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Top 25 Things To Do in Austin, Texas

This list features the top 25 things to do in Austin Texas featuring Austin sightseeing, attractions, tours, museums, and more that locals love just as much as visitors!

Ivan Collins Last updated on Mar 18, 2024 by

1. Blow Your Mind at Wonderspaces

Wonderspaces Austin image

Arriving in Austin during covid, Wonderspaces offers 28,000 square feet of art installations to dazzle every corner of your mind, like Hoshi By NONOTAK Studio (pictured above.) An exquisite fun house of varied installations of light, mirror, technology, and pure imagination, Wonderspaces features a sensually diverse experience that everyone will love. Tickets sell out, so check online to find a day and time to go spend a few hours blowing your mind with this indoor activity that features plenty of space for socially distanced fun alone or with your crew.

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2. Ride in Style with a Haunted Hearse Tour

Austin Ghost Tours

Locals and visitors alike rave about the dark, spooky style of Haunted ATX hearse limo and van tours. One of the more unique experiences in Austin that is seriously keeping Austin weird, this tour lets you pack your friends in a hearse that's been converted into a limo or a passenger van wrapped in spooky art to visit historic locations and hear the tales of ghosts that haunt these landmarks. Tours start at $49 per person, but lasts 3 hours so you get a lot of entertainment bang for your buck. The tour itself is a blend of scary stories, Austin history, and a deep dive into some intriguing tales behind some of Austin's most iconic buildings.

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3. Check out the World Famous Congress Bridge Bats

View the Congress Bridge Bats is Austin's most popular tourist attraction for a reason. It's simply a marvel. Watch as 1.5 million bats pepper the sky in their nightly departure from Congress Bridge in their relentless and appreciated pursuit to rid us of mosquitoes. There are a lot of ways to view the bats. Use the button below to learn about 4 fun ways to check them out.

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4. Take a Splash with Austin Duck Adventures

Austin Duck Adventures

One of the first tours to show visitors around town and the only land and water tour available, Austin Duck Adventures is one of the most popular tours in town. The tour starts at the Austin Visitor Center at the corner of 4th and Red River in downtown Austin. It drives along 6th street, up Congress where you get great views of the Texas Capitol and then on to Lake Austin where you drive straight into the water and float around before heading back. Tours run 7 days a week.

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5. Break Out of Prison + More at The Escape Game

The Escape Game in Downtown Austin, Texas

Located downtown next to the Austin Visitor Center, this is the #1 escape room in Austin. You and your friends will work together to find clues and overcome challenges to ultimately complete a mission and ESCAPE! The Escape Game has 5 different adventures to choose from including The Heist, Gold Rush, Playground, Classified, and our favorite - Prison Break.

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6. Pet Your Next Kitty at Purrfecto Cat Lounge

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Do you believe in furry tails? Indulge your kitty fix or adopt your new family member with a visit to the newest, coolest, chic lounge in Austin...Purrfecto. This is the only cat lounge in Austin and a one of a kind activity that will warm your heart.

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7. Snap Some Selfies at the Texas State Capitol

Viewing the Texas State Capitol

Austin and Texas are at odds when it comes to politics. Exploring the Texas State Capitol is a unique Austin experience and may help you understand the complexities of the local political scene. Who knows, you might get lucky and bump into Alex Jones protesting against masks, science, or some idea of civic responsibility. While a lot of people will stroll the grounds and take some selfies, we recommend a tour with Texas Capitol City Tours that lasts about an hour and costs $20 a person

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8. Work out Your Frustrations in a Rage Room

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One of the most exotic Austin things to do, Unchartered Adventures features a variety of high octane activities. Originally they featured a Rage Room full of breakables, suited up guests in protective clothing and let them go wild with a baseball bat. Since releasing the rage room they've added more activities with Smash Car, Escape Rooms, Splatter Paint, and something called Zombie Airsoft. If you're looking to log some off the charts memories, definitely check out the scene at Unchartered Adventures.

