Things to Do
Things to Do across Austin, TX.
Showing 25–48 of 402 places
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bat Bridge
Austin
Bats over Congress Avenue Bridge — the largest urban bat colony in North America, roughly 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that roost beneath the deck from spring through fall. On warm evenings around dusk they stream out together to feed, and you can watch from the bridge sidewalk, the lawn below, or a boat on Lady Bird Lake.
Art For The People Gallery
Austin
Art For The People is a South Austin gallery packed with work from dozens of local and regional artists, spanning paintings, prints, jewelry, ceramics, and offbeat gifts—so the walls tend to feel crowded in the best way. Plan around the limited hours, which lean toward midweek and weekends rather than early in the week.
Westlake Community Performing Arts Center
Austin
Tucked into the Westlake area just west of downtown Austin, this community performing arts center hosts local theater productions, recitals, and events in a setting that's more neighborhood gathering spot than big-city playhouse. If you're coming for a show, give yourself a few extra minutes — it sits along Westbank Drive in the hilly Eanes area, where parking and the winding approach can take first-timers by surprise.
Bates Recital Hall
Austin
Bates Recital Hall sits on the University of Texas at Austin campus, home to the Butler School of Music and a large pipe organ that anchors performances ranging from student recitals to faculty and guest concerts. Its position near the heart of campus makes it an easy stop for visitors interested in classical music, with most events open to the public and many free to attend.
State Theatre
Austin
Sitting on Congress Avenue right next to its older sibling the Paramount, the State Theatre is a small downtown house that began life as a movie theater before shifting toward live performance. You'll notice the vintage marquee first — a holdover from Congress Avenue's mid-century heyday — fronting an intimate room that trades grandeur for the kind of closeness where the back row still feels near the stage.
The Velveeta Room
Austin
The Velveeta Room is a no-frills standup club tucked into the heart of Sixth Street's bar district, known for its narrow, brick-walled room that puts audiences close to the stage. Showtimes cluster around the weekend, so check the schedule before you go—the early-week calendar is often dark.
Sunset Strip Comedy & Entertainment
Austin
Sunset Strip sits in the thick of Austin's Sixth Street nightlife district, a downtown comedy club where the late hours (open until 2 AM most nights, closed Wednesdays) line up with the neighborhood's bar-crawl energy. Expect an intimate room a short walk from the rest of the East Sixth scene, so it's easy to fold a set into a larger night out downtown.
Hyde Park Theatre
Austin
Hyde Park Theatre is a small, intimate venue in central Austin known for staging contemporary plays and new work, and it's the longtime home of the FronteraFest performance festival each winter. With only a few dozen seats, it puts you close enough to the stage that the experience feels more like watching theater in someone's living room than in a traditional playhouse.
Austin Playhouse
Austin
Austin Playhouse is a professional theater company that stages a season of contemporary works, classics, and the occasional musical in an intimate setting just north of the University of Texas campus. The close quarters mean there's rarely a bad seat, and you'll often find the actors and staff mingling with the audience in the lobby before the show.
Black Rabbit Comedy ATX
Austin
Tucked into a downtown Austin storefront on Brazos Street, Black Rabbit Comedy ATX is an intimate stand-up club just steps from the 6th Street entertainment district. It runs an evening-focused schedule built around weekend shows, so check the calendar before you go—the lineup and showtimes are the whole reason to make the trip.
McCallum Arts Center
Austin
McCallum Arts Center sits on the campus of McCallum High School in the Rosedale neighborhood, where it serves double duty as a school auditorium and a community performing-arts venue hosting theater, dance, and music productions. Plan around its event schedule rather than dropping in, since most of what happens here is tied to scheduled performances and rehearsals.
Fallout Theater
Austin
Fallout Theater sits right downtown on Lavaca Street, where its small, intimate stage hosts a steady rotation of improv and sketch comedy most nights of the week. Alongside the shows it runs a training program of classes and workshops, so the performers you watch are often part of the same community learning the craft just down the hall.
