No. 3 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2009, No. 5 in safest city, No. 5 in leanest city by Men’s Health, the "Greenest City in America" by MSN, the “Best People” by Travel & Leisure Magazine, the least stressful large metro area by Forbes magazine, and No. 1 College Town by the Travel Channel.
“The Live Music Capital of the World", Austin is home to many musicians and live music venues such as Stubbs, Antone’s, Emo’s, and the Backyard. Residents campaign to preserve smaller local businesses and resist excessive corporatization. Take and drive down South Congress to visit local shops and restaurants.
Beyond the Austin city limits and Border States, you will not find a better place to visit except maybe New Orleans. The two biggest annual attractions are Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival and South by Southwest (SXSW).
ACL is a 3-day event held in early October in Zilker Park. The festival brings together more than 130 bands on eight stages, including rock, country, folk, indie, Americana, hip-hop, reggae, and bluegrass, and attracts a crowd of more than 65,000 visitors each day.
SXSW is a set of interactive, film, and music festivals and conferences that take place during every spring during college Spring Break. Centered on the downtown Austin Convention Center, each of the three parts runs relatively independently, with different start and end dates.
If you are visiting during the fall, I suggest checking the University of Texas Football schedule for home games at Darrell K. Royal Stadium. Single-game tickets go on sale in August. Also, participate in tailgate festivities all day on gameday in campus and state lots around the stadium.
Check back later for updates on Austin restaurants and things to do.
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