What to do in Austin if you’re here on business (2025)

There isn’t a denying it that an Austin tech scene that has simmered for many years has reached a boiling level in recent times. As of 2023, tech jobs accounted for 16 % of all jobs in Austin — almost double the nationwide common, in line with the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Tech giants like Apple, Google and Oracle all have a presence within the Texas capital, and startups like Mio, Closinglock and MadeIn are garnering buzz and VC funding. The Wall Road Journal could also be hedging its bets on the excitement it as soon as gave town within the wake of the pandemic, however Austin continues as a type of Babylon for burned-out techies who’ve grown weary of Silicon Valley’s rat race.

The period of “Hold Austin Bizarre” is waning, however there’s nonetheless a lot that feels genuine and beloved about this once-sleepy faculty city that was content material to do its personal factor within the shadows of close by metropolises like Dallas and Houston. Except your coronary heart is ready on reliving town’s hazy glory days portrayed in Richard Linklater’s 1993 basic Dazed and confused, you are assured to have enjoyable driving the grass, frolicking within the solar and stuffing your face with a few of the greatest barbecue on the earth. And naturally there may be stay music. So, a lot stay music.

The place to remain

Austin’s tech scene first caught a spark within the sprawling hills west of town—therefore the label “Silicon Hills”—however the inflow of Gen X and millennial staff has created an explosion of incubators, co-working areas and concrete life-style hubs which are extra centrally positioned than the suburbs favored by the underworld. Whether or not you favor a fast drive to the workplace park or a brisk stroll to your new “cafe” for the day, our picks have you ever coated.

1901 San Antonio St., (512) 473-8900

Situated close to the Texas State Capitol on the southwest nook of the College of Texas at Austin, The Otis is a cushty floor between a boutique lodge and a world chain operation. It’s miles sufficient from the hustle and bustle of each downtown and campus to really feel peaceable, but solely a stone’s throw from each. The rooftop pool is a haven for lounging with a lone star after an extended day of conferences, which may simply be organized on-site in one in every of six occasion areas, and Acre 41 is the type of multipurpose restaurant that is nice for checking electronic mail over espresso within the morning and brokering nice offers on a Texas ribeye at evening.

700 San Jacinto St., (512) 476-3700

Austin is rising at an unprecedented clip, however till it begins placing up New York-style pencil skyscrapers, the Omni Resort stands as some of the iconic elements of its skyline. This glittering 20-story surprise is only a few blocks from the center of Austin’s leisure district on West sixth Road, although you would not be blamed for having a tough time leaving the property if a bar on Soiled sixth is not your factor. The rooftop pool provides beautiful views of town and past, and the three on-site eating places provide quite a lot of eating choices to go well with all events.

1108 E sixth St., (737) 205-8888

Many unhealthy tech staff are within the sole proprietor/bootstraps stage of their careers, which suggests maintaining prices down whereas nonetheless feeling luxurious (or at the very least showing prefer it) is vital. The East Austin Resort provides conventional rooms for a straightforward improve, or it can save you some critical cash by reserving a “cabin” room with a shared personal lavatory suite in the course of the ground. You will nonetheless have entry to the pool in the course of the property, and the lodge’s proximity to the laid-back, neighborhood vibe of East sixth Road makes it an excellent alternative for aspiring professionals who’d moderately mingle with the locals than pound the pavement with workplace drones.

605 Davis St., (512) 542-5300

Rainey Road is not what it was once, however this charming enclave of bungalows-turned-bars nonetheless packs extra character into one small metropolis block than most mid-sized cities can cram into their complete downtown footprint. It is a stable all-purpose alternative for reasonable luxurious in the course of one in every of Austin’s most charming and memorable neighborhoods close to downtown.

10901 Area St., (855) 596-3398

Most out-of-towners can be fairly bummed to search out out that their Austin enterprise journey is centered round a mall that is a 45-minute drive from downtown, however the Area is definitely a reasonably excellent place to spend a couple of days should you’re on task. It is a walkable simulacrum of a metropolis, near blue-chip operations like Apple and Chase, so you may rely on the entire thing and keep in a cool lodge that does not appear like a suburban motor inn off the freeway. Lone Star Courtroom is modeled after a mountain lodge, with a pair of conjoined courts centered round a brown oval-shaped pool with its personal bar and lounge.

7415 Southwest Pkwy., Constructing 8, Suite 100(512) 551-4009

Perched atop a excessive avenue in West Austin’s Silicon Hills is a shiny new AC Resort that checks all of the bins a tech-savvy enterprise traveler would possibly need. It is a brief drive to heavyweights like AMD and Dell, and a handful of VCs like LiveOak and Cavvy dot the hills which are on beautiful show from the pool and rooftop bar. The adjoining strip mall provides helpful necessities like a neighborhood market serving espresso and sandwiches all day, an upscale Mexican place with nice glad hour specials, and a movie show with a bar that is an excellent place to kill a couple of hours between dates.

