Austin Travel Forum

Hi. I will be on a business trip to San Antonio next week and wanted to visit Austin on Thursday/Friday.

I'm a music fanatic and just couldn't pass up the chance to see this beautiful city I have heard so much about.

Question: What is 6th street like on a Thursday night? Will it be tame? Do most of the bars and shows have high cover charges?

Question: Suggestions for Friday afternoon / evening? I am mostly interested in seeing the 'real' Austin and finding the roots to the great music I've heard.

Question: Cheaper hotel suggestion close to the action. (I found an earlier post recommending Austin Motel)

I'll be alone, so it may be pretty interesting to see where I end up and what trouble I can get into.

Thank you for your help!

Best,

S

Howdy,

You can find some action on 6th st. on Thursday, but not near what it's like on Friday and Saturday.

Cover charges usually aren't that bad, and some places don't have a cover charge at all. Only places with live music have a cover charge and it's rare to have to pay more than $5.00, except during SXSW.

In the afternoon there's not a lot of live music. Most bars on 6th st. don't even open until after 6:00PM. You can check out the XL section in Thursdays Austin American-Statesman for bands and showtimes, along with descriptions of the various bars and clubs around town. Also, thwe Austin Chronicle has a lot of info on music and bars.

Being in town for such a short time I would recommend you check out 6th st., the 4th st. warehouse district, and south Congress Ave. South congress is the "real Austin" I think your looking for.

Have a great time in our wonderful city.

Marc

Marc, thanks so much for the tips!!!

I will definitely check out the areas you recommended.

I do have a Friday night stay, and plan to make the most of it.

I have a feeling that much of my Thursday and Friday afternoons will be spent hunting the guitar stores and sampling the Austin cuisine!

Best,
Sal

Definitely check out an issue of The Chronicle, or go to the website (http://www.austinchronicle.com) to see what's going on around town. There's always some sort of music going on somewhere. It's just a shame that it's currently freezing cold and the city is pretty much shut down due to ice/snow. It'll probably get better by the time you're here. As for cover charges, it depends. It's my experience that many 6th Street bars don't charge cover, but I've been to places that charge up to $15. However, those were excellent shows and probably worth $15.