Austin · Weekend itinerary
A Weekend in Austin for Grown-Ups
Two days in Austin works well if you stay south of the river: South Congress is walkable, full of music and a short ride from everything else.
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Saturday: South Congress
Shop, eat and hear two bands without leaving the street.
Lunch
Güero's Taco Bar
1412 S Congress Ave
Tacos and a margarita under the oaks.
Tex-Mex and margaritas in an old feed store, with free live music under the trees in the Oak Garden from Wednesday to Sunday.
Sunset
Congress Avenue Bridge bats
Congress Ave bridge over Lady Bird Lake
Walk to the bridge (in season).
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.
Evening
C-Boy's Heart & Soul
2008 S Congress Ave
Soul and blues; then the Jade Room upstairs.
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.
Late
The Continental Club (and the Gallery upstairs)
1315 S Congress Ave
Roots and rockabilly in the main room.
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.
Sunday: Swim, jazz brunch and a piano bar
A slow Sunday with live music at both ends.
Morning
Barton Springs Pool
Zilker Park, 2201 Barton Springs Rd
A bracing swim.
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.
Brunch
Geraldine's at Hotel Van Zandt
Hotel Van Zandt, Rainey St (4th floor)
Sunday jazz brunch above Rainey Street.
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.
Evening
The Saxon Pub
1320 S Lamar Blvd
Songwriters in a proper listening room.
A wood-panelled 150-capacity songwriters' room since 1990, with 22,000-plus shows behind it. People come to listen.
Here Wednesday to Saturday? Take the two-step lesson at the Broken Spoke (8 to 9 p.m.), or at Donn's Depot on a Wednesday. For more nights out, see Austin live music for grown-ups.
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.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Line-ups, covers and hours change, so check the calendars before you go.
Questions people ask
What should you do on a weekend in Austin?
Spend an evening on South Congress (Güero's, C-Boy's, the Continental Club), swim at Barton Springs, watch the bats at sunset in season, hear jazz at the Elephant Room and eat barbecue.
Where should you stay for a weekend in Austin?
South Congress for music and restaurants within walking distance, or downtown near Congress Avenue for the jazz and blues clubs.