Whether you need a place to take your visiting parents or you’re just looking for something new to do, our guide to The University of Texas at Austin campus has something for everyone. Take a look:
🍺 Bars
Any good college campus guide has to include some bars! Our favorites include:
29th Street Ballroom, 2906 Fruth St.
This bar doubles as a venue, hosting events like film showcases, Broadway rave nights, live music, album release parties, and more.
1972 Pub, 2530 Guadalupe St.
The first women’s sports bar in Texas is right across the street from the Moody College of Communication. 1972 Pub plays women’s sports games on its TVs, offers a robust food menu, and hosts watch parties.
The Hole in the Wall. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
The Hole in the Wall, 2538 Guadalupe St.
Open for 51 years, The Hole in the Wall is an iconic Austin mainstay where you can watch live music, do karaoke, and partake in its great happy hour.
Posse East, 2900 Duval St.
Posse East is a great, great dive bar. Catch a UT football game here or stop in for a delicious burger before seeing a show at Bass Concert Hall.
Tweedy’s Bar, 2908 Fruth St.
Trivia, rare record nights, and bike nights are all part of the programming at Tweedy’s. The bar also offers coffee, beer, and cocktails.
🍣 Restaurants
Great restaurants are near UT and there’s something for every budget:
Hopfields, 3110 Guadalupe St.
Hopfields has a French-inspired menu, a cool vibe, and really good fries.
Sushi at Nori. (Eva Ruth Moravec/City Cast Austin)
Nori, 3208 Guadalupe St.
Nori is a vegan restaurant serving plant-based sushi and other items, like gyoza made with Impossible meat.
Amy’s Ice Cream, 3500 Guadalupe St.
This location is the first Amy’s Ice Cream store and was built in 1984! Visit for fun flavors and a bit of Austin history.
Foodheads, 616 W. 34th St.
Foodheads has some of the best sandwiches in town and is positively adorable, with lots of patio space for dining in.
🦕 Museums
Lucky for students without a car – the UT campus is surrounded by some of the city’s best museums:
Blanton Museum of Art, 200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
The Blanton Museum of Art is the perfect size – it’s not too big or too small. New exhibits are always rotating through and admission is free on Tuesdays.
Harry Ransom Center, 300 W. 21st St.
Treasures abound at the Harry Ransom Center. The research center is home to Robert De Niro scripts, Frida Kahlo works, unpublished Albert Einstein notes, and one of 20 copies of the Gutenberg Bible.
“Clock Knot” by Mark di Suvero. (Courtesy of Landmarks UT)
Landmarks UT, throughout campus
The Landmarks program feels like one of the city’s best kept secrets. Roughly 50 works of art, including dazzling sculptures and a James Turrell light work, are dotted throughout the campus for the public to enjoy.
Texas Science & Natural History Museum, 2400 Trinity St.
Go see a dinosaur! The Texas Science & Natural History Museum has dinosaur fossils, fashion, geology, and astronomy exhibits.
Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson outside the LBJ Presidential Library in 1971. (Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images)
LBJ Presidential Library, 2313 Red River St.
Despite graduating from Texas State University, former President Lyndon B. Johnson chose to put his presidential library on the UT Campus. Lucky for us! Visit Lady Bird Johnson’s office, see an Oval Office replica, and more!
🛍️ Shopping
A strip of thrift and vintage stores line Guadalupe Street just northwest of the main campus. You could spend a whole Saturday perusing clothes, furniture, old records, and more.
Buffalo Exchange, 2904 Guadalupe St.
You can sell your old clothes and buy a new fit all in an afternoon at Buffalo Exchange. Hot tip: This is a great spot to look for Halloween costume supplies! (Also, park in the back!)
Leopard Lounge, 2928 Guadalupe St.
You could get lost shopping at Leopard Lounge. This store has a vast collection of carefully curated vintage, Americana and 1920s – 2000s clothing.
Out of the Closet, 2927 Guadalupe St.
This thrift store is on the smaller side and has great deals. You’ll find lots of clothes, some furniture, housewares, and books here. Bonus: $0.96 of every dollar spent at Out of the Closet goes to AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s HIV prevention and treatment services.
Vintage Hideout, 2815 Fruth St.
The word "psychedelic" comes to mind at Vintage Hideout. The shop is run by sisters who have curated a vintage selection of clothes.
Antone’s Record Shop, 2928 Guadalupe St.
Pop in for new and used CDs, used records, cassettes, and other vinyl accessories. The shop puts an emphasis on blues music and Austin artists. You can also sell your old records here.
