Austin, being the capital of Texas, is a dynamic center for entertainment. When you have done the explorations of its beautiful scenic spots during the day, you are left wondering what else can you possibly do come evening time. Well, you can cut off your musings because below is a list of the best things that you can do in nighttime Austin.

Austin holds the title “The Live Music Capital of the World”; hence, there is no shortage that you will experience when it comes to musical fun and entertainment by night. You can go and explore its more than 200 live music venues located in various restaurants, clubs and pubs all over the metropolis. 6^th Street and Red River has the most collection of music venues so you better head down to those areas first.

If you want to laugh out loud and experience hysterical fun, there are also great places where comedic entertainment is provided. Esther’s Follies is one of the well-known places for nightly musical and magical shows. There is also The Hideout which offer open-mic poetry apart from its improv comedic performances and the Velveeta Room, which is also another outstanding stand-up comedy bar in Austin city.

If you are more into theatrical entertainment and fun, you can go to the Paramount and State Theaters as they have excellent offerings of plays, performance art and movies. Another one is the Long Center which has ballet, opera and symphony presentations.  If you go out a little bit early, you can also catch up to a string of art galleries in the city which can be found open until 8 o’clock in the evening.

Typically, when we think about yards and gardens, we envision a pretty sight of colorful flower, verdant grass and lush shrubs and trees. But knowing how weird and unique some Austinites can be, you can only expect that their yard can boast of something odd and extraordinary. If you happen to visit Austin, make it a point to stop by in some of its amazingly weird art yards.

The most famous representative of all art yards in Austin is perhaps the Cathedral of Junk. The yard is owned by Vince Hanneman and he started developing his backyard since 1988. It eventually became an iconic place of oddity in Austin. What he had is a collection of trash from discarded bikes to compact discs to aluminum pipes and had all of these wired so that they stood proudly to become a 30-foot and 80-ton assemblage. However, due to some complaints and zoning problems, the structure was toned down to comply with city engineering standards.

Other places worth looking into include the El Paso Bridge where Stefanie Distefano had been making gorgeous mosaic around it. Not far from her place, you’ll find a white gorilla in the West Lynn Street. This gorilla is a classic Austin art yard and it is being dolled up every time to honor the holiday du jour. You should also make it a point to stop by Scott Steven’s Smut Putt Heaven, which feature a backyard of filled bottle cap snakes, mannequin heads and doll heads. Another interesting art yard is known as the Alleycat. This is a yard by LuCretia Sisk who beautifully lined-up several hundred bowling balls out on her front yard.

Austin is a great niche for many artists. This is so because you can tap into something weird without any fear of embarrassment or ridicule. If you expect that your odd artwork will be ostracized and laughed at, the opposite is actually what’s going to happen. Residents of Austin embrace everything that’s unique and extraordinary. This is what they do to live up to their unofficial motto of Keep Austin Weird.

One of the unique artists that can be found in Austin is Donna Pardue. She is into sculpture but there’s a twist to the medium she uses. Commonly, people would carve out and produce artworks from wood or stone. In her case, though, she’s producing incredible sculptural pieces out of apples.

When freshly-made, her sculptures would give out that fine and translucent appearance. But knowing how apples are, eventually, they oxidize and take on a brown, bruised and wrinkly appearance. Nevertheless, they can be preserved and dried and can have that antique-like, leathery feel to them.

Some of Donna Pardue’s amazing apple sculptures include a collection of sculpted ears, which she called “The Ears of Sundry Gods” and “The Bound Foot”, which showed half of the foot including the toes. Noticeably, the subjects of her apple sculptures involve human body parts. Her “Adam Ate Most of It” piece featured a torso of a woman and her “A Hunger Artist” showed a decapitated figure assuming a meditative position.

Pardue also has an impressive series of hand sculptures using apples. There’s a hand that seemed to hold an eye. There’s also one assuming a Hook’em Horns hand signal. Another fascinating creation resembles the Pope’s benediction sign.

Art yards abound in Austin, Texas. Artistic folks create wonderful masterpieces in their backyard and gladly invite people in to marvel at their own creations. Majority of them have a hint of weirdness in them. There are some that are considered visually stunning and appealing. However, there are also those that are considered downright creepy. Below are just some of the five must-see art yards that you should visit in Austin.

One of the places that you should visit is the Smut Putt Heaven. This is a creation of yardist Scott Stevens. In his yard, you’ll find a great collection of plastic cap snakes that hang from trees and numerous pieces of doll and mannequin heads.

Next is Ira Poole’s Classic which features a model of the Statue of Liberty and the Great Sphinx of Giza. Ira Poole started building his yard art collection since 1972. This artwork of his has been greeting Austin visitors coming from the east.

Another one is the Sharon Smith located in 1204 Choquette Drive. The owner Sharon Smith is a ceramic artist so her yard is sure to be filled with fascinating pieces of ceramic sculptures and found objects. An interesting feature of the yard is a tree that is adorned by many bird cages.

There’s also the Alleycat in 1401 Corona Drive. This yard is owned by LuCretia Sisk. What she did on her place is to line them up with hundreds of colorful bowling bowls.

Flatforks Studio located in 709 W. Gibson Street is also a place that you shouldn’t miss. Why not? This is because Faith Schexnayder adorned her yard with awesome mosaic pieces. One of her unique pieces sitting in her yard is a giant chicken.

Austin is the capital of the state of Texas. It is considered one of the largest cities in the state and is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World”. This city attracted many tourists because it boasts of many scenic spots, art and cultural events and unique adventures. If you decide to come and visit the place, you will definitely enjoy Austin as there are plenty of awesome things that you can do in the area.

Austin is recognized for its connection to music. Everywhere you go, you’ll find lots of places where you can enjoy music. Bars, restaurants, parks and even side streets have performers in them to offer you quality music and awesome melodies. Apart from regular shows and performances, music festivals abound in this place, too. So, time your visit to the Austin City Limits Music festival so you can have an overload of musical fun.

If you wish for a more profound cultural experience, there are also lots of museums, historical places and galleries to visit in this city. There’s the Texas Memorial Museum that offers insight to the colorful past of Austin and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, which features historical presentations and interactive exhibits about the state. Moreover, there are plenty of beautiful architectural buildings that you will see like the magnificent Texas State Capitol and the University of Texas’ Main Building.

If you are the active and outdoorsy type, then you will certainly enjoy this city as it provides easy access to outdoor adventures like cycling, biking, boating, swimming and hiking. You’ll find excellent bike trails in the Barton Creek Greenbelt and hike trails in Mt. Bonnell. Breathtaking and beautiful swimming holes can be found in the Barton Springs, Krause Springs and the Deep Eddy Pool.