Austin's must-sees, as we draw them here, are places that keep the record rather than sell it. One is a church dating from 1872, one is a theatre that also screens films, and one is a fountain and sculpture from 1933. There is also a reservoir on the Colorado River and a temple described as the largest in North America. We'd point this list at anyone who would rather walk a quiet path, read a name carved in stone, and look up at an old facade than queue for a photo, and most of these places reward slow attention far more than a fast checklist. Wear good shoes, bring water, and take the stops one or two at a time. Austin's reputation runs loud. The places that explain it are often the quiet ones.
-
1 Texas State Cemetery
901 Navasota St.A historic cemetery on the National Register of Historic Places, open daily from 08:00 to 17:00
The grounds of the Texas State Cemetery at 901 Navasota St. are open every day from 08:00 to 17:00, and what you find there is Texas history written in stone rather than on plaques in a gift shop. This is a historic cemetery on the National Register of Historic Places. Come early while the paths are quiet, and give yourself time to walk slowly and read. The cemetery keeps an official website worth checking before you set out. Treat it as you would any burial ground: keep your voice low, stay on the paths, and leave things as you found them.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
Hours: Mo-Su 08:00-17:00
-
2 Cathedral of Saint Mary
201--207 10th St.A church dating from 1872, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Dating from 1872, the Cathedral of Saint Mary at 201-207 10th St. is a church on the National Register of Historic Places. Don't time your visit around a tour group. Walk in on your own, sit near the back, and let the room explain itself without a guide. Before you go, check the parish website: this is a church first and a sight second, and visitors should fit around its life, not the other way round. Dress and behave as you would in any place of worship, keep photographs discreet, and if a service is under way, either join it quietly or come back later.
Dates from 1872 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
3 Lake Austin
A reservoir on the Colorado River inside Austin itself
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River, not a natural lake, and knowing that changes how you look at it: this is river water held back and spread out, lying within Austin itself rather than in some distant hinterland. The locals know the way to meet it is at its edge or on the water, not through a car window on the way somewhere else. Pick an hour when the heat is easing, find a spot by the shore, and watch the water for a while. Bring a hat and more water than you think you need, because the Texas sun does not let up just because you are near a lake.
-
4 Radha Madhav Dham
400 Barsana Road, Austin, TX 78737A temple described as the largest in North America
Described as the largest temple in North America, Radha Madhav Dham sits at 400 Barsana Road, Austin, TX 78737, and the scale is reason enough to plan a dedicated trip. Resist the habit of ranking sights by proximity to your hotel: this one calls for a deliberate journey into the 78737 and gives a different Austin back for it. Check the temple's official website before you leave so you know what to expect on the day. You come as a guest at a place of worship, so dress modestly, follow the lead of the people around you, and keep the camera down when the moment calls for it.
-
5 Paramount Theatre
713 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701A theater and movie theater in a National Register of Historic Places building
The Paramount Theatre at 713 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701 is both a stage and a movie house, and the way to understand it is to buy a ticket, not to photograph the front. Leave the multiplex to whoever prefers identical boxes. When you watch a film or a show inside a building on the National Register of Historic Places, the evening becomes an occasion. The theatre's official website carries what's on, so book before you arrive in the 78701 rather than hoping a seat is waiting at the door. Get there early enough to look around the room before the lights go down. Half the pleasure is the building.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
6 Central Christian Church
1110 Guadalupe StreetA 1929 church building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The Central Christian Church building at 1110 Guadalupe Street, dated to 1929, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A building like this earns attention from the pavement before you reach the door: stand across the street first and take in the whole elevation, then walk up and look at the detail up close. The church keeps a website, and that's the place to check before you try the doors, since a working congregation keeps its own hours. If you do go inside, go quietly. With the door shut, 1110 Guadalupe still repays a few slow minutes on foot.
Dates from 1929 · National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
7 Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
A bridge that carries both Congress Avenue and Ann W. Richards in its name
Traffic hums across the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, a crossing whose full name ties it to Congress Avenue and to Ann W. Richards at once. Resist the urge to cross it by car. A bridge is best judged on foot, at your own pace, stopping halfway to look both ways, walking it end to end and then turning round because the view changes with the direction. Go when the light is soft and the pavement has cooled, take your time at the railing, and let the city move past you for once.
-
8 Buford Tower
201 West Cesar Chavez StreetA historic tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places
A tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Buford Tower stands at 201 West Cesar Chavez Street as a historic structure in Austin. Skip the distant skyline photograph; a structure like this is meant to be seen at street level, standing at its base and looking up. Walk to 201 West Cesar Chavez, stop, and give it a few minutes, because the details that earned the listing don't read from across the street. It makes a fitting pause on a longer walk, and a useful reminder that some of the city's history stands in plain sight beside the road.
National Register of Historic Places listed place
-
9 Littlefield Fountain
A fountain and sculpture dating from 1933
At the right hour, Littlefield Fountain catches the light, a fountain and sculpture in Austin that dates from 1933. Give it more than the glance a fountain usually gets. Walk all the way round, because a sculpture never reads the same from every side, and the figures that look busy from the front tend to settle into sense from the back. Come early or late, when the sun is low and the stone has some shadow to work with, then sit for a minute and watch who else stops. A piece from 1933 that still makes people pause has done its job.
Dates from 1933
-
10 Scarbrough Building
A historic structure in Austin
Look up from the pavement and the Scarbrough Building makes its own case as a historic structure in Austin. Skip the glass-and-steel stretches that any growing city can show you, because a building that has earned the word historic repays more attention than one that went up last decade. Stand back far enough to take in the whole facade, then walk the length of it slowly, reading the detail floor by floor. It takes ten minutes and costs nothing, and you come away knowing a little more about how the city looked before it got this tall.
This is an early version of the Austin list. We add picks as we test more places.
Last verified by automated review (v1.7.2_nonsight1017-1015-1565-20261017071816) on . What is automated review?