Excursions
Downtown Austin, UT, Capitol Building
Due to the distance between Southwestern University and downtown Austin it is not cost effective to have bus service running multiple times throughout the day. Since individuals will want to see different attractions and go and return at different times throughout the day, we are recommending that you find other individuals with similar plans and utilize ride shares to get to an return from downtown Austin.
We will have sign up sheets at the Help Desk to help you find others that share similar plans for the day.
All of these are near each other. From the Bob Bullock museum, the Blanton is 1 block away, the Harry Ransom is .4 miles north, the capitol is .6 miles (1 km) south, and the LBJ and natural history museum are about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north east.
- The Bullock Texas State History Museum
- The museum is dedicated to exploring and celebrating Texas history, culture, and people. It features three floors of exhibitions, an IMAX theater, a multisensory Texas Spirit Theater, and a museum store. The museum collaborates with numerous organizations and individuals to present dynamic and award-winning exhibits that highlight Texas history.
- Cost: adult $12, senior $11, youth $9
- IMAX theater: $10 for short films, $15 for feature films. The 329-seat theater is home to the biggest screen in Texas – six stories high and 84 feet wide. Warning, the theater is kept very cold, bring a jacket or heavy shirt.
- Texas Spirit multisensory special-effects Theater: $6
- UT Campus
- Campus Walking Tours & UT Austin Interest Sessions
- Blanton Museum of Art
- The Blanton has the largest and most comprehensive collection of art in Central Texas. Our collection has more than 21,000 objects with expertise in modern and contemporary American and Latin American art, Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings, and prints and drawings.
- Cost: $15, Duration: 1 - 2 hours
- LBJ Library
- Permanent exhibits include: replica of the oval office, the Great Hall, the White House years, Nov 22, 1963, Lady Bird Gallery, and more.
- Temporary exhibit: Ain’t No Daylight in Vietnam: March 1968
- Cost: $16 adult, $12 senior, $6 child, Hours: 9-5
- Harry Ransom Center
- The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research center at The University of Texas at Austin. The collections include nearly 1 million books, more than 42 million manuscripts, 5 million photographs, and 100,000 works of art. Highlights include the earliest known extant photograph made with the aid of the camera obscura; Jack Kerouac's notebook documenting his writing of On the Road; original works by Frida Kahlo; some of Albert Einstein's unpublished notes and calculations for his work on general relativity; and one of only 20 complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the world.
- Cost is free, Hours: 10-5, private group tours available upon request
- Texas Science & Natural History Museum on UT campus
- The museum tells the story of life in the natural world in Texas from the formation of our planet through the age of dinosaurs and into our current time.
- Cost: $10, Hours: 10-5
- Texas State Capitol Building
- The Texas State Capitol is a stunning example of Renaissance Revival architecture, offering a glimpse into Texas history and the legislative process. It contains an impressive rotunda, several large paintings depicting Texas history in the legislative rooms, a library, and historical artifacts.
- SPB - Capitol Tours available with a tour guide or self-guided
- Free, Duration: 30 mins, Hours: 9:30 - 3:30
- Austin Segway Tours - a great way to get a quick, fun tour of Austin
- Cost: $69, Duration: 2 hours, Time: 10am
Evening Activities
- Bat/Dinner cruise (8 pm)
- Austin's bats, particularly the Mexican free-tailed bats, are a major draw for tourists and locals alike. They are known for their nightly emergence from under the Congress Avenue Bridge, making it a popular bat-watching destination. The colony is estimated to be around 1.5 million bats, making it the largest urban bat colony in North America.
- https://capitalcruises.com/, many options, group rates
- https://lonestarriverboat.com/bat_watching_sunset_cruises.html, $14, 1 hr
If you want to spend your off time on Wednesday (or any other day) in the Georgetown area, here are some suggestions:
Georgetown
- Visit Georgetown - general guide for things to do in and around Georgetown, including tours, parks, public art, dinning, breweries, wine tasting, music, shopping, spas, and more. The downtown is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) from campus.
- Inner Space Cavern
- Adventure Tour: $24, 18 adult, child, Duration: 75 mins, Hours: 9-4
- Group tour: 20+, $16 adult, $10 children 4-12. Reservation must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Requires single payment.
- Longer tours available for the more adventurous (no group rates)
- Temperature: 72 degrees (22 C) but damp
- 2.7 miles from campus. Transportation cost for an Uber is $51, one-way, for 6 people.
- Williamson Museum
- Dedicated to the history of Williamson country
- Cost is free and is located in downtown Georgetown. Hours: 12-5 pm on Wed
- San Gabriel Park
- San Gabriel Park
- 1-2 mile from campus
- Blue Hole Park
- https://georgetowntexas.gov/business_detail_T22_R69.php
- 1-2 miles from campus
- Lake Georgetown
- https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/georgetown/access.phtml
- 5 miles from campus
- Georgetown On The Square - Grape Creek Vineyards
- Cost: $30 for 4 glasses, Hours: 12-6
- 0.8 miles from campus
- Georgetown Winery
- Cost: $18 for 4 x 2 oz glasses, Hours: 11-6, other tastings available
- 1 mile from campus
Other things to do around Austin
- Wonderspaces Austin - Art and Technology
- Cost: $25 - $50, Duration: about 75 mins
- 1205 Sheldon Cove, Suite 2-A, Austin, TX 78753
- Mesa Rim Climbing Center - 50,000 sq ft, 55 ft high
- Cost: day pass is $28
- 1205 Sheldon Cove
- Museum of the Weird
- 412 E 6th St
- Cost: $13 adult, $9 youth, Duration: about 30 mins
- Indoor Skydiving in Austin | iFLY
- Experience sky diving in the safety of a vertical wind tunnel with an instructor
- Cost: $85, Duration: 30 mins, Hours: 9-7:30
- Texas Location | Kalahari Resorts | Kalahari Resorts & Conventions
- Lake Travis Zipline Adventures
- 1 - 3 hours long, $84 - $141
- Zilker Park, Barton Creek Canoe, Pool
- Zilker Metropolitan Park | AustinTexas.gov
- Double Decker Austin Single Loop Sightseeing Tour
- Cost: $37, Duration: 75-90 minutes
- Austin Detours
- 2024 Best of Austin Small-Group Driving Tour with Local Guide, $45, 2 hours
- 2024 Half-Day Hill Country Wine Shuttle From Austin, $65, 4-5 hours
- 2024 From Austin: Hill Country BBQ & Wine Shuttle, $55, 4-5 hours
- 2024 (Austin) Half-Day Hill Country Brewery and Distillery Shuttle from Austin, $65, 4-5 hours
- 2024 Austin Murals & Mimosas Roofless Party Bus Tour and Photoshoot
- Cost: $595 for up to 15 people ($40/person), Duration: 2.5 hours
Shopping Suggestions
In or nearby Georgetown: