- How can I get assistance from the Tourism Department of the ACVB?
If you are a tour operator, group leader, or travel agent and wish to receive proposals from Austin hotels and attractions, please complete the form located on our web site http://www.austintexas.org/travel/rfp.php. Upon receiving your request, a tourism department representative will contact you within two business days.
- What type of assistance can I receive from the ACVB?
- Itinerary planning
- Referrals for step-on guides, receptive operators, restaurants, attractions and hotels
- Hotel leads for rate quotes
- Marketing and collateral materials: destination guides, city brochures, photographic images, and video
- Historic walking tours, technical and specialty tours and soft adventure activities
- Site visits and fam tours
- What are the driving distances from Dallas, San Antonio and Houston?
From Dallas: Take I-35 SOUTH, 181 miles
From San Antonio: Take I-35 NORTH, 74 miles
From Houston (Via I-10/71): Take I-10 WEST, merge onto TX-71 WEST, 163 miles.
From Houston (Via US-290): Head WEST on US-290, take the I-35 South exit, 148 miles
- What are the rules and regulations for motorcoach parking?
- Free motorcoach parking for the State Capitol, Texas Governor's Mansion, Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and surrounding attractions is available on Trinity Street between 12th & 18th Streets. Limited parking is also available at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum on 18th Street between Congress Avenue & Brazos Street. www.thestoryoftexas.com.
- Motorcoach parking for all other downtown attractions, restaurants and theaters requires a permit that may be obtained through City of Austin Temporary Traffic Control Office. The permit costs $35 plus $10 per space per day. Prices are subject to change. Call (512) 974-2217 for more information.
- The LBJ Library & Museum, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Texas State Cemetery, Zachary Scott Theater and most other attractions outside the downtown area have available motorcoach parking on-site.
- Where is the Austin Visitor Information Center located?
209 E. Sixth Street. Hours are Mon.-Fri., 9am- 5pm and Sat.-Sun., 9am- 6pm. Closed on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day and Easter.
- When are the tours of the Capitol?
Tours are available seven days a week (Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-4:30pm, Sat. 9:30am-3:30pm, Sun. 12 pm-3:30pm) and are offered approximately every 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends. The building is actually open to the public until 10pm weekdays and 8pm weekends. There is no charge for admission.
- When are the tours of the Governor's Mansion?
Free tours of the Governor's Mansion are offered every 20 minutes from 10am until 11:40, Mon.-Thu. You must call at least one day in advance to book a tour. Call 512-463-5518.
- When are the guided historic walking tours?
Guided tours are conducted from March through the last weekend in November. The Congress Avenue & East Sixth Street tour is offered Thurs., Fri. and Sat. at 9am and Sun. at 2pm. The Bremond Block tour is Sat. and Sun. at 11am. The Capitol Grounds tour is Sat. at 2pm and Sun. at 9am. Each tour is 90 minutes long. There is no charge. All tours leave from the south steps of the Texas State Capitol.
- What are other downtown historic attractions?
Other sites include the General Land Office Building at 11th & Brazos, the Old Bakery & Emporium at 1006 Congress, The O'Henry Museum at 409 E. Fifth St., and the French Legation Museum (admission charged) at 802 San Marcos.
- Where is the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum?
Relive the pages of Texas history at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Located at 1800 N. Congress Ave., the museum includes interactive exhibits, artifacts never publicly displayed before, an IMAX Theatre and the multi-sensory Texas Spirit Theatre. Open Mon.- Sat. 9am-6pm and Sun. 12-6pm, except for major holidays.
- Where is the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum?The LBJ Library is the most frequently visited of the presidential libraries. It is located at 2313 Red River on the University of Texas campus. The museum is open from 9am to 5pm daily and there is no charge for admission.
- Where should I take my kids?
The Austin Children's Museum, a hands-on interactive museum is at 201 Colorado. Other suggestions for kids are the Austin Nature & Science Center in Zilker Park, the Zilker Zephyr (a miniature train ride that runs through Zilker Park) and the interactive exhibits at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
- How do I see a taping of Austin City Limits?
Austin City Limits tapes from August through February on an irregular schedule, based on the musicians' availability. The taping takes place on the sixth floor of the University of Texas College of Communication, which is located at 26th & Guadalupe.
