Austin Sights

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The University of Texas Tower

• The University of Texas at Austin, www.utexas.edu is a beautiful stroll. While there you might want to visit the Blanton Museum of Art www.blantonmuseum.org, the Harry Ransom Center www.hrc.utexas.edu, or the Texas Memorial Museum of Science and History www.tmm.utexas.edu. The famous UT tower has reopened and is worth a look for the breathtaking views and history lesson. It is a tour though so you need to make reservations www.utexas.edu/tower/schedule.html. The theater and music departments are both well regarded and have performances throughout the school year. If you visit during football season, you can see the 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorn football team play at Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium.

• LBJ Presidential Library, www.lbjlib.utexas.edu always seems to have something interesting on display. They change their exhibits fairly frequently.

• The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, www.thestoryoftexas.com. M-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su Noon-6PM. A very good survey of Texas History and Culture. As with most newer museums it suffers quite a bit in that it seems to have traded depth for lots of multimedia displays and an IMAX theater. What is there, however, is quite well done. Access to the museum and both theaters: $13.50/10.50/8.50/6.50 (General/Seniors 65+/Children 5-18/Children 3-4).

• The Texas State Capitol, www.batcon.org/discover/congress.html is a must-see for new visitors to Austin. A large source of pride for the city and the state, the State Capitol is a beautiful building wrapped in Texas pink granite. Independent-minded Texans take pride in the fact that the State Capitol is actually 14 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Unlike many other state capitols in America, Texas' is as welcoming as the state's people, and is completely open to the public seven days a week. It's interesting to stroll through the halls, look at the paintings and sculptures, and peek into the legislative chambers. And it's free!

• Austin Bats. Yes, that's right, bats. Austin's Congress Avenue bridge is home to about 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats. This is the largest urban bat colony in the world and one of the largest Mexican free-tailed bat colonies in North America. The bats are generally active at dusk every evening between March and November.