www.yellowcabaustin.com/
Pedicabs:
https://www.facebook.com/VVtaxi (thats me!)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ragtime-Pedicab/253490054694600

http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/wiki/visitingaustin
http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/wiki/bestofaustin