- How do I get tickets? Well, they are free, but there is a catch.
You must call the hotline (512-475-9077) to find out which radio station to listen to for the ticket giveaway. Listen to that station to find out when to go stand in line, wait in line, get a voucher. Go back for the performance, wait in line again and hope that your voucher is among those allowed in for the performance.
Free tours of the studio are offered every Friday at 10:30am.
- When and where can I see the bats?
The bats depart around dusk from the Congress Avenue Bridge, April through October. The ideal time of year for bat viewing is August. For a closer view of the action, take a bat-watching boat cruise on Town Lake. Capital Cruises and Lone Star Riverboat both offer cruises that depart approximately 30 minutes before sunset from the boat dock located behind the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 208 Barton Springs Road. One of the most popular vantage points is the bat observation area in the Austin American-Statesman parking lot, 305 South Congress Ave. Other prime vantage points are from Shoreline Grill (98 San Jacinto Blvd.), TGI Fridays at the Radisson Hotel (111 E. Cesar Chavez St.) and the lakeside patio of Four Seasons Hotel (98 San Jacinto Blvd.).
- Where can I hear live music?
The largest concentration of live music venues is found along Sixth Street (East Sixth Street from IH-35 to Congress Ave.) and in the Warehouse entertainment district (Fourth, Fifth & Sixth streets, west from Congress Ave. to Guadalupe St.). Other popular music venues include The Broken Spoke at 3201 South Lamar, Continental Club located at 1315 S. Congress Ave., Hill's Café at 4700 S. Congress Ave. and the Saxon Pub at 1320 South Lamar Blvd. On Thursdays, consult the Austin American-Statesman's XL-ent and The Austin Chronicle for live music listings.
- What is Esther's Follies?
Esther's is a lively comedy troupe that performs at Esther's Pool (corner of Sixth Street & Red River). Shows are Thurs. at 8pm and Fri.-Sat. at 8pm and 10pm. Tickets are often available at half price the day of show through AUSTIX (454-HALF).
- Does Austin have live performing arts?
Zachary Scott Theater, the Paramount Theater and the State Theater are the main downtown venues for performing arts. Many of the larger shows also take place at the Performing Arts Center on the University of Texas campus. Along with professional theater companies, Austin is also home to The Austin Lyric Opera, Austin Symphony and Ballet Austin. Half-price theater tickets are often available day of show Thurs.-Sat. Call 454-HALF for more information.
- Where can I go shopping?
Austin offers many shopping districts, malls and nearby outlet malls. See Shopping in the "Stay and Do" section of this website.
- Where can I buy souvenirs?
Austin Visitor Center (209 E. Sixth Street) offers a variety of Austin, Texas and University of Texas merchandise. Other outlets for local souvenir products are Wild About Music, the Capitol Gift Shop, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
- Where are the Austin Convention Center, Palmer Events Center and Travis County Expo Center located?
Austin Convention Center: 500 E. Cesar Chavez between Trinity & Red River Streets
Palmer Events Center: South of Town Lake at the intersection of South First & Riverside Drive
Travis County Expo Center: 7311 Decker Lane
- What are the 'Dillos?
A free 'Dillo ride is an easy way to get around downtown and central Austin. Trolleys-on-wheels and small buses take you all around the central city, so you just park once and enjoy the ride. The weekend Tour of the Town route transports riders to popular Austin attractions. The Moonlight and Starlight Dillos run late nights on Thurs.-Sun. to move night owls around Austin's entertainment districts. Visit www.capmetro.org for more information on schedules.
- Where are Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool?
Zilker Park begins just west of Lamar Blvd. on Barton Springs Road. Just before the entrance to the park is the Umlauf Sculpture Garden (605 Robert E. Lee). Also within the park are Zilker Botanical Gardens (2220 Barton Springs Rd.), the Austin Nature & Science Center (301 Nature Center Dr.) and Barton Springs Pool (2201 Barton Springs Rd.).
- Where is the University of Texas?
The southern edge of campus begins at Martin Luther King Boulevard, the east boundary is I-35, the west boundary is Guadalupe and Dean Keeton (26th Street) forms the northern border.
|
|
|
