Austin Tours

Our Austin Tours provide you with the history of Austin as well as information about the current city. When Austin was established in the 1830s, its original name was Waterloo.  Its name was changed to Austin and was made the state capitol in 1839. Austin is the largest state capitol in the United States, the 4th largest city in Texas, and among the 20 largest cities in the United States. The University of Texas at Austin is among the three largest universities in the nation.

A one-day tour of Austin includes all of the following:

  • Seeing Huston-Tillotson University (1875),
  • Touring the Texas State Cemetery (1851),
  • Seeing the French Legation Museum complex (1841),
  • Driving along Red River Street and Sixth Street,
  • Visiting The Austin Visitors Center,
  • Seeing the governor’s mansion (1856),
  • Touring the Texas State Capitol (1888),
  • Touring the General Land Office Building Museum (1857),
  • Driving along Waterloo Park,
  • Eating lunch at Scholz Garten (1866) or a comparable restaurant,
  • Touring the University of Texas at Austin (1883+),
  • Touring the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Library and Museum (1971),
  • Riding on the double-decker highway.

In addition, we offer the following additional tours that you can add onto the Austin tour to create up to a 6-day tour of Austin (and San Antonio). Please see the options below. You can pick any combination of days to add to the first day.

Additional Day of Large Museums:

  • The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum,
  • Lunch at the cafe in either of the two museums.
  • Blanton Museum of Art – closed on Mondays.

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Additional Day of a Historic Cemetery, Smaller Museums and Historic Homes:

  • Oakwood Cemetery (1839),
  • The George Washington Carver Museum (1926, 1980) – closed on Saturday and Sunday,
  • Texas Music Museum – closed on Saturday and Sunday,
  • O’Henry Home and Museum – closed on Monday and Tuesday,
  • Joseph & Susanna Dickinson Hannig Museum – closed Monday and Tuesday,
  • The Driskill Hotel (1886) – not available Monday through Wednesday,
  • The Harry Ransom Center – it has a 1455 Gutenberg Bible – closed on Monday,
  • The Elizabeth Ney Museum (1892) – closed on Monday and Tuesday,
  • The Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria (1916) closed on Monday.

Because some museums and historic homes are closed on a variety of days, we may go to the LBJ Library and Museum for a second time. One can easily tour the LBJ museum for upwards of 5 hours; yet on day 1, we tour it for only 1.5 hours. There is much more to see and do there.

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Additional Day of Nature and Scenic:

  • Hill Country including multiple county parks,
  • Lake Travis,
  • Beautiful high elevation vistas of Austin, Lake Travis, and the Hill Country
  • Lunch at the County Line Restaurant,
  • Mount Bonnell at Covert Park,
  • Mayfield Park and Reserve,
  • Laguna Gloria sculpture and historic gardens,
  • McKinney Falls State Park.

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Additional Day of San Antonio:

  • Shopping at Rivercenter Mall,
  • The Alamo (1718),
  • Riverwalk (Paseo del Rio),
  • Andean musical winds and guitar band,
  • Arneson River Theater,
  • La Villita with homes from the 1700s,
  • Drive-by San Fernando Cathedral (1731),
  • Drive-by The Spanish Governor’s Palace (early 1700s),
  • Market Square including the Farmers Market Plaza,
  • Lunch at La Margarita and shopping at the Mercado,
  • Alamo Plaza, 
  • The King William District Tour of old mansions.

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Additional Day of Johnson City and Fredericksburg:

  • Johnson City Historical District – including touring LBJ’s boyhood home, Johnson Settlement, and more,
  • Lunch at one of the German restaurants on Main Street in downtown Fredericksburg,
  • Either a winery or brewery tour and Wildflowers at Wildseed Farms or tour the National Museum of the Pacific War,

Because some museums and historic homes are closed on a variety of days, we may go to the LBJ Library and Museum for a second time. One can easily tour the LBJ museum for upwards of 5 hours; yet on day 1, we tour it for only 1.5 hours. There is much more to see and do there.

Back to List of Additional Days