Since I am a California Girl, it won't surprise you in the least when I say Austin is one of my favorite cities in Texas. It reminds me of San Francisco, but with a decided southern twist. Between San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, Austin has my favorite shopping. It also has some amazing little food joints, and one of my favorite hotels. Fortunately for me, G spends a significant amount of time in Austin for work, which means I spend a significant amount of time in Austin as a tag-along! So I thought I would share some of my favorite places to Eat, Stay and Play in Austin, Texas.
EAT
All photos courtesy of Perla's
We've been a few places in Austin, but there's only one that really stands out so far, and that is Perla's. I've always been a lover of excellent seafood, and Perla's had that in spades. We started with a dozen oysters, which were quickly devoured as I sipped on my Congress Lemonade (yes, there's alcohol in that! So delish!).
For dinner, I ordered the Lobster roll, which was so beautiful I had to Instagram it. And then devour it an the accompanying shoestring fries in their entirety. It was just good. Really, simply, deliciously good.
STAY
My favorite place to stay in Austin is the Arboretum. It's close to G's office and all my favorite shopping. We always stay at the Renaissance, and the decor is quirky, upscale, chic, and entirely Austin.
PLAY
As funny as this sounds, one of my top suggestions when you first visit Austin is to take a Big Bus tour. G and I did this when we first moved to SF as well, and it's a great way to get to see the city you're in and pick up some ideas on where you want to eat and hang out later. In fact, a BBT is how we discovered Perla's and the entire SoCo neighborhood, which is my next tip:
You'll hear a lot about 3rd street/downtown, and while that is a lot of fun, you get amazing food, great shops, and a real taste of Austin in SoCo (South of Congress). I would suggest heading to SoCo to walk around, grab some Amy's ice cream and visit some of the shops. At sunset, go watch the Bats fly out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge, then head back to Perla's for dinner!
And you know I can't leave this section without shopping advice! I love to do home decor shopping (it's the new home owner in me!) in the Arboretum. There is a Restoration Hardware, a Crate and Barrel, a West Elm, a Zgallerie, and my favorite Homegoods store (yes, of all time). My other favorite go-to is The Domain. From high-end to mid-level, they have so many great stores, and it's all outdoors and beautifully landscaped.
Do you have any great places in Austin not on my list? I'd love to hear about them so I can try them next time! Drop me a comment below!
