Austin · Austin at night
Things to Do in Austin at Night for Grown-Ups
Austin's evenings have a running order. Watch 1.5 million bats leave the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset, eat with a band, then pick a room: basement jazz, the home of the blues, a songwriters' pub or a honky-tonk with a two-step lesson. None of it requires Sixth Street. Here is how to plan a night.
- Sunset
- The Congress Avenue bats (mid-March to early November)
- With dinner
- Geraldine's or Lamberts
- Late
- Elephant Room, Continental Club, C-Boy's
- Bring
- Cash for covers and dance lessons
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Sunset: the bats
Around 1.5 million bats, the world's largest urban bat colony, stream out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge around sunset from roughly mid-March to early November. It's free: watch from the lawn on the south-east side, or with a drink and small plates from P6, the rooftop at The LINE. Fancy a swim first? Barton Springs Pool stays open until 10 p.m. (closed Thursdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for cleaning), and the spring water is around 68 to 70 degrees all year.
Congress Avenue Bridge bats
Congress Ave bridge over Lady Bird Lake
Around 1.5 million bats, the world's largest urban bat colony, stream out from under the bridge around sunset, roughly mid-March to early November. Free, and strangely magical.
Tip: Watch from the lawn on the south-east side of the bridge, or from a rooftop like P6.
P6 at The LINE
The LINE Austin, 111 E Cesar Chavez St
A sixth-floor rooftop over Lady Bird Lake with Mediterranean small plates and a front-row view of the Congress Avenue bridge, so you can watch the bats fly out at sunset in season.
Barton Springs Pool
Zilker Park, 2201 Barton Springs Rd
A spring-fed pool three acres long, around 68 to 70 degrees all year, in Zilker Park. Open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.; $9 for non-resident adults.
Tip: Closed Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for cleaning.
Dinner with a band
Geraldine's at Hotel Van Zandt, above Rainey Street, pairs modern Mexican cooking with live flamenco, jazz, blues or soul from Thursday to Sunday. Lamberts serves barbecue downstairs in an 1873 store with a stage upstairs, a block from ACL Live. Want a late dinner instead? Justine's in East Austin serves its full French brasserie menu until midnight. Our where to eat with live music in Austin has more.
Geraldine's at Hotel Van Zandt
Hotel Van Zandt, Rainey St (4th floor)
A fourth-floor restaurant and stage above Rainey Street: modern Mexican cooking with Southern touches, and live flamenco, jazz, blues or soul from Thursday to Sunday, plus a Sunday jazz brunch.
Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
2nd St & Guadalupe St
Barbecue with a sit-down dining room in the 1873 J.P. Schneider Store, and a swanky upstairs bar with a stage for local bands. A block from the Moody Theater.
Justine's Brasserie
4710 E 5th St
A French brasserie in a 1937 East Austin bungalow: steak frites, escargot and onion soup, records playing, and the full menu until midnight. Austin's best late dinner.
Jazz, blues and songwriters
The Elephant Room is a basement jazz bar with live jazz seven nights a week and a small cover. Antone's has been Austin's home of the blues since 1975. On South Congress, the Continental Club has hosted roots music since 1955, with the 40-person Gallery upstairs, and C-Boy's next door runs R&B, soul and blues seven nights a week. For people who come to listen, The Saxon Pub is the songwriters' room. And for a big name, check the calendar at ACL Live.
Elephant Room
315 Congress Ave (basement)
An old-school basement jazz bar under the 19th-century Swift Building, with live jazz seven nights a week since 1991 and a small cover ($5 to $10).
Antone's Nightclub
305 E 5th St
Austin's home of the blues since 1975, where the Vaughan brothers came up. Touring blues legends, anniversary bills and Blue Monday jams.
The Continental Club (and the Gallery upstairs)
1315 S Congress Ave
South Congress's legendary roots-music club, open since 1955. Upstairs, the 40-person Gallery is a speakeasy-ish room for jazz, soul and songwriters, with regulars like James McMurtry.
C-Boy's Heart & Soul
2008 S Congress Ave
R&B, soul, blues and country seven nights a week, with a patio and vintage shuffleboard, and the Jade Room cocktail lounge upstairs. Covers and drinks are reasonable.
The Saxon Pub
1320 S Lamar Blvd
A wood-panelled 150-capacity songwriters' room since 1990, with 22,000-plus shows behind it. People come to listen.
ACL Live at The Moody Theater
310 W 2nd St (Willie Nelson Blvd)
The home of the Austin City Limits TV show and a 2,750-seat concert hall for big touring names. TV tapings are by free lottery, so for most visitors a regular concert is the way in.
Go dancing
The Broken Spoke has been a honky-tonk since 1964: two-step lessons run Wednesday to Saturday from 8 to 9 p.m. (cash only), then the band takes over. Donn's Depot, a piano bar and dance hall in an old rail depot, has beginner lessons on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and a crowd of every age; it's closed Sundays.
Broken Spoke
3201 S Lamar Blvd
A honky-tonk dance hall and restaurant open since 1964. Two-step lessons run Wednesday to Saturday, 8 to 9 p.m., then the band takes over. All ages, all abilities.
Tip: Lessons are cash only; arrive half an hour early to park.
Donn's Depot
1600 W 5th St
A piano bar and dance hall in an old Missouri-Pacific depot and rail cars (since 1972), with Christmas lights all year, free popcorn and a crowd of every age. Beginner two-step lessons on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Tip: Closed Sundays.
Our advice
- Keep each night in one area: downtown for the bats, the Elephant Room, Antone's and ACL Live; South Congress for the Continental Club and C-Boy's; South Lamar for the Broken Spoke and the Saxon Pub.
- Arrive at the Broken Spoke half an hour before the lesson to park.
- Our Austin live music guide covers every room in more detail.
- Check current hours, covers and band calendars before you go.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Line-ups, covers and hours change, so check the calendars before you go.
Questions people ask
What is there to do in Austin at night besides Sixth Street?
Watch the Congress Avenue bats at sunset, swim at Barton Springs (open until 10 p.m.), hear jazz at the Elephant Room or blues at Antone's, see roots music at the Continental Club, take a two-step lesson at the Broken Spoke, or eat late at Justine's.
When do the Austin bats fly?
Around sunset, from roughly mid-March to early November, from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Watch free from the lawn on the south-east side or from a rooftop such as P6.
Where can adults dance in Austin?
The Broken Spoke runs two-step lessons Wednesday to Saturday from 8 to 9 p.m. before the band plays; Donn's Depot has beginner lessons on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
What is a good night out in Austin for couples?
Watch the bats from P6, have dinner and live music at Geraldine's, then finish with a set at the Elephant Room or the Continental Club Gallery.