How to Spend 8 Hours in Austin: LBJ, Fossils and a German Beer Garden
Updated October 3, 2026
Eight hours lets you see a presidential library, a giant flying reptile and a creekside park before dinner. Finish in the beer garden at Scholz Garten, which calls itself the oldest operating business in Texas.
Between the Capitol and the stadium, the east side of the UT campus holds two museums that are each worth an unhurried visit. At the presidential library, Lady Bird Johnson asked for the archives to be put on display, and you can see the archive boxes stacked behind a tall glass wall. A short walk away, the university's natural history museum shows off fossils found in Texas. Downhill, Waller Creek has been reshaped into a park, and a German beer garden that has served the city since 1866 sits a few blocks away. Check the UT football schedule before you go. The science museum closes on Mondays, so save this plan for Tuesday through Sunday.
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The 8 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 4 hr 14 min to 6 hr 24 min of 8 hours
One of the national presidential libraries run by the National Archives, this museum tells the story of Lyndon Johnson's life and the civil rights era. It opens daily. From the Great Hall, you see four floors of red archive boxes, which hold about 45 million pages. Upstairs, a replica of his Oval Office is built at seven eighths scale. As of October 2026, adult tickets are $16, and everyone pays half price on Tuesdays.
Tip: Large bags and backpacks must go to the bag check, and the library warns that rideshare drop-offs become difficult when UT plays football at home, so walk in on game days.
- Time here
- 1 hr 30 min to 2 hr 20 min
- Website
- lbjlibrary.org
NaviTime to head out from LBJ Presidential Library for Texas Science & Natural History Museum. It's a 7 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
The university has run a natural history museum since 1939, and it reopened under this name in 2023. It opens Tuesday through Sunday, from early afternoon on Sundays, and is closed on Mondays. Its entrance hall holds a life sized Quetzalcoatlus northropi, a pterosaur with a wingspan of about 33 feet that the museum calls the largest flying creature ever to live. A tyrannosaur skeleton cast stands beside it. Both are based on fossils found in Big Bend National Park.
Tip: Leave time for Epic Encounters, the newer paleontology gallery with animated scenes of prehistoric Texas, rather than stopping at the two giants by the door.
- Time here
- 50 min to 1 hr 20 min
- Website
- sciencemuseum.utexas.edu
NaviTime to head out from Texas Science & Natural History Museum for Waterloo Park, East 12th Street. It's a 13 minute transit ride if you leave now. Here's the link
Waterloo Park is the northern piece of Waterloo Greenway, a park system that runs a mile and a half along Waller Creek from the Capitol to Lady Bird Lake. The park is free and opens daily, though concerts can change hours. Restored creek banks, native gardens, lawns and a winding path fill the space, with the Moody Amphitheater at one end. The greenway path isn't continuous yet, so use the streets to walk on from here.
Tip: Glass containers are banned, and alcohol is allowed only in marked areas, so save the beer for Scholz Garten and check the events page for concert nights.
- Time here
- 25 to 45 min
- Website
- waterloogreenway.org
NaviTime to head out from Waterloo Park, East 12th Street for Scholz Garten. It's a 9 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
German immigrant and Civil War veteran August Scholz opened a bar and café here in 1866, and the restaurant now calls itself the oldest operating business in Texas and the oldest beer garden in America. It opens daily, with the bar staying open later than the kitchen. It serves German and Texas food with beer in a shaded garden, and the restaurant names UT fans and music lovers among its regulars.
Tip: Ask about the six lane bowling alley next door at Saengerrunde Hall, whose bowling club began in 1904 and which the restaurant counts among the oldest in the country.
- Time here
- 1 hr to 1 hr 30 min
- Website
- scholzgarten.com
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