Austin and Fort Worth: A Texas Adventure of Live Music, BBQ and Cowboys
When we started planning our Texas adventure, Austin and Fort Worth were always going to be high on the list.
I wanted music, proper country bars, good food, a bit of cowboy culture and, if I'm honest, plenty of opportunities to drink local beer and bourbon.
What I didn't expect was quite how much we'd love the people we met along the way.
Texas has a reputation for being big, bold and larger than life, but for me it was the friendliness that really stood out. We could walk into a bar as complete strangers, start chatting to locals and leave with new friends.
And that's really what this trip became about.
Three nights in Austin
We started our Texas adventure with three nights in Austin, staying at the fabulous W Austin right in downtown. Sumptuous rooms with city views and an elegant trendy vibe.
It's a smart hotel, its plush surroundings have seen their fair share of celebrities, but for me the biggest attraction was its location.
You're right in the middle of everything.
And Austin is a city that is very easy to explore, particularly if you like walking, with cycle lanes, scooters and plenty going on within a relatively compact downtown area.
Welcome to Dirty Sixth
On arrival, we headed straight out to experience the famous bars of Sixth Street, known locally as 'Dirty Sixth'.
Think Bourbon Street in New Orleans or downtown Nashville, but on a smaller scale.
It's popular, busy, loud and bright, with music pouring out of almost every bar.
And more importantly for me, it was live music.
With a particular preference for proper country music and what I would describe as 'dive bars', we headed to the recommended San Jac Saloon.
And this is where the Texas experience really started.
We got chatting to locals, including a very cool preacher and his wife, danced, drank some bourbon – and when I say bourbon, think big Texas measures – then headed off to sample The Dizzy Rooster and a few more places before eventually returning to San Jac for the live performance.
We loved it.
Was it sensible when we'd only just arrived from the UK and were six hours ahead of ourselves?
Absolutely not.
Did we care? Not really.
A late-night pizza was grabbed before we finally returned to our smart digs at the W Austin.
We had places to go and, more importantly, an early-morning horse ride.
From downtown Austin to the Texas countryside
One of the great things about staying centrally in Austin is just how quickly you can escape the city.
The next morning, after our late night on Sixth Street, we headed out to Lone Star Ranch.
Just a short drive from downtown, and suddenly it felt like we'd travelled much further than we actually had.
I'd not ridden a horse for around 20 years and was desperate to have that proper city-slicker-in-Texas experience.
Thankfully, you don't need to be an experienced rider to enjoy this.
The horses are gentle and forgiving, and our hour-and-a-half trek took us through the Texas countryside and nearby creek (that's a river/stream to you and me).
Our guide Ariel was fantastic, taking photographs and videos along the way so we could concentrate on enjoying the ride.
And yes, there are plenty of opportunities for the more adventurous too.
For non-riders, Lone Star Ranch offers authentic western activities including roping, archery, axe throwing, fishing trips and ATV tours.
Just make sure you check what's available and book ahead.
And then came the animals...
Following our trek, we got to meet some of the animals and rescues around the ranch.
Think friendly cats, tiny rescued kittens that I would absolutely have taken home if at all possible, pygmy goats, longhorn cattle, donkeys and chickens.
There were also some seriously cool vintage vehicles and signage.
Obviously, multiple selfies were required.
Pizza, Texas style
On the short drive back into Austin, we stopped downtown at DeSano Pizzeria, which came highly recommended.
After all that riding, food was definitely required.
The pizzas were incredibly thin and authentic, made with premium Italian ingredients, and arrived remarkably quickly.
Washed down with some local iced tea, it was the perfect end to a much more active morning than we'd normally have after a late night on Sixth Street.
When it's nearly 110°F, find a pool
Austin was hot.
And when I say hot, I mean we're talking almost 110°F each day.
So after our ranch adventure, we made very good use of the beautiful pool deck at the W Austin.
Live DJ, trendy pool scene and a chance to cool down.
