How to Spend 3 Hours in Austin: The Capitol, Congress Avenue and the Bat Bridge
Updated October 3, 2026
Three hours covers the grand stretch of Congress Avenue from the Capitol to the river. Take a free tour under the dome, step into an 1886 cattle baron's hotel, then reach the bridge at dusk, when the bats fly out from about March to October.
Congress Avenue runs in a straight line from the river up to the statehouse, and the Capitol dome closes the view from almost anywhere along it. This walk follows it downhill in the late afternoon so that you reach the water just before sunset. From about March to October, a large colony of free-tailed bats streams out from under the bridge around sunset to hunt over the lake. After strong cold fronts in October or November, most of them leave for Mexico until spring, so in winter the walk ends with sunset over the water instead. The whole route is on foot.
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The 3 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 1 hr 53 min to 2 hr 7 min of 3 hours
The statehouse opened in 1888 to a design by architect Elijah E. Myers, and it opens daily until the evening. The State Preservation Board points out that it stands 302.64 feet tall to the star held by the Goddess of Liberty, which is 14.64 feet higher than the US Capitol. Free guided tours leave the South Foyer often through the day and run a little under an hour. You are also free to explore the rotunda and its halls on your own.
Tip: If the next guided tour is a long wait, pick up the free self-guided brochure at the north entrance or outside Room 1S.2 and set your own pace through the building.
- Time here
- 45 to 50 min
- Website
- tspb.texas.gov
NaviTime to head out from Texas State Capitol for The Driskill Hotel, East Sixth Street. It's a 12 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Cattle baron Jesse Driskill opened this hotel on Sixth Street in December 1886, and its own history describes a gathering place for intellectuals and renegades alike. The hotel says Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson had their first date in what is now the 1886 Café. It also says the first long distance call from Austin to New York was placed at its front desk. Walk through the lobby, then settle in at the café for coffee and a pastry.
Tip: For something stronger than coffee, the Driskill Bar, which the hotel calls a longtime downtown meeting place and which keeps its original brass, suits one drink before you walk on to the river.
- Time here
- 15 to 20 min
- Website
- driskillhotel.com
NaviTime to head out from The Driskill Hotel, East Sixth Street for Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. It's an 11 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation estimates that half a million to one and a half million Brazilian free-tailed bats roost under this bridge in the warm months. The Trail Conservancy calls it the world's largest urban bat colony. From about March to October, they usually fly out around sunset. Most leave for Mexico after strong cold fronts in October or November and return in March and April. Watching from the sidewalk or the lawn is free, and in winter the bridge is still a fine spot for sunset over the lake.
Tip: Skip white flashlights and loud voices. On cool, damp evenings the bats come out later in the dusk, and they are easiest to see from below the bridge, looking up past a streetlight.
- Time here
- 30 to 34 min
- Website
- austinbats.org
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