<![CDATA[
READ IT HERE
AUSTIN was only a tiny community on the verdant banks of the (Texas) Colorado River when Mirabeau B. Lamar, president of the Republic, suggested in 1839 that it would make a better capital than swampy and disease-ridden Houston. Early building had to be done under armed guard, as angry Comanche watched from the surrounding hills, but despite its perilous location, the city thrived.
These days it wears its status as capital of Texas very lightly; sightseeing rates as a low priority against simply hanging out. Since the 1960s, this laid-back and progressive city has been a haven for artists, musicians and writers. Many visitors come specifically for the music . Local musicians are renowned for their innovative reworkings of Texas's country, folk and R&B heritage, often severing their rural roots to use Austin's enthusiastic environment as a springboard to national recognition. Janis Joplin had her start here in the early 1960s, and at the end of that decade, Austin was second only to San Francisco in its adherence to the "turn on, tune in, drop out" philosophy, with locals coining the term "headneck" to describe themselves. Musicians hungry for fame still tumble out of buses from all over Texas to seek their fortunes in the literally hundreds of live venues.
Austin is one of the few cities in the state where cycling is a viable alternative to driving. It may not have completely avoided the usual problems of urban growth - thanks to a sizeable population leap, ugly suburbs have shot up to threaten its small-town ambience - but it feels wonderfully safe for visitors, even women traveling alone, and the presence of the vast UT campus adds to the atmosphere, even if almost every shop and streetlamp is adorned with the unsightly brown and white colors of the college's Longhorns football team.
Within the city limits a great park system offers numerous hiking and biking trails and a wonderful spring-fed swimming pool. Looking further afield, Austin makes a fine base for exploring the green Hill Country that rolls away to the west.
The Town
The Texas State Capitol , at 13th Street and Congress Avenue, is over 300ft high, taller than the national capitol in Washington, with a red sunset granite dome that dominates the downtown skyline. The chandeliers, carpets and even the door hinges of this colossal building are emblazoned with lone stars and other Texan motifs, a theme continued in the recent extension, a sleek maze of marble halls (daily 9am-5pm; public tours every 15min; free). Nearby, the antebellum Governor's Mansion , 1010 Colorado St, contains displays on Texan history (free tours Mon-Fri every 20min 10am-noon). Congress Avenue , a stretch of 1950s shops and muted office buildings that slopes south from the capitol down to the river, is worthy of a stroll; at dusk 1.5 million bats - the world's largest urban bat colony - emerge in a large cloud from their hangouts under the bridge. 6th Street , also known as Old Pecan Street, runs west from I-35 to Congress Street, and is the focus of much of the city's nightlife, as well as featuring many renovated buildings, galleries and hip shops. The elegant Romanesque Driskill Hotel , on the corner with Brazos Street, has its own self-guided walking tour, with a glossy leaflet recounting the hotel's many links with government since 1886. Between 5th and 6th streets, just west of Lamar Boulevard, the 600-year-old Treaty Oak is the last of the Council Oaks where treaties were signed with Native Americans; unfortunately, someone chose to poison the tree in 1989, and only one-third of it remains.
The recently opened Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum , at Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and North Congress Avenue should satisfy anyone's curiosity for Texas arcana. Exhibits include the diary of Stephen F. Austin, generally considered the founder of the state, and a Bible that saved the life of Sam Houston Jr, during the Civil War; a bullet is still lodged in its pages (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm; $5). The Elisabet Ney Museum at 304 E 44th St is a German-influenced castle-like building in a leafy, historic residential area. It preserves the last studio, with marquettes and finished marbles, of Austin's most celebrated sculptor (Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; free).
Zilker Park , across the river from Amtrak and southwest of the center, is one of the best of the many fine parks in the city, a perfect retreat on sweaty Austin afternoons. One of its main attractions is the spring-fed (and deliciously cold) Barton Springs Pool , a 1000ft turquoise rectangle shaded by pecan trees (daily 5am-10pm; $2.50 Mon-Fri, $2.75 Sat & Sun). You can paddle in the pebbly creek below the pool free of charge, and you'll also find hiking and biking trails, a miniature railroad winding beside the river (daily 10am-7pm; $2.75), and, to the west, the wildlife garden of the Austin Nature and Science Center (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; free; tel 512/327-8181, ). South of the Barton Springs Pool on Robert E. Lee Road, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden (Wed-Fri 10am-4.30pm, Sat & Sun 1-4.30pm; $3.50; tel 512/445-5582, ) is a tranquil, grassy enclave dotted with more than one hundred works in bronze, terracotta, wood and marble. More outdoor relief can be found farther north on the banks of the Colorado River. Don't miss Mayfield Park , a peaceful idyll complete with water lilies and peacocks. Nearby Mount Bonnell gives great views over the city and surrounding countryside.
The Austin Museum of Art is in the process of relocating from its Laguna Gloria location, at 3809 W 35th St, to a permanent facility downtown, scheduled to open in 2004. In the meantime, many exhibits are on view at a separate downtown location, at 823 Congress Ave (Tues-Sat 10am-6pm, Thurs until 8pm, Sun noon-5pm; $3; tel 512/495-9224, ).
]]>