Yes please.
Later, we took a walk around downtown Austin.
This is where you really start to understand the city's famous 'Keep Austin Weird' attitude.
There are colourful murals, street art and plenty of quirky little details to discover as you wander.
Austin encourages an active lifestyle too, with cycle lanes and scooters available if your feet have had enough.
Although, in that heat, I was beginning to appreciate the air conditioning more than the active lifestyle!
Texas BBQ – without the five-hour queue
One thing that was definitely on my Texas list was proper Texas BBQ.
There are plenty of places to choose from, but Franklin Barbecue is perhaps the most famous, with people known to queue for hours.
Five hours?
I don't know about you, but I have better things to do with my time.
Queuing for five hours isn't my thing.
Instead, we headed to the recommended Cooper's Old-Time Pit Bar-B-Que on Congress Avenue.
And I'm very glad we did.
We sampled burnt ends, brisket and beef short rib, along with traditional sides including Texas toast, gravy, mac and cheese and spicy BBQ beans.
Even the small sharing platter was too much for us.
Obviously, we took a doggy bag.
Because when you're faced with Texas BBQ, waste isn't really an option.
A quieter evening
After heading back downtown, we found Balls Irish Pub, a tiny traditional pub with local ales, Guinness and some acoustic music.
It was a much softer evening than the one before, which was probably sensible given what was coming next.
Our third day was a mixture of discount shopping and, of course, the obligatory Harley-Davidson showrooms.
For the motorcycle lovers among us, what harm would a few more dealer T-shirts do?
None whatsoever, obviously.
East Austin: my favourite side of the city
That evening I'd already planned a walking route around the breweries and dive bars of East Austin.
And this was actually my favourite part of the city.
The atmosphere felt much more local and chilled.
We started out at Lazarus Brewing Co., sampling local ales. Around $20 for three half-liters wasn't bad at all, although some of them were super strong!
I loved the vibe of this place.
Heading up the street, we stopped at Zilker Brewing Company, bought fried chicken from one of the street food vendors, there is street food a plenty for all tastes across this city. We sampled a wide range of wine, cider and beer.
This was much more my sort of evening.
No big tourist attraction.
Just good drinks, food, music and seeing where the evening took us.
We continued on, eventually stopping at a proper biker bar where we caught happy hour and chatted about local motorcycle clubs.
Then it was on to our penultimate stop, the highly recommended White Horse.
And this is a proper Austin live-music joint.
We made more friends, danced and chatted the night away.
It was our final stop.
And what a way to finish Austin, so much more that would warrant a future visit.
Next stop: Fort Worth
The following morning, it was time to leave Austin and head to Fort Worth.
It's just shy of a three-hour drive, and our base was TownePlace Suites by Marriott Fort Worth Downtown.
We were also meeting up with our Texan friends, which meant we had a very special Fort Worth dinner planned. Joe T. Garcia's.
Joe T. Garcia's – a Fort Worth institution
Joe T. Garcia's is a huge and famous Mexican Fort Worth institution, in operation since 1935.
And when I say huge, I mean huge.
The restaurant has a beautiful outdoor garden patio with seating for around 1,000 people, and somehow it still feels like a hidden oasis.
Make sure you book if you're visiting at the weekend.
Even on a weekday, there was a queue to get in.
And here's the thing – they keep the menu very simple.
There are just two main choices: the enchilada set dinner or sizzling fajitas.
It's cash only, so make sure you bring enough with you.
The set dinner was around $20 per person when we visited, although drinks can add up, particularly when you order those famously potent margaritas. And yes, they pack a punch.
Welcome to the Fort Worth Stockyards
The following day we Uber'ed over to the famous Fort Worth Stockyards.
And this is where you really feel as though you've been transported back to the Texas of old.
Although, of course, these days it's packed with tourists. Still, I loved it.
The longhorn cattle drive was one of the highlights.
