Blanton Museum of Art
ExperienceDowntown#35 of 50

Blanton Museum of Art

Austin, Texas

Photo: Blanton Museum of Art

The largest university art museum in the country, and criminally under-visited by tourists. The Latin American collection is world-class, the Ellsworth Kelly chapel — Austin — is a permanent installation of colored glass and stone that stops you in your tracks. It's on the UT campus, it's free on Thursdays, and it will change how you think about Austin's cultural depth.

Insider tip

Go straight to the Ellsworth Kelly building. Sit in silence for five minutes. You'll understand.

Learn More
See all 50 picks in Austin

More in Austin

You might also like

Houndstooth Coffee
CoffeeWest Campus

Houndstooth Coffee

Skip the line at whatever everyone's posting about this week. Houndstooth has been quietly doing single-origin pour-overs better than anyone in the city for over a decade. The West Campus location has this perfect mid-morning light that makes you want to stay for a second cup.

Uchi
EatSouth Lamar

Uchi

Tyson Cole's flagship is still the best meal in Austin, full stop. This isn't a sushi restaurant — it's a Japanese farmhouse that happens to serve the most inventive raw fish in the Southwest. The omakase is worth every dollar, but honestly the à la carte hot tastings are where the kitchen really shows off.

Hotel Saint Cecilia
StaySouth Congress

Hotel Saint Cecilia

Named after the patron saint of music and poetry, and it earns both. This is a 14-room estate hidden behind a wall of bamboo on South Congress. No lobby, no check-in desk, no corporate anything. Just a pool, a record collection, and the distinct feeling that you're staying at a very cool friend's house.

Experience picks elsewhere

More experience we love

ExperienceWest Seattle · Seattle, Washington

Alki Beach

Seattle's original landing point and still its best beach — a 2.5-mile strip of sand and boardwalk facing the downtown skyline across Elliott Bay. On a summer evening, the whole city seems to migrate here: bonfires on the sand, volleyball games, the skyline glowing orange in the sunset. It's not Hawaii and it's not trying to be. It's a Pacific Northwest beach, and on the right day, there's nowhere better.

ExperienceNob Hill · San Francisco, California

Cable Cars

The last manually operated cable car system in the world, and riding one is the rare tourist experience that delivers exactly what it promises. The Powell-Hyde line climbs Nob Hill and descends toward the bay with a view that makes your stomach drop. Yes, the lines are long. Ride it anyway. Grip the pole, lean out, and let the city rush past. Some clichés are clichés because they're perfect.