Austin, United States: Self-Guided Walking Tour

Looking for things to do in Austin? The Texas capital combines historic churches, theatres, public squares, cultural institutions and outdoor spaces in a compact urban setting. Its central streets reveal how Austin developed from a young capital into a city with distinctive religious, civic and architectural landmarks. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Austin with 133 narrated places.

Austin is part of Texas, in the United States, and downtown is the best place to begin exploring its history on foot.

What to see in Austin

Cathedral of Saint Mary

The Cathedral of Saint Mary is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin and has been a centre of Catholic life since the 1850s. The parish was first associated with a small stone chapel called San Patricio, then adopted the name Santa María in 1866.

The cornerstone of the present building was laid in 1872, one block north of the original chapel. Its design was completed by architect Nicholas J. Clayton. The cathedral became the seat of the bishop when the Diocese of Austin was established in 1948, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

St. David’s Episcopal Church

St. David’s Episcopal Church is one of Austin’s oldest surviving buildings. Its main sanctuary was completed in 1855, following the laying of the cornerstone in 1853 for the city’s first stone church.

The building combines Gothic arches with Spanish Mission details, using local limestone. The congregation began in 1848, and the church was originally known as the Church of the Epiphany before taking the name St. David’s in 1859. Its bell was cast in Philadelphia and arrived before the railroad reached Austin.

Paramount Theatre

The Paramount Theatre has stood on Congress Avenue since 1915. Its Classical Revival architecture gives the building a formal presence, while its history reflects Austin’s changing entertainment culture.

The venue has operated both as a live theatre and a cinema. It hosted silent films, later screened talkies, and was the setting for world premieres including Batman: The Movie in 1966 and Sin City in 2005.

Central Presbyterian Church

Central Presbyterian Church stands at the corner of Brazos and Eighth Street. Austin’s first Presbyterian service took place in 1839 at Bullock’s Hotel, before the city was officially chartered.

A sanctuary was completed on the present site in 1874, while the building now standing there dates from 1957. The Texas Historical Commission recognized the site in 1989. The congregation has used its current name since 1983, and the church has presented free weekly concerts since 1980.

Central Christian Church

Central Christian Church traces its congregation back to 1847, when ten members of the Disciples of Christ Brotherhood organized what they called the Christian Church of Austin.

After meeting in other buildings for decades, the congregation moved to its present site in 1929. The Romanesque Revival building is marked by rounded arches and solid masonry. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Wooldridge Park

Wooldridge Park, also called Wooldridge Square, occupies a single block in downtown Austin. Its natural basin slopes gently inward, creating an outdoor amphitheatre around a central bandstand.

The space has long been used for concerts, speeches and community events. Its importance as one of Austin’s original public squares was recognised when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Wesley United Methodist Church

Wesley United Methodist Church was founded by freedmen in 1865, making it one of Austin’s enduring African-American institutions. The first meeting took place in the basement of the old Tenth Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, under Reverend Joseph Welch.

The congregation first built a sanctuary at Fourth and Congress. As it grew, it moved to a larger building at Ninth and Neches in 1882. For several years, Samuel Huston College—now Huston–Tillotson University—held most of its classes there.

Southgate-Lewis House

The Southgate-Lewis House was built in 1888 by builder and architect Robert C. Lambie for John Southgate, a bookbinder and printer. Since 1986, the W. H. Passon Historical Society has cared for the house and used it to preserve documents, photographs and stories about the African American experience in Austin and Travis County.

The house is a City of Austin landmark, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and a National Register property.

Congregation Beth Israel

Congregation Beth Israel is the oldest synagogue in Austin. The congregation was organised in 1876 and received its state charter in 1879, becoming the first Jewish congregation officially recognised in the city.

Lamar Boulevard Bridge

The Lamar Boulevard Bridge crosses Lady Bird Lake with six open-spandrel concrete arches. Completed in 1942, its Art Deco design made it one of the last bridges of its type built in Texas.

It became the second permanent crossing of the Colorado River at this point, after the Congress Avenue Bridge, and changed connections between the two sides of the city.

Fiesta Gardens

Fiesta Gardens is a public event venue and park beside Lady Bird Lake. Its flat, valley-like setting, forested surroundings and nearby natural springs create an outdoor space close to the city.

The site has long been used for community gatherings on the water’s edge.

Other historic places

Several smaller landmarks add further layers to an Austin visit. The Sheeks-Robertson House, at Sixth Street and West Lynn, is a historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The Oliphant-Walker House stands in the Hyde Park Historic District.

Outside central Austin, the Circuit of the Americas is a purpose-built Formula One track in Travis County near Elroy. Opened in 2012, the 3.4-mile circuit has 20 turns and hosts Formula One, MotoGP, NASCAR and other racing events.

Austin self-guided walking tour options

Neywo’s Austin routes make it possible to explore the city through several different themes:

• Texas Capitol Grounds: Eagles, Bronze and Castles — a 1.84 km walk lasting 76 minutes, with 10 narrated stops.
• Congress Avenue: Hotels, Towers and Art — a 1.8 km walk lasting 81 minutes, with 11 stops.
• Steeples, Stages and Sixth Street — a 2.59 km walk lasting 99 minutes, with 11 stops.
• The Forty Acres: Museums and Libraries at UT — a 3.45 km walk lasting 98 minutes, with 11 stops.
• Victorian Bremond Block and West Austin Icons — a 3.95 km walk lasting 95 minutes, with 9 stops.
• CapMetro Rapid 803: From the UT Campus to South Lamar — an 8.7 km bus route lasting 37 minutes, with 9 stops.
• Congress Bridge to UT by Bike — a 4.1 km bike route lasting 20 minutes, with 6 stops.

Together, these routes cover central landmarks, historic churches, Congress Avenue, the University of Texas campus, West Austin, South Lamar and the area around Lady Bird Lake.

Explore Austin with Neywo

Download Neywo and explore Austin with 5 walking tours, 1 bus route and 1 bike route. The routes include 64 narrated stops in total, while the Austin guide contains 133 narrated places.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, so you can discover Austin independently while walking, riding the bus or cycling through the city.