Technically, it's more of a walk these days than the cattle drive you might imagine from the old western movies, and it's very much performed for visitors, but there's something wonderfully Texan about standing on Main Street watching a herd of longhorns make their way through town.
There are more than 50 shops selling everything from proper western gear to the souvenir 'essentials', and the old train station area is a shopper's delight with that fantastic old-school western feel.
The architecture throughout the Stockyards really gives you a sense of what Texas looked like back in the day.
If you're feeling brave, you can even have a go on a mechanical bull.
Or, if you time your visit for a weekend, you can experience a real rodeo.
Our visit was midweek, so we didn't get to see one, but there was still plenty going on.
Billy Bob's Texas
No visit to the Stockyards would really be complete without seeing Billy Bob's Texas, the enormous honky-tonk that has become an institution in its own right.
Even if you don't want to spend an entire evening there, it's worth having a look around.
We wandered through the bar, taking in the vintage neon signs adorning the walls, grabbed a beer and looked at the many famous people whose hand-prints have been cast in concrete.
It's a proper piece of Texas entertainment history I particularly loves seeing our beloved Dolly Parton's prints especially after her recent passing.
Finding the other Fort Worth
That evening we wanted to eat and see something a little less touristy.
So we headed back into downtown Fort Worth and, naturally, started checking out the dive bars and breweries once again.
And this is probably one of the things I'll remember most about our time in both Austin and Fort Worth.
The people.
We literally drank and chatted with locals who were fascinated by the English people who had wandered into their bar.
Conversations turned into friendships.
Facebook and Instagram friends for life.
And that really sums up our time in these big Texas cities.
Yes, there are the famous sights.
Yes, there are the tourist attractions. But there is also so much history, character and genuine Southern hospitality.
Austin and Fort Worth – two very different sides of Texas
I loved Austin. I loved Fort Worth.
Austin gave us live music spilling out onto the streets, dive bars, breweries, horse riding, BBQ, murals and that wonderfully weird Austin personality.
Fort Worth gave us the Stockyards, longhorns, western history, honky-tonks and a slightly more traditional taste of Texas.
But in both cities, it was the unexpected moments that made the biggest impression.
A conversation with a local.
A bar we'd never heard of.
A recommendation from someone we'd just met.
A live band that made us stay longer than planned.
That's how I like to travel.
I love having a few things in mind that I absolutely want to see, but I also love to stumble upon somewhere without much of a plan and see what happens.
And in Texas, that seems to work particularly well.
Because whether you're drinking bourbon on Dirty Sixth, riding through the countryside on horseback, eating BBQ, watching longhorns walk down Main Street or chatting to locals over a beer, there's one thing that keeps coming through.
That big, warm Southern welcome.
And that's something you can't put on an itinerary. Why not read part two of this trip here, the wilder side of Texas.
Planning your own Austin & Fort Worth adventure?
If you fancy combining the bright lights and live music of Austin with the cowboy culture of Fort Worth, I'd be very happy to help create a trip around what you enjoy.
Love country music? We'll find it.
Want a ranch experience? We can build it in.
Prefer dive bars and local breweries to expensive cocktails? That's my kind of brief.
Want BBQ, Harley-Davidson, horses, shopping, live music or a bit of everything?
That's where a tailor-made trip really comes into its own.
Your trip, your way.
Useful links & further information
W Austin – our Austin base
W Austin
Lone Star Ranch – horse riding and western activities
Lone Star Ranch
DeSano Pizzeria – Austin
DeSano Pizzeria
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que – Austin
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
Lazarus Brewing Co. – East Austin
Lazarus Brewing Co.
White Horse – Austin live music
The White Horse
Joe T. Garcia's – Fort Worth
Joe T. Garcia's
Fort Worth Stockyards
Fort Worth Stockyards
Billy Bob's Texas
Billy Bob's Texas
The Travel Edit by Caroline
Bespoke travel planning for package holidays, cruises, bucket-list experiences and tailor-made road trips.
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