| Despite being the capital city of Texas, Austin is a city | | | | rock festivals held in the United States, including |
| that prides itself on being far from ordinary. Known as | | | | Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Coachella. Other annual |
| the 'Live Music Capital of the World', Austin offers | | | | events held in Austin include Eeyore's Birthday Party |
| visitors a vacation that is as diverse as it is exciting. | | | | and the Austin Reggae Festival - previously named |
| After all, as a city with the motto 'Keep Austin Weird', | | | | the Bob Marley Festival. |
| a visit to Austin is sure to be a vacation with a | | | | If Austin's music scene isn't for you, Austin is also the |
| difference. | | | | home of a lot of artists. On Guadalupe, you'll find a |
| As you might expect from a city referred to as the | | | | host of local artistic talent selling their works at the |
| 'Live Music Capital of the World', Austin has a vibrant | | | | Renaissance Market; while every first Thursday of the |
| live music scene with more music venues per capita | | | | month, the eclectic shops on South Congress stay |
| than any other U.S city. Austin's music revolves around | | | | open late, with artists selling their artwork on the |
| the numerous entertainment venues that can be found | | | | sidewalks, accompanied by musicians playing in the |
| on its historic 6th Street. Originally known as Pecan | | | | streets. For a more contemporary view of Austin's art |
| Street, East-6th Street is the heart of the Austin | | | | scene, pay a visit to the Blanton Museum of Art, a |
| entertainment district and plays host to a multitude of | | | | 155,000 square foot museum situated on the |
| bars, clubs and music venues. Located along the length | | | | University's campus, housing some 17,000 works of art |
| of East-6th Street between Congress Avenue and | | | | from Europe, the United States and Latin America. |
| Interstate 35, you'll find many venues offering live | | | | Residents in Austin need little cause to celebrate, and |
| music at one time or another during the week. | | | | 'Austinites', as they are known, take pride in their |
| Austin is also the venue for an annual film, music and | | | | eccentricities and often celebrate the differences |
| multimedia festival known as South by Southwest, | | | | between themselves and other cities in the U.S. The |
| which takes place every spring. Centred around the | | | | local motto - 'Keep Austin Weird' - features on |
| downtown Austin Convention Centre, each part of the | | | | innumerable bumper stickers, tT-shirts and other |
| South by Southwest festival is relatively independent | | | | memorabilia. Famous Austinites include country singer |
| of one another with different start and end dates. The | | | | Willie Nelson, cyclist Lance Armstrong, Aactress |
| musical branch of the festival is one of the largest | | | | Sandra Bullock and tennis player Andy Roddick. |
| music festivals in the United States with more than | | | | When it comes to eating out in Austin, you would be |
| 1,400 performers playing across dozens of venues | | | | forgiven for expecting the Texas 'Holy Trinity' of |
| around the city, while the film branch has quickly | | | | barbecue, Tex-Mex and chicken-fried steak. However, |
| become one of the world's premiere film festivals, | | | | Austin now possesses a much more sophisticated |
| focussing on new directing talent. | | | | and international flair, with the Wall Street Journal |
| Zilker Park in Austin is the venue for the Austin City | | | | naming the city as one of the country's "up and coming |
| Limits Music Festival, an annual three-day music and | | | | culinary hotspots." |
| art festival. Bringing together more than 130 bands | | | | To get the very best experience of this culturally |
| over eight stages, the festival combines rock, country, | | | | diverse and exciting city, look for a hotel in Austin that |
| folk, indie, Americana, hip-hop, reggae and bluegrass | | | | is situated in the Central or Downtown areas of the |
| artists, and attracts a crowd of around 65,000 | | | | city. Just remember that Austin is a city where it's |
| music-lovers every day. The festival has been such a | | | | considered normal to be a little out of the ordinary! |
| huge success that it is often compared to other top | | | | |