9 Weird and Quirky Things to Do in Austin

The Cathedral of Junk in South Austin is the work of artist Vince Hannemann, the so-called Junk King. It’s a staggering structure, made up of everything from car bumpers and road signs to crutches and CDs, and a lot more besides.

The project was started in 1988 and has been constantly growing ever since. It is literally located in the artist’s backyard, so visits are by appointment only. Despite that fact, it has become a really popular place of pilgrimage for lovers of weirdness and art. Wear comfortable shoes if you're going to climb up the 3-storey structure for a bird's eye view of the area.

Hippie Hollow is about a 30-minute drive northwest from downtown Austin, on the shores of Lake Travis. As the name suggests, it started out as a popular hangout during the 'Free Love' era in the 1960s and just never changed. It remains the only clothing-optional park in the entire state of Texas.

The park is a pleasant space to spend time. Spanning 109 acres, it has some paved nature trails, hiking trails, designated swimming areas, drinking fountains and restrooms. For fairly obvious reasons, it’s an adults-only place, and you'll need to leave pets at home.

Gourdough’s Original Food Trailer serves delicious donuts from its airstream truck in a quiet corner of Austin’s trendy Bouldin Creek neighbourhood. There’s an inviting seating area that provides shelter from the sun by day and twinkling lighting by night, and the atmosphere is always cosy and friendly.

The donuts themselves are a delight. Each one is freshly prepared, soft and crammed with flavour, and the portions are large enough to share, if you want to. There’s an array of gourmet treats to choose from, including savoury snacks and themed donuts with fun names. We recommend you try the bacon and maple syrup Flying Pig or the weird but oddly delicious Mother Clucker donut with fried chicken and honey butter.

If you’re looking for some interesting and unique souvenirs, you’ll almost certainly find them at this South Congress store. The maze-like shop is packed with unusual and eye-catching knick-knacks, from folk art to time-worn relics. You can find old toys, impressive jewellery, busts, skulls, globes, sports memorabilia and more than we could possibly list here.

Once a month, Uncommon Objects host a vintage marketplace where you can truly dig around for treasure. The South Congress area is home to several weird stores like this so, in the extremely unlikely event that you don’t find something to your liking, you can always shop around.

The Museum of the Weird is an example of what happens to a curios shop when it reaches a certain size and level of oddness. It originally opened as a gift store with a small section at the back for the really weird stuff like shrunken heads, suits of armour and Fiji mermaids. But the owners soon realised that there was more value in sharing their weird finds with the world rather than selling them, and the museum was born.

On your visit, you can wander through 3 levels of interesting and bizarre objects, including film props, wax figures and fossils. Then buy your own off-the-wall item from the range in the gift shop.

Open since 1948, Pan Mini-Golf is perhaps one of the best examples of Austin’s weird and wonderful attractions. Meander through 2 18-hole courses, both littered with bizarre statues and obstacles. Many of them are naturally related to the popular tale of the boy who never grew up, though others are just completely random. We’re pretty sure there was no mention of a T-Rex stomping about Neverland in the original text.

You’re more than welcome to bring your own food and drink, and tables are available for reservations if you’d like to turn your event into a party. Don’t forget to visit the gift shop for some cool merch including branded caps and golf balls.

The Congress Avenue bridge in downtown Austin is not only a scenic spot over Lady Bird Lake, but also the primary dwelling of the Congress Bridge Bats, the largest urban bat colony in North America. About 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats roost under the bridge, and if you come to the bridge at dusk, you'll be able to see them all take to the sky to feed.

You can watch the bats while you're on the bridge or view from the nearby riverbanks, and there are even boat tours which provide a unique perspective. It’s a dramatic and unusual sight, and a real must-see during your holiday to Austin.

Austin’s nightlife scene is certainly varied, but Lala’s Little Nugget still manages to stand out. The laidback neighbourhood bar is bedecked with Christmas decorations, including lights, a tree, elves, candy canes, pictures of Santa and more. Even the jukebox is loaded with Christmas classics.

Whether you choose to believe the owner just never bothered to take the decorations down after Christmas 1972, or that Lala’s husband left her during the festive season and only the garlands and baubles can ease her sadness, you’re sure to love Lala’s infectious Christmas spirit. Treat yourself to a tasty pizza at certain times of the day and join them for Jolly Hour where you can sample house Margaritas and Bloody Marys at great prices.

We can almost guarantee that you will never be as interested in the bowel movements of poultry as you will when visiting Little Longhorn Saloon, sometimes also known as Ginny’s. Come on a Sunday for the renowned bingo game, where you place a bet and get a number. If the chicken relieves itself on that number, you win a prize. It’s as simple, weird and strangely fascinating as that.

The Little Longhorn Saloon is a classic honky-tonk that serves cold beer and frequently hosts live music. The bar is amazingly popular, so you should arrive early if you want a good spot.