First time visit to Austin

First time visit to Austin, staying about 4 days. Need advice on places to stay, restaurants, entertainment and must sees.

First time visit to Austin

Howdy! Can you tell us a little more about your trip? When are you coming? What%26#39;s your budget? Travelling alone, with spouse/girlfriend/family etc.?

The safest bet on places to stay is central Austin because that%26#39;s where most of the attractions are. There%26#39;s hotels and food for all budgets, and things to do for all ages (just this weekend I checked out the Austin Children%26#39;s Museum -- lotsa lil%26#39;uns having a blast!) and some of the ';must see'; sights, including the Texas Capitol, the Bob Bullock Texas Museum, Barton Springs and Zilker Park, and Sixth Street and Congress.

In case you%26#39;re still planning what time to come, you may want to plan around March, which is a very busy time of year in Austin, and by now it%26#39;s going to be hard to get room reservations.

Gimme some ideas about your trip and I%26#39;ll give you some more specific ideas! Good luck.

First time visit to Austin

We are in the first stages of planning a trip to Austin/San Antonio for the second week in June. There will be 4-5 couples in their fabulous 50s. We all like CW music and a good cold beer. What area of town (Austin)would you recommend? What about attractions away from town as well? Thanks in advance.

Austin is short on CW venues, but the Broken Spoke is a good bet. You can also try Gruene Hall in Gruene, south of Austin near New Braunsfels. You can find specific music venues at www.auschron.com.

There are cold beers aplenty, though. I wouldn%26#39;t recommend Sixth Street, unless you%26#39;re into drunk college kids. The Warehouse District off of Fourth has a slightly older crowd--young professionals and has a less Bourbon Streetish atmosphere than Sixth.

You%26#39;re usually safe staying in central Austin, since that%26#39;s where most of the action is.

Have fun!

For music in Austin add:

The Continental Club http://www.continentalclub.com/

Emos http://www.emosaustin.com/

Cactus Café www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/cactus/

In and around SA

Casbeers is a soulful little (about 100 seats) spot with great enchiladas and burgers a short cab ride up Blanco Rd. Check them out at www.casbeers.com

A quick drive to Helotes about 20 miles north towards Bandera gets you to John T Floores Country Store http://www.liveatfloores.com an authentic Texas dance hall.

Luna is a nice listening room with a romantic ambiance. Music tends to be on the jazz side of things, but they book all kinds so check them out at http://www.lunalive.com/

Forgot to mention a good day trip for CW music and history: Bandera, west of San Antonio. They have the cowboy museum, after all, and a couple honky tonks that have live music on weekends.

Hello!

Look over the Austin Visior%26#39;s center web site and request an information packet. www.austintexas.org and plan to stop by the visitor%26#39;s center when you first arrive. They%26#39;re at 209 e. 6th street, acros the street from the Driskill hotel. 512-478-0098. They%26#39;ll have great maps, coupons and friendly staff to help you plan your days.

Staying in the downtown area is going to simplify getting around. You may pay a fraction more but it will definitely be worth it.

Taking the Overtours tour (90 minute tour that departs from the visitor%26#39;s center) is a great way to start off a visit. It will not only give you an entertaining overview of sights, history and geography of Austin, it will orient you on what you want to do later AND how to get there.

Be glad to make additional suggestions if you can let us know what YOU enjoy. Austin has lots to choose from in the way of hotels, restaurants, activities.

C%26amp; W joints in Austin include:

Broken SPoke- best place to circle the dance floor- especially if ALvin Crow and his Pleasant VAlley Boys are playing, or Jeff Hughes band-Chapparal- on Thursday nights.

EGO%26#39;s

Ginnys Little Longhorn

Carousel Lounge

Donn%26#39;s DEPOT - good crowd and nice dance floor

Jovitas on thursday nite for the Cornell Hurd circus and band ~:)

BEERland ( has some alternative fun c%26amp; w on some nights)

Saxon Pub

go to: statesman.com

find the XLENT- has the most accurate music listings - comes out every thursday. look closely at the bands playing where- if you%26#39;ve more questions- lemme know and i%26#39;ll try to help.

OOPS- left off the most important joint on the way to the hill country-

POODIES on highway 71-about 15 miles outta town, BEFORE the Perdernales RIver- if you hit the RIver , you%26#39;ve blown by it.

( Poodie is Willies manager- its the joint where they all gather up when coming and going on tour- and a regular Billy Joe Shaver gig)

good burgers and good company and good honest c%26amp;w bands

save some money while you%26#39;re in town w/ printable coupons for central austin http://www.sdhaustin.com