The 17 Best Things to Do in Austin

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star

A possum framed in cherry blossoms marks the door to this Japanese pop-culture shop tucked under City Hall in the Toy Joy family of stores. Shelves run deep with anime figures, VTuber statuettes, blind boxes, Smiskis, and gachapon machines for anyone who knows exactly what those words mean and is already reaching for their wallet.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best New Store for Your Inner Otaku · Best of Austin

A boardwalk over Waller Creek, three new bridges, and 13 acres of bike and pedestrian paths threading from Fourth Street down to Lady Bird Lake: The Confluence is the second phase of a long-running project to stitch a green corridor through downtown Austin. It replaced a stretch of concrete with actual breathing room, which in this city counts as a civic event. Bring a bike or just walk it; either way, Lady Bird Lake is the payoff.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best New Patch of Green Downtown · Best of Austin

A "birds of a feather read together" mural greets you at this queer-, woman-, and veteran-owned indie bookshop in Brentwood, where the vibe is cheerful and the selection is deliberate. Regular programming runs from local author readings to Banned Book Drag Queen Story Time, which tells you pretty much everything about where this shop stands. Families with kids who should be in rooms where books are celebrated, not side-eyed, tend to find their people here.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Flock of Books · Best of Austin

A nursery built around the fact that some plants eat things. Carnivero grows carnivorous and tropical rarities in custom greenhouses west of Austin, with a conservation mission focused on species that are quietly disappearing in the wild. Pitcher plants, flytraps, and stranger things fill the space, priced from beginner-friendly to serious-collector auction territory. Their Instagram is worth a scroll before you visit, so you know what you're getting yourself into.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Carnivorous Plant Shop · Best of Austin

A former church that never quite stopped being one, Cherrywood Center now holds Sunday services and indie rock shows in the same reverberant sanctuary. The vibe is deeply DIY, the acoustics are a happy accident, and the crowd skews young enough to have no memory of what the building used to be. Austin's The Austin Chronicle named it Best Church-Turned-DIY Stage.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Church-Turned-DIY Stage · Best of Austin

A bookshop and cafe tucked into Hyde Park's old post office building, First Light keeps a well-curated shelf of fiction and a staff that actually reads the stock. The kids' section pulls in neighborhood families, while the sidewalk tables out front turn into a slow-afternoon situation: cortado, a novel, neighbors you didn't mean to talk to for forty minutes. Readings with local and touring authors fill the calendar regularly.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Most Bookish Beating Heart of a Neighborhood · Best of Austin

Every item in this Midtown thrift shop costs $3, no exceptions, no asterisks. The founder started Heartening after watching quality clothes disappear into dumpsters, and the mission has stayed blunt: get clothing back into the community as cheaply as possible. A free outdoor clothing stand extends the idea for anyone who needs it. You can leave with an armload for less than you'd spend on lunch, which is either depressing commentary on lunch prices or a very good Tuesday.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Trash-to-Treasure Stop · Best of Austin

Rows of abandoned trailers and sprawling walls serve as the canvas at this open-air graffiti park near the airport, where spray paint is both the medium and the curriculum. Weekly demos and hands-on classes make it less spectator sport than working studio, and a gift shop stocks stencils and cans for anyone ready to stop watching. The cafe handles the lattes while the walls handle everything else.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Place to Take Budding Artists · Best of Austin

The doorman at this South Congress honky-tonk doubles as librarian, keeping a bartop lending shelf stocked with Stephen King, political memoirs, and science fiction, each copy embossed with his own face. Rod Gator, self-described rock-and-roll Mr. Rogers, curates the whole thing between metal gigs and solo sets. It is a deeply specific cultural artifact, and Sagebrush would not have it any other way.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Memorial Library for Someone Still Alive · Best of Austin

A newsstand painted in bold royal blue on West Fifth, TOMO Mags stocks curated print titles spanning style, design, sport, and cultural niche-ery that most algorithm-driven feeds would never surface. The founder road-tested the concept at markets and pop-ups before landing a brick-and-mortar, so the selection already has a point of view. For anyone who still believes a magazine is an argument worth having on paper.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Newsstand Keeping Independent Presses Printing · Best of Austin

Betty Boop memorabilia, kitty cat pillows, and lipstick lamps make up the decor at this South First vintage shop, which is itself half the shopping experience. Very Cherry Vintage specializes in the pink-and-red end of retro femininity, the kind of stuff that used to take serious thrifting to track down. Owner Ashley curated a room that looks like a mood board came to life, in the best possible way for anyone who prefers their secondhand finds with a little theatrics.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Most Cherry Spot for Secondhand Finds · Best of Austin

A 13-mile trail running through South Austin where Barton Creek's dry limestone bed meets shaded canyon walls and enough forking paths to make you genuinely question your navigation skills. The Hill Country Conservancy built it out to connect near Barton Springs, so you can walk from the city into something that feels nothing like it. Bring water, because the Texas sun is not a metaphor, and a downloaded map, because the trail markers are optimistic at best.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Place to Get Lost in the Woods · Best of Austin

The Wishbone Bridge finally closes the loop on the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail, replacing a white-knuckle sidewalk wedged between traffic and a long drop into the Colorado River with a proper pedestrian bridge over the lake. Cyclists and evening walkers now get an unobstructed sunset view where the old Longhorn Dam crossing used to test their nerves. The Austin Chronicle named it the best spot for a sunset stroll in 2026, and the case is hard to argue.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Spot for a Sunset Stroll · Best of Austin

Holographic dinosaurs roam the floor at Zoocade, a family entertainment venue that bills itself as the nation's first holographic zoo. The tech, from Axiom Holographics, puts you among T. rexes, ocean depths, and African savanna wildlife without anyone getting eaten, which the movie franchise never quite managed. Classic arcade games fill out the day when the dinos get old, which, judging by the kids, takes a while.

1. The Austin Chronicle 2026 · Best Next-Best-Thing to Jurassic Park · Best of Austin