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9. Take a Wild Ride at Slick Dick's

View Slick Dick's Wild Ride

Gather the girls and head to Slick Dick’s for some Texas sized fun at one of the only arcades of its kind. Take a wild ride with your ride-or-dies on their mischievous mechanical member, Marvin. Smash the patriarchy with the Whack-A-D*ck machine or try your luck at grabbing a plushy package from Jean Claw Van Dayum! Slicks is the picture perfect playhouse for your upcoming bachelorettes, birthdays, and bangers of any kind.

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10. Dine at the Best Austin Restaurants

View the Best Restaurants in Austin Guide

Everybody has a friend that claims their city has the most restaurants per capita. You hear that from Austin locals all the time. While it may not offer the most restaurants per capita, it's definitely a hot market for culinary talent looking to escape the high prices of running a boutique restaurant along the nation's coasts. Austin City Guide recently released our Best Austin Restaurants Guide that is organized like this things to do list. We figured we'd give it a quick plug here since everybody loves to eat!

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11. Take Down the Cartel in Paniq Room

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Fed up you can't help stop the drug war? Every time you shut down a lab, another pops right up. Do your part with Paniq Room's Cartel Crackdown. They also feature rooms called Isane Asylum, Wizard Trials, and Pirates of Tortuga if you're not up for helping with the War on Drugs.

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12. Immerse Yourself into a Virtual Reality at Zero Latency

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Have you ever wanted to jump into a video game and experience what it's like with your own eyes? Look no further than Zero Latency VR. Here, you can fully immerse your senses into a whole new story and free roam VR world. Save yourself from zombies, defend your team on the Islands of Far Cry, enter the sci-fi singularity cyber world, and many more adventures to discover! Amp up your adrenaline and become the hero you’ve been training to be.

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13. Taste and Tour Texas Hill Country Distilleries

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Get to know Austin's Hill Country with a distillery tour in Dripping Springs. You and your crew can take a private ride from your location in Austin to three celebrated distilleries: Dripping Springs Distilling, Treaty Oaks Distillery, and the Desert Door Distillery. Maybe take some notes on how to make your own hooch in case prohibition circles back to the new America. Or just enjoy drinks at each location and soak in the views. The guys at Austin Tour Company make it fun, safe, and legal to let go a little. It's a great idea for birthdays, bachelor/bachelorette parties, or just a group get away.

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14. Float the River with Texas State Tubes

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Back before tourism hit the Austin market and visitors had endless options, floating the Guadalupe and San Marcos rivers provided locals with a relaxing way to spend the day chilling in the water. As the city grew so did the attraction and depending on when and where you go the parking and lines can be a mess. Joining a bus load of other tubers on a tour from Texas State Tubes makes it super EASY and a little SAFER with transport from Austin to the rivers down South and back.

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15. Fire a Fully Automatic Uzi at The Range at Austin

What better way to bond with friends and family than showcasing your Uzi skills? The Range features a state of the art facility and immersive experience that begins the moment you step inside. Pick from shooting packages featuring, pistols, revolvers, shotguns, modern rifles, and/or automatic firearms! Packages start at $49. We suggest you go big and get the AR15 + Uzi Two-Gun package for $199. Your party's Safety Officer will run you through the protocol and demonstrate proper usage of your gun(s). The Range Safety Officer is there to assist your party from start to finish and make sure you're prepared for the next invasion.

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16. Try Your Arm and Challenge Your Tribe at Axe Escape

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Whether you are an axe amateur or a ninja with the knives, Axe Escape is the perfect experience for you and your squad. Become the hero you’ve always wanted to be and learn to throw axes, hachets, Batarangs, and a host of other sharp objects. With a full bar and plenty of space, this is the prime spot for your next party. Put your friends to the test and book an Axe Escape.

