Austin, Texas is definitely a city that everyone should visit at least once in their lives! We fell in love with the hipster vibe, eclectic art walls, and charming Southern culture. We were in Austin for 4 nights and 3 days and felt it was the perfect amount to acquaint ourselves with this city. I’ve created a travel guide on places to stay, must eats, and areas to hang out in!
Places to Stay:
Heywood Hotel: The Heywood Hotel was a great place to stay while visiting Austin. It’s very close to downtown and located in the fun East Austin neighborhood, close to so many top restaurants, artsy cafes and more. We really fell in love with this side of town! The hotel has just 7 rooms, which gives a more intimate experience. The hosts were so friendly and were constantly giving us helpful recommendations during our time here. They even have a compilation of menus of their favorite restaurants, which I think is a nice added touch! There is so much to see and do! This place was truly the perfect spot for a couple’s get away! If you want to have a truly authentic Austin hotel experience, then click here to book.
Also, we discovered that you can actually rent out the entire hotel! Perfect for a “girlfriends’ getaway in Austin” or a “fancy bachelorette party!” They have a dedicated concierge who can create an itinerary for you, with zero effort on your part! They work with Austin locals and take a lot of time figuring out the best experience based on your needs. As I mentioned above, the hosts gave us amazing recommendations, so I can only imagine how awesome this service must be.
Additionally, expect fresh coffee and tea daily. Our room was spacious and cozy and included a mini bar and a fridge. I also loved the bath amenities. Their hand wash smelled so good! All in all, we had a genuinely amazing experience and can’t wait to be back!
Plantation House Boutique: I think this was honestly the best bed and breakfast experience Akshay and I have ever had. Luey and Norris really knew how to make us feel right at home. Every morning we would wake up to a delicious, homemade breakfast and have a nice chat with Luey and Norris. It was so inspiring listening to their story and how they made the joint decision to transition their wedding planning business into a boutique inn. The house is so large and spacious with 5 beautiful rooms of their own unique personality. We had the opportunity to stay in the Owners’ Suite and it’s literally my dream room–ladies, you would fall in love with the closet and the bathroom too! While their house is about a 30 minute / $30 Uber ride to downtown, it’s very easy to keep busy during the day in either downtown Austin or a neighboring town. If you want to feel refreshed and relaxed on your trip, then I strongly recommend booking a room here. You will not be disappointed! (Akshay’s note: totally agree. This is one of my favorite places I’ve stayed at in any city. Luey and Norris are awesome human beings. Stay here.) Click here to book.
Places to Eat:
Hillside Farmacy: If you’re into aesthetically pleasing places, then this is a must visit. I loved how they turned this old pharmacy from the 1950’s into something beautiful and retro. You can come here for drinks and snacks and enjoy it either on their lush patio, or inside with their vintage decor. We ordered a couple of cocktails along with their malt vinegar honey fries and crab cakes. The honey and vinegar were a surprisingly good combination!
Guero’s Tacos: This place gets super busy on the weekends, especially when the weather is nice. The restaurant has a ton of space including an outdoor area to hang out in. I love that they had a variety of tacos!
Vixen’s Wedding: We came across this Portuguese/ Indian fusion restaurant randomly, and I have to say it was a very interesting and unique concept. The restaurant is very modern with bohemian and Indian accents. We came around dinner time and it was pretty crowded, but luckily no reservation was necessary. We ordered the shrimp samosa with green tomato cashew chutney, idli pork buns with tamarind and cilantro chutney, and masoor dal with methi paratha. I loved the dal (mainly because it was so buttery) and Akshay enjoyed the idli pork buns as well as the methi paratha. Everything was very tasty but we would suggest ordering some vegetables or protein dishes so you don’t carb overload like we did!
June’s All Day: This is another very eye-catching place. It was nice sipping on some rosé and reading a book. However, the only slight negative was the fact that the server dropped off our check before I had finished my glass of wine. We weren’t asked if we wanted another drink, so we felt very rushed (even though there was no crowd).
Veracruz: This was hands down our favorite taco place. It’s a little food truck that’s about a block away from the Heywood Hotel. We ordered the migas (eggs, cheese, and tortilla chips) breakfast taco, carne asada, and pastor tacos. I loved how fresh the tortillas tasted, and the meat was just so flavorful. They also have picnic tables right next to it, so you can sit and enjoy!
Juiceland: This is about a 10 minute walk from Veracruz food truck on East Chavez Street. It’s safe (despite what you may read) and there are a ton of colorful murals and buildings that you will encounter during your walk. Juiceland is a cute little shack with plenty of options for smoothies and healthy wraps/bowls. We ordered a couple of fresh smoothies made with almond milk and they were really delicious!
Lazarus Brewing Co: This is a brewery also located in East Austin. We ended up meeting one of Akshay’s old coworkers here and it was a great atmosphere to catch up as well as people watch. The beer was really tasty and we ordered some great tacos. I liked that this area had a lot of different coffee shops and food trucks surrounding it.
Coopers BBQ: Unfortunately, this was the only BBQ joint we were able to make it to. We were very pleased that this place served vinegar based sauces to douse our meat in. We enjoyed the pulled pork tremendously. We also came during a non-busy time and were able to comfortably sit at the bar and enjoy our meal. However, a few hours later, we walked past and saw a long line out the door!
Places to Hang out:
East Austin: As you can tell, we spent probably majority of our time here. This was hands down our favorite part of town. There’s a lot of artsy, interesting cafes and way less crowds than other parts of Austin. This is the area where Veracruz and other delicious Mexican food options are located. Also, Heywood Hotel was located here and pretty much walking distance from all the hot spots we enjoyed!
Congress Street: We came here both on a Sunday and a Monday with very different experiences. On Sunday, the weather was warm and the streets were so crowded you could barely move. On Monday, the weather had drastically changed–dropping to the 30’s, so not many people were out. Congress Street is more touristy and definitely a place to check out at least once on your trip. It’s filled with really interesting boutique shops and trendy coffee shops (like Jo’s and Mañana).
6th Street: We briefly walked through this area in the early evening and could already see the rowdy crowds starting to show up. Unfortunately, Akshay and I had been doing a lot of day drinking, so we were ready to head back to the Plantation House since we were pretty exhausted. If you still have the energy, this is definitely the area to hang out and party in! (Akshay’s note: yeah, if you’re single or 21. 6th Street isn’t what I’d call classy or chill in any way.)
Rainey Street: It’s a street filled with old bungalows renovated into hip bars and restaurants. It’s a great place to bar hop and day drink. We stopped at a couple of places, but our favorite was The Parlour Room. It’s a colorful place to hang out, play games, and drink a yummy cocktail.
All in all, we had a fantastic time hanging out in this cute little city. I had heard great things and Akshay was so excited to show me the town he had his bachelor party in! As you can tell, we spent a majority of our time eating and drinking. We did treat ourselves to a massage too, but the prices and experience were pretty comparable to what we have in Orange County, so I didn’t call it out in the guide. Apparently, the weather in November is normally pretty warm. However, on our last night, the temperature dropped down to the 30’s, which resulted in Akshay and I barely managing to make it outside for the remainder of our trip. Yes we’re spoiled with California weather, where fall doesn’t start till December. I recommend visiting Austin for three days and 4 nights, which is a perfect amount to get a flavor of the city!
