Things to do in Austin outside NIWeek

[nina_nandi]

Hi, my name is Nina and I am an intern with National Instruments! Since I go to college in Austin, I’ve had the chance to fall in love with this wonderfully unique city. There are so many great things to do in Austin while you aren’t at NI week events, and I’m sure you’ll come to fall in love with Austin like I have during your time here. I’ve created this insider guide to favorite spots in Austin to help you discover the city during your stay:

Magnolia Café 

This quirky café has two locations and is open 24 hours a day! Whether you’re craving migas, pancakes, tacos, or a burger, this place has it.

Mount Bonnell

This spot looks over the hills of Austin and the Colorado River. It’s a great way to see the city from a different angle. I recommend going at sunset for the best views!

Amy’s Ice Cream

In the Texas heat, few things taste better than cold ice cream. Amy’s is an Austin staple, where the flavors change constantly and the employees can do tricks with ice cream. If you’re looking for a fun challenge, there is always a movie quote written inside the store, and if you can correctly guess what movie the quote is from, you get a free extra topping for your ice cream!

Texas State Capitol

If you enjoy history or architecture, this building is a sight to see. Visit the capitol building for the state, located just near downtown. There’s also a lawn all around the building, so a fun thing to do is to take a picnic and eat it on the lawn of the capitol.

South Congress

Home of the famous “I love you so much” graffiti, and home to many famous Austin restaurants such as Hopdoddy’s Burger Bar and Homeslice Pizza, this is vibrant street that really captures the essence of Austin.

What are you looking forward to doing in Austin? Do you have any favorite spots? Share them in this discussion!

[j_dodek]

Hi Nina,

i am a zealous mountain biker.

I have never been in US before, but the internet knows no borders.

It seems there are some great trails in the barton greek green belt.

If everything goes right, i am arrving on 30th Saturday evening.

That means i can spent the hole Sunday on bike.

It would be really cool if there are some locals showing me the austin trials.

Greetings from the lake of Constance, Germany 

Juergen

[altenbach]

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@j_dodek wrote:

I have never been in US before, but the internet knows no borders.

It seems there are some great trails in the barton greek green belt.

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Austin does not have mountains, they are more like hills. 😄

One thing to remember is that Austin is very hot in August (the average high is over 36 C) and there is also humidity, so make sure to avoid the hottest time of the day, bring sufficient water, try to stay in the shade, and dress accordingly.

Traditionally, some us us meet at the Gingerman on Sunday night for some ice cold liquids. Make sure to join us in the back patio.

[j_dodek]

I assumed that this would be a hot ride.

and if it is to hot i prefer the back patio! The photos are looking like at home our germans "Biergarten"

Cheers!

Juergen

[Rodéric_L]

Hi Nina,

I was thinking about going to visit the Alamo, is there a convenient way to go there from dowtown Austin? Or renting a car is the best option?

[altenbach]

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@Rodéric_L wrote:

I was thinking about going to visit the Alamo, is there a convenient way to go there from dowtown Austin? Or renting a car is the best option?

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San Antonio is about 1.5 hours away by car. Once you are in San Antonio, you don't really need a car, most things are in walking distance (Alamo, Riverwalk, etc.). A couple of years ago, We went to San Antonio for a few days after NI week and enjoyed it. We actually took the train on Thursday night and spent a few car-les days in a central downtown hotel (wow, these prices went up!). On Sunday, we rented a car to drive back to the Austin airport. (We did not pay anything extra for the one-way rental, but not all rental agency are the same, so watch out for that).

Another option is megabus, but I have not tried that.

[nina_nandi]

HI Roderic_L,

That sounds like a fun idea! Either renting a car or taking a bus would work. If you want to take a bus, Megabus is a convenient, low-cost option and has bus routes from Austin to San Antonio. http://us.megabus.com/Default.aspx

This website describes some sights to see in San Antonio aside from the Alamo, in case you'd like to spend a little more time in the city. It also has some close day trip ideas you could take from Austin. http://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/tx/austin/articles/austin-day-trips

[Rodéric_L]

Thank you both for your inputs! I guess I'll take the bus it's only 10$ ! 

I'll only spend a day there before NI week, I'll go to NY after NI Week so I finally visited all the places I wanted in the US!

[AELmx]

I rented a bike last saturday and did a great route on sunday.
The places is infront the convention center, streamline cycles or something like that.

Im planning to do it again next friday.

By the way it was extremely hot, i went to hamilton pool, then come back via bee cave.
I carried a backpack with supplies, which indeed get the conditions worst because of more heat by carring the backpack.

Mr. Altenbach, great session about benchmarking today. I have been learning a lot from users like you on NI forums, and its some kind of weird that i saw presentations of guys that "i met before" on internet. 

[j_dodek]

Hi,

never thought to meet in such a plain area this awesome trails!

and cycling above 100F had its own sweat-inducing appeal.

Christian was right! Enough water! I "exhausted" almost 3 liter of it.

View from Hill of Life

Greeting from cool Germany

Juergen