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17. Crush Devil's Cove with Lone Star Party Boats

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Often catering to Austin's elite, the boat scene at Devil's Cove has earned its nickname with boats tying together creating a dance floor that rival's Austin's best night clubs. The guys at Lone Star Party Boats make it easy to get your groove on with single and double decker boats to rent. All boats have captains, large floating pads, plenty of pool noodles, and big coolers. If you want to seize the day in Austin, there's no better experience than Lake Travis and Devil's Cove!

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18. I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Boozy Scoop Ice Cream!

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That’s right folks! Now there is an adult ice cream shop to satisfy multiple cravings. Head to Boozy Scoop Ice Cream to savor some extra special flavors and toppings. Every flavor is loaded with great ingredients and infused with your favorite liquors. If you aren’t drinking or under age no fear, they have tons of non alcoholic flavors as well. We recommend their S’mores with marshmallow cream, chocolate chips, graham cracker and Ugly Dog S'mores Whiskey, Mama's Banana Puddin' with banana pudding mix, Nilla wafers and Howler Head Banana Whiskey, or Tiger Stripes with peanut butter, chocolate, Reese's cups, and Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey. Whatever you choose, you'll love the Boozy Scoops.

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19. Power Your Own Pub Crawl with Pedal Pub Austin

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Pedal power is all the rage in the new green America! Help do your part to save the environment by saddling up with Pedal Pub and hitting the town. If you're worried about stamina, these rides come with electric pedal assist as a backup for your quads. Your tour can include stops at bars, murals, and food trucks in the downtown area. Private tours are a clear favorite of bachelor/bachelorette parties, birthday celebrations and corporate team building, but public tours are also offered and are a great way to meet new people for locals and visitors alike.

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20. Escape a Submarine in a Literary-Themed Escape Room

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Like Escape Games? We love them. The guys at Novel Escape build them based on classic novels. Their main game is built around 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and requires escaping a submarine before you run out of air. Talk about pressure! Novel Escape features 100% private games just for you and your mates.

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21. Zip Over Land and Lake with Lake Travis Zip Lines

Climb up above the tree lines and then zip across the forest and water like a modern Tarzan with (hopefully) more than a loin cloth. Lake Travis Zip lines offers a chance to suspend your pedestrian life with something more airborne as you zip through, across, and over some of Austin's best scenery. Zip lines offers one of the most highlighted photographic opportunities available to declare to your social media pals that you're bravery is not grounded to bikes and scooters.

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22. Get the Gang Back Together with YourBikerGang.com

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Ready to join a biker gang? This doesn't quite qualify as an automatic entry into the Sons of Anarchy gang but it's as close as you’re likely to get and a lot more fun! YourBikerGang.com offers ridiculously fun guided adventures on electric powered bikes. It's one of our favorite ways to see Austin! They have a variety of different experiences to choose from and tours depart every day of the week.

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23. Hold your Paddle High with Live Love Paddle

We absolutely love Live Love Paddle's kayak bat watching tours during bat season. They also rent kayaks, paddleboards, and canoes for those looking to get a little exercise in with their sightseeing. The views of downtown Austin from Lady Bird Lake are amazing, especially as the sun sets.

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24. Explore Austin's Trails with Mike's Bikes Tours and Rentals

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We love biking in Austin and nobody knows the trails and sites better than Mike. His crew offers a variety of tours to choose from including a couple on Austin's premiere mountain bike trails and a few that explore the city itself. You might think summer is the only time for a bike tour in Austin, but due to our warm weather these tours run all year round

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25. Rock a Night Out at the Best Bars in Austin

View Our Best Bars in Austin Guide

Maybe you're into breweries and outdoor seating. Perhaps it a hot dance floor with a sweet disco ball. In the past, Austin's nightlife was isolated to historic sixth street. Now there's districts all over town. Check out our nightlife guide for hot spots to get your groove on or chilax with your dogs and some brews.

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