Even a traveler feeling apprehensive about visiting foreign soil will feel completely at ease in Austin. Surrounded by rolling hills, it is one of the most visited and most loved vacation sites.
The city offers various possibilities for visiting. Depending on what you want to choose there’s: Capital Metro is the city's public bus network with express and downtown routes; than there’s the Texas Steam Train Association that runs several tours aboard the Hill Country Flyer into and around Texas Hill Country. The train makes short half hour runs as well as a 30 mile circuit on weekends from March through December.
The charm of the city invites you to start off by enjoying the view The Colorado River has to offer It has been rerouted into a series of lakes. The one worth mentioning is 22 mile long Lake Austin, which lies in the western part of the city, a narrow stretch of crystal clear water that travels for 5 miles through the center of downtown.
Austin and the surrounding Texas Hill Country offer ideal settings for enjoyment of outdoor activities like hiking and bike trails, swimming, and golf. In addition there is ballooning, bird watching, canoeing, excellent bass fishing, rock climbing, sailing, scuba diving, spelunking, and tennis. If you’re a biker you’ll love Austin as it is one of the few cities in the state where cycling is a viable alternative to driving. There’s a free Yellow Bike Program, which repairs old bicycles, paints them yellow and makes them available free for public use. When you see a yellow bike you can pick it up, ride where you are going and leave it there for the next rider.
A great way to get the feel of the city is by visiting downtown, where the pink granite Texas State Capitol, built in 1888, is the most visible structure. Downtown Austin is a place easy to get around. The main street runs from the southern end of the city across the Colorado River and continues to the steps of the Texas State Capitol in the heart of downtown.
Whatever your preference, Austin entertainment will fill your vacation with fun! You have arrived in the "live music capital of the world"! Its music reputation became well known when the city hosted the annual South by Southwest conference, which, since then, draws bands and record company executives from around the world every March it’s the perfect time and place for local musicians to use Austin's scene as a springboard to national recognition.
If you’re in for classics, Austin offers its own professional symphony, ballet and opera companies; dozens of theaters combining old favorites with ground-breaking new drama; dance companies, vocal ensembles, and orchestras producing events all year round.
The great Austin restaurants will put the icing on your vacation cake. It boasts more restaurants than any other city in the United States. You can enjoy authentic fine cuisine from every part of the world, but the Texas style barbecue, slow cooked over a open pit wood fire, has its own international reputation.
Whether you’re seeking sun, fun, tranquility or fine cuisine, you’ll find just what you’re looking for in Austin.
