Austin: Toddler-friendly suggestions?

[spunkybaby]

My DH has a business trip in Austin in September, and we are trying to decide if DD and I should come with him. He will be attending a conference at the Austin Hilton. I checked the reviews on tripadvisor.com, and the hotel sounds nice but not necessarily kid-friendly. We have friends and family in Austin, but most of the moms work, so DD and I would have to find something to do each day, probably without a car.

Any ideas/comments about whether this is a good tagalong trip or whether we should just stay home would be much appreciated! Also, if you have suggestions for what DD and I could do in downtown Austin, that would be great! (fyi--in September, DD will be 2.5, and I will be 6 months pregnant.) I think the Hilton is near Sixth Street.

TIA

Not-so-new mom to a spunky toddler
March 2004

[COElizabeth]

There is a nice children's museum downtown, and I would also recommend the Austin Duck tour (around downtown and into Lake Austin on an amphibious vehicle). We did it when my nephew was around 2, and it was a lot of fun.

http://www.austinducks.com/

I grew up in Austin and love it, but I will warn you that it will still be quite hot in September (though generally not as bad as July and August). It's a beautiful city, though, and I think staying downtown would be really fun. Enjoy!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02
and Charlotte, 11-04-04

[BaileyBea]

I second the Austin Childrens Museum it's on 2nd street.

Here are some other ideas:

1) Go see the bats fly from the Congress Ave. Bridge in the evening at dusk.

2) Definately bring a stroller and stroll on the greenbelt or Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail as it's called.

3) There is an Amy's Ice Cream on 6th and Lamar. You can take the Dillo or bus there. There is also one on South Congress past Town Lake on the other side of the lake from the Hilton.

4) Whole Foods on 6th and Lamar by Amy's Ice Cream is a great place to eat and have the kiddos play. Go to the 2nd Level and they have a play ground.

5) Zilker Park (you can take the bus there or you can walk but being 6 months pregnant at the time I advise you take the bus). In Zilker you can play in the kids playground area or go swim in Barton Springs.

6) Go walk around the TX Capitol and have a picnic on the grounds.

7) Family friendly eating: Las Manitas on 2nd and Congress is a great place for breakfast and lunch. They close at 2:30 pm. Hickory Street (salad bar and soup stuff) on 9th and Congress area. Jazz on 6th street in the bar ares of the district. They'll bring balloons to your DD I think. Schlosky's on Congress. Chipote on Congress. There are also some Asian noodle places that are kid friendly. On South Congress are more family friendly restaurants like: Guerros, El Sol Y La Luna (both Tex-Mex) and I Homegrown Pizza.

8) You can take a horse ride through downtown.

Just don't forget your swim suit and stroller. It will still be pretty hot then.

I have a name of a babysitting service and a babysitter if you want to go out w/your DH alone one night.

Look up events on:
www.austinchronicle.com

Look up weather on
www.kxan.com

They have free events in the park around that time but I don't have that schedule. They will show up in the Austin Chronicle the week before you arrive.

Have fun! Austin is a great city.

[spanannie]

Nancy,

You're full of ideas! I didn't know that WF downtown had a playground! Wow, I've gotta go.

Annie, living in Austin, and sheltered ;-)

[jbowman]

The Children's Museum is nice, as PP have said. I also think walking around the Capitol building is fun, as is visiting Whole Foods.

If you can drive a bit (or take public transportation), I would suggest going to Central Market (on Lamar, I believe). They have a very toddler-friendly cafe/restaurant with a great play area. Plus it's always fun to wander around Central Market.

[spunkybaby]

Thanks for all your suggestions--they are really helpful! And the tip about the hot September weather is good too. Hmm...will I be in the mood to walk around in hot weather with a toddler when I'm six months pregnant...decisions, decisions...

Thanks again, and please let me know if you have any other thoughts!

Not-so-new mom to a spunky toddler
March 2004

[alleyoop]

I didn't know that either, but I haven't been downtown in awhile.

Don't forget the Austin Nature and Science Center and Botanical Gardens in Zilker Park, too.

[JulieL]

Your tips totally helped up have a great day trip to Austin this past week. We went to Zilker park to the Nature and Science Center (not sure exactly what they called it) It was GREAT, so much better than St. Louis's Science Center which is bigger but geared towards older children. Anthony totally had fun going through the fossils, looking at all exibits, the wildlife they are housing and more. We went shopping on Commerce and we got Anthony a pair of boots from Allen's Boot Shop, boy the grin on his face was totally worth it. Oh, now his boots apparently go with everything! We had lunch at Hickory Street, which had been to before, delicious! After that we went to Wholefoods, and sooooo wished we had started the day there, oh boy what a fun place. It's about 3 times bigger than our Wholefoods in St. Louis. Anyway seeing as it's summer and others may be looking for tips, just wanted to say these were excellant :)