Convention in Austin, Texas

My husband has a convention in June in Austin. We usually stay a few extra days to see the ';sights';. Any suggestions on the ';don%26#39;t miss these'; sights of Austin. Also, we are trying to decide if we want to stay in town close to the convention or out away from town. How is the traffic? Any suggestions for a nice quiet area to stay? How far is Red Rock? Thanks so much for any suggestions.

Convention in Austin, Texas

Enchanted Rock? (I don%26#39;t think you mean Red Rock or Round ROck, a town just up I-35) It%26#39;s about 90 miles from Austin, well worth the visit- go early, it gets hot and crowded in June.

I would definitely stay donwtown. There is so much to do in the area and it is quite walkable.

A few suggestions include Barton Springs, Zilker Park, Umlauf Sculpture Garden, State Capitol, Blanton Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, LBJ Library, Ney Museum, Lady Bird Wildflower Center, Sixth Street, Bullock Museum, Waterloo Records, Whole Foods, Amy%26#39;s Ice Cream, trails along Lady Bird Lake (Town Lake).

Convention in Austin, Texas

Stay in town, downtown if that%26#39;s where the convention is going to be. It%26#39;s easier to get around, you can walk to most of the major attractions, and it will be easier to take advantage of the live music in the evenings.

If you mean Round Rock, instead of Red Rock, I would not recommend staying there. It%26#39;s a nice suburb of Austin, but not really convenient for visitors and there isn%26#39;t much to see or do up there. Traffic coming into downtown on a weekday can be pretty nasty.

Go to www.austintexas.org and order your free visitor%26#39;s guide and maps. The Austin Overtures 90 minute tour of downtown, UT, and the edge of the Hill Country is always a great way to get an overview of all the main sights, history, current events, and what you%26#39;d like to see more of.

Definitely, definitely stay downtown if you want to feel like you%26#39;re in Austin!

Welcome to Austin!

I disagree with some of the posters recommending you to ';stay downtown';. You should head to Lockhart, Elgin, or Taylor and try some really good BBQ. You should head up into the Hill Country and go over to Fredricksburg for a few hours and do some antique shopping and see the nice hill country views and soak up the German atmosphere there. Maybe head down to Greune hall or Broken Spoke in Austin and hear some good country western music. Maybe go have a margarita at Matt%26#39;s El Rancho or do some shopping on South Congress. Lots to do besides ';staying downtown';.

Those are great suggestions. I think by ';staying downtown'; people were suggesting where the hotel they stay in should be. While it is very nice to see and do things in the areas you mentioned, the commute into the convention would not be fun.

I travel quite often with my wife on her company%26#39;s dime. We tend to stay very close to or at the convention site. I plan ';downtown'; things for those days. When we extend (which we almost always do) I search for other areas and use Priceline or Hotwire to get nearby lodging.

I like Octoboy%26#39;s idea.

Here%26#39;s a tour my wife and I never tire; www.texaswinetrail.com

Some of the best wines in Texas. They rank quite well with other lesser known wine producing regions as well such as Australia and Chile.

Check out Marble Falls. Also highway 16 south of Kerrville leads to one of the loviest drives in Texas; ';the twisted sisters'; FM 337, FM 336, and FM 335. An area centered around Leakey.

On the way back into Kerrville check out the Stonehenge of Texas around the Ingram area a bit of of Hwy 39.