The place to Work

Photograph: Pete Cottell

Whether or not you are searching for a quiet desk for the day or a parachute right into a buzzing tech social scene, the number of coworking choices accessible in Austin is wonderful, and there is one thing for everybody. Earlier than you hit the highway, we strongly counsel you verify their web site for availability and pricing, and when you’re looking the net, it’s also possible to try Austin Coworking and Deskpass, as they’re nice sources for updates on occasions, up-and-comers, and offers for collaborating workplaces.

310 Comal Road, 2nd Flooring(512) 399-6320

Bond Collective is a stable alternative for post-hipster techies preferring the laid-back vibe of East Austin over the company buzz of downtown or the hills of West Austin. Each day passes begin at $35 for specific supply, and month-to-month memberships present entry to almost all Bond Collective areas within the US – with a number of areas in New York, Philly and the DC space together with 24/7 entry and advert hoc convention rooms if wanted.

701 Brazos St.(512) 548-9675

This startup social room capabilities extra as an IRL assembly and occasion hub for the entrepreneur group, but additionally provides loads of open co-working occasions all through the week should you favor a extra full of life and interactive surroundings whereas tapping away at your laptop computer. You may meet your subsequent full-fledged developer right here, or (extra realistically) drink a couple of beers and play pop-a-shot with some dudes who ditched California for the booming startup scene the Texas capital has been driving excessive on for a couple of years now.

1700 S Blvd. Lamar, #338(512) 596-2683

Tucked into the again of a brand new constructing within the cozy Zilker/South Lamar neighborhood is Fibercove, a vibrant and buzzing co-working area that boasts off-street parking, a Google Fiber-powered community, a espresso store, and a podcast studio the place you and your greatest mates can chat about meals and politics in hopes of going viral. Native favorites like Odd Duck, Tiki Tatsu-Ya, and an outpost of Alamo Drafthouse are a brief stroll away, and the area shares partitions with a location of breakfast chain Snooze if mimosas and chilaquiles are so as.

The place to get your espresso

Courtesy of Radio Espresso and Beer

1115 E eleventh St.

Austin is residence to an unimaginable variety of nice espresso retailers that focus solely on making nice espresso. It is also stuffed with quite a few all-day consuming spots the place the hours soften and your style for a morning cortado and a day cafe de cachapa is fortunately accommodated. Rosewood Radio falls into the latter camp. The espresso (and low cocktails, no judgment) begin flowing at 7 a.m. day by day, and the Shortwave Diner truck parked exterior has quite a lot of staples like burgers, scorching canine, and breakfast sandwiches throughout most of Radio Rosewood’s beneficiant working hours.

A number of areas

Determine 8 is among the hottest purveyors for espresso retailers that do not roast their very own beans, which makes it straightforward to search out virtually wherever, however the alternative to attempt its unimaginable espresso and drip espresso proper on the supply is one you must take pleasure in should you can. This low-slung rectangle of a constructing sits on the sting of a quiet residential space, however inside it is at all times buzzing softly with exercise and caffeine. Order a shot produced from African or Central American beans if attainable, and preserve a basket of contemporary breakfast tacos in thoughts by the register should you want a snack.

A number of areas

With a decade-plus of explosive development behind them, it is truthful to say that Houndstooth is akin to third-wave brewers like Stumptown, Blue Bottle and Intelligentsia, all of that are synonymous with their respective cities. Their downtown location lives within the foyer of a tasteful workplace tower proper in the course of Austin’s enterprise district, making it an excellent place to seize a cortado between conferences or escape the grind of the workday with a chilly drink and a croissant.

1505 City Creek Dr.

Nature is on the mend, and one in every of Austin’s most beloved all-night bars has lastly resumed its 24/7 hours. As its title suggests, The Buzz Mill is a lumber mill-themed espresso bar that is nice for late-night examine periods, marathon coding sprints, work drinks with the crew, or a pleasant place to seize a drink or two when you anticipate no matter you have been doing all day to flush out of your system.

The place to eat

Photograph: Pete Cottell

1201 S Lamar Blvd.

This South Lamar bistro casts a large web when it comes to affect, with up to date riffs on Texas consolation classics serving because the spine of the dozen or so gadgets that populate its menu. Look no additional than the top of their present dinner choices—a wagyu steak that is coated in savory bits and masa queso—for a cheeky rundown of what to anticipate from their delightfully low-brow iterations of high-minded delicacies.

1900 S 1st St.

Austin is positioned in Texas and folks in Texas love animal merchandise. However, Austin can also be a hotspot for well-heeled progressives, which suggests vegetarian and vegan meals is on level if you realize the place to look. Bouldin Creek Cafe is a enjoyable and colourful base for eco-friendly meals, elegant sufficient for a dinner date however crunchy sufficient to fulfill a desk of hungry hippies who went a bit too far in the course of the day’s buzz that lasted till 4am.