How to Spend 3 Hours in Austin: South Congress Coffee, Boots and Pizza
Updated October 3, 2026
Three hours is ideal for South Congress, the walkable strip just over the river from downtown. Grab coffee by the i love you so much wall, try on cowboy boots at a store open since 1977, then share a pie at Home Slice.
South Congress Avenue climbs away from the river with a view straight back to the Capitol dome. Allens Boots remembers it as a sleepy strip when the store arrived in the late 1970s. Today, its low buildings hold vintage shops, food trucks, music venues and restaurants, and the sidewalks are busy from breakfast until late. Everything on this plan sits within a few blocks, so it is easy to stretch or shorten. The 1 and 801 buses run here from downtown, or you can walk over the bridge.
Navi is a text-based AI assistant that helps you keep your trip on track
- Text this plan to Navi with the button on this page.
- Tell Navi your flights, or the day and time you start.
- Navi fits the stops to your real times and texts you when it is time to move on.
The 3 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 1 hr 29 min to 1 hr 49 min of 3 hours
Jo's has served coffee and breakfast tacos on this corner since 1999, and it is open every day from early morning into the evening. Its side wall carries the words i love you so much in red spray paint. Musician Amy Cook wrote them there in 2010 as a private message to her partner, Liz Lambert, who co-owned Jo's. It has since become a favorite backdrop for photos, and the Statesman reports it has been repainted several times.
Tip: If you fall for the coffee, Jo's also runs a branch inside AUS, so you can pick up one more cup on the way to your gate.
- Time here
- 20 to 25 min
- Website
- joscoffee.com
NaviTime to head out from Jo's Coffee, South Congress for Allens Boots, South Congress. It's a 6 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Steve Greenberg opened Allens Boots on South Congress on October 3, 1977, when the avenue was still a sleepy strip, and it has anchored the street ever since. It opens every day, starting later on Sundays. The big store is packed with racks of cowboy boots, along with hats, belts, buckles and western shirts. Allens has made its own line of boots since 2018.
Tip: Pose under the big red boot on the storefront, which the store says became a social media staple, and ask about custom made boots if nothing on the racks fits.
- Time here
- 25 to 35 min
- Website
- allensboots.com
NaviTime to head out from Allens Boots, South Congress for Home Slice Pizza, South Congress. It's a 3 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
This independent pizzeria has served New York style pies and slices on South Congress since 2005. It opens every day from late morning and stays open late, and later still on Friday and Saturday nights. The dough is made in house and hand tossed, and you can order by the slice or the whole pie. Drivers can use designated spots in the church lot off Elizabeth Street, with no donation required.
Tip: When there is a wait, walk next door to More Home Slice, its takeout shop, and eat a slice on a bench along South Congress instead.
- Time here
- 35 to 40 min
- Website
- homeslicepizza.com
Text Navi for navigation assistance
Navi can help you plan trips, monitor traffic and weather in real time, and get you from place to place on time. There's no app to download, just a number to text. There are many other everyday use cases for Navi that you can check on textnavi.com. The team has spent several months building Navi and we're excited to be launching in public beta. Please send any feedback you may have to feedback@textnavi.com.
Want Navi to run this plan for you?
More guides for Austin
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in Austin: Barton Springs, Umlauf and Brisket
Four hours gives you a swim in cold spring water and a peaceful garden across the road. Plunge into spring fed Barton Springs Pool, cool off among bronzes at the Umlauf, then walk down Barton Springs Road for brisket.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in Austin: Mount Bonnell, Peacocks and Deep Eddy
Six hours takes you into the green hills of west Austin. Climb stone steps to a lake view, walk among peacocks at a historic cottage garden, see art on a lakeside estate, then swim in the oldest pool in Texas.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in Austin: Greenbelt Hike, Tex-Mex and Two-Step
Eight hours is enough for a full Austin day from limestone creek to honky-tonk. Hike the Barton Creek Greenbelt, eat enchiladas at a Tex-Mex institution from 1952, then learn the two-step at the Broken Spoke.
3 hoursHow to Spend 3 Hours in Austin: The Capitol, Congress Avenue and the Bat Bridge
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.
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in Austin: Texas History Down Congress Avenue
Four hours lets you trace Texas from a 1686 French shipwreck to its barbecue. Start at the Bullock Museum, walk down Congress Avenue to Mexic-Arte, then pick your meat straight off the pit at Cooper's.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in Austin: Lady Bird Lake by Paddle and on Foot
Six hours gives you a full loop of Lady Bird Lake's west end. Climb to the library's roof garden, rent a kayak or paddleboard, walk up a park hill for the skyline, then visit Stevie Ray Vaughan's statue on the shore.