McCullough Theatre
Austin
McCullough Theatre sits on the University of Texas at Austin campus, a mid-sized performing arts venue that hosts everything from student dance and theater productions to visiting musicians and lectures. If you're coming for a show, plan for campus parking ahead of time—the surrounding Robert Dedman Drive area fills up fast, especially on weeknights when classes and performances overlap.
French Legation State Historic Site
Austin
French Legation State Historic Site occupies one of Austin's oldest standing structures, a Greek Revival-style house built in the 1840s during the brief decade when the Republic of Texas operated as its own nation and France sent a diplomatic representative to Austin. Today the grounds and restored house operate as a museum where you'll first notice the wooded, elevated setting just east of downtown—a quiet pocket of early Texas history surrounded by the modern city.
The Rosette
Austin
Tucked into a quiet stretch of north-central Austin near Hyde Park, The Rosette is an intimate performing arts and event space where the small scale is the point—you're close enough to catch the details most rooms lose. Come expecting a neighborhood feel rather than a grand theater, and check their current calendar ahead of time, since programming at venues this size tends to shift by the season.
Old Bakery and Emporium
Austin
Housed in a restored 19th-century brick building on Congress Avenue, the Old Bakery and Emporium traces its name to the Lundberg Bakery that once operated here, and today the city-run shop sells handmade crafts and gifts—many created by local seniors—alongside visitor information. Step inside for the pressed-tin ceiling and old-Austin atmosphere as much as for the goods on the shelves.
Original and Locally Owned Austin Ghost Tours
Austin
This downtown walking tour leads small groups through Austin's older streets after dark, pairing local folklore with the real history of the buildings, saloons, and figures behind the hauntings. Tours depart from the Red River district, so it's an easy add-on to an evening downtown, and comfortable shoes matter more than nerves of steel.
The Caswell House
Austin
A restored Victorian home on West Avenue, the Caswell House is one of the more recognizable historic residences in central Austin, its wraparound porch and gabled roofline a quiet holdout among the surrounding development. Now run by a local nonprofit and used mainly for weddings and events, it's open to drop-in visitors only on weekday afternoons, so plan accordingly if you want to see the interior.
Kenny Dorham's Backyard - Diverse Arts
Austin
Kenny Dorham's Backyard is an open-air venue in East Austin named for the bebop trumpeter who grew up in the area, where Diverse Arts hosts live jazz and community events under the trees. It doubles as a neighborhood gathering spot, so you'll often find food and conversation alongside the music rather than a formal concert-hall hush.
ComedySportz Austin
Austin
ComedySportz Austin runs on the long-standing improv format where two teams compete for laughs in short, audience-driven games, all overseen by a referee who keeps things moving and calls fouls for anything too crude. Shows are kept clean enough for all ages, so it's a reliable pick if you're bringing kids or a mixed group and want comedy you don't have to vet first.
TROVADOR Custom Hats & Art Gallery
Austin
Tucked into a storefront on East Cesar Chavez, TROVADOR pairs custom hat-making with a rotating art gallery, so a visit means watching craft and creativity share the same room. Keep in mind the hours are narrow—it's open just a couple of weekday afternoons—so it's worth planning your stop rather than dropping by.
Doris Miller Auditorium
Austin
Named for Doris "Dorie" Miller, the World War II Navy hero, this city-run auditorium sits beside Rosewood Park in the heart of historically Black East Austin and has long served as a gathering place for community meetings, cultural programs, and performances. Visitors will notice its role as a neighborhood anchor more than a polished theater—it's the kind of venue where local events and civic life take center stage.
Symphony Square
Austin
Tucked along Waller Creek just north of downtown, Symphony Square is a small open-air amphitheater where the audience sits on a limestone terrace facing a stage set across the water, surrounded by a cluster of restored 19th-century stone buildings. Long tied to the Austin Symphony Orchestra, it hosts intimate performances and community events in a setting that feels more like a hidden courtyard than a typical venue.
The Museum of Human Achievement
Austin
Despite its grand name, the Museum of Human Achievement is an unpretentious East Austin arts space — a warehouse-style venue where experimental theater, live music, dance, and visual art installations share the calendar from one week to the next. If you're coming for a show, expect a flexible, DIY-leaning room that reshapes itself around whatever's being performed, so it's worth checking what's on before you go.