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The first street on the south side, parallel to the Colorado River (not to be mistaken with 1st Avenue that runs north-south on the south side) one block west of Congress. As you travel east past IH 35, you will get into Austin's version of Mexican night life. During the day you can eat in a wide variety of Mexican and Chinese restaurants, some very good and inexpensive, shop in a variety of Latino-oriented stores, visit the Mexican Flea Market one block north of the Riverside and Pleasant Valley intersection (weekends only), or visit the Riverside Austin Community Campus. At night from 11PM to 2AM, East Riverside becomes the Latin party alternative to the famous 6th street in downtown.
An art installation in Austin resident Vince Hannemann's backyard built over 20 years from scrap metal and other junk, now standing at three stories high. A very interesting sculpture and probably something you find in the guidebook. Free entry but donations are welcomed. Call ahead to check if he's open. Parking is a sensitive issue with his neighbors — do not park illegally, or on private property without permission.
A museum that is open occasionally in the front room of someone's house. It is usually only open on Saturdays and it's best to call ahead.
Showcases flowers and plant life of the area. The center is a bit southwest of downtown and worth the drive, especially during spring.
Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
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. In years when there has been a drought, the bats leave early (when there is still light), and can be a quite impressive sight. In years when there has been plenty of rain, they leave so late it is difficult to see much. Best place to see them is near the Austin American Statesman's parking lot, or you can pay for boat tours to see them from underneath the bridge. Towards the end of bat season, when the colony's young are flying for the first time, pedestrian crowds can become rather dense. Try to arrive at least an hour before dark if you want to have a good, unobstructed view.
Bridge decorated with hundreds of mosaic tiles to honor the legacy of beloved Austin radio dj. Designed by artist Stefanie Distefano, the tiles were made to look like radios, cassette tapes, ceramic portraits, and dozens of other representations of Monroe’s life and career, including replicas of his signature ‘’Segway’’ license plate and a replica of the logo featured on his website, designed by artist Sam Hurt. The bridge features tiles depicting vinyl records with names of artists and songs that represent the range of music that Monroe enjoyed as well as tiles containing lyrics by a few of the musicians whose music he played, including a 22-foot musical score from the Townes Van Zandt song "To Live is to Fly". Friends of Larry and guest musicians meet at the bridge annually, near the end of August, the anniversary of Larry's birth, to perform and celebrate his life.
A great place to hear many local artists. Much of the music that is played there seems to be singer-songwriter. It's musically akin to Austin City Limits and unlike Austin City Limits you can probably get in to the Cactus Café.