The unofficial motto of the city is “Keep Austin Weird”, nowhere is this on display better than the South Congress district.  Located within walking distance of downtown, and within view of the state capitol, South Congress is home to a wide variety of restaurants, shopping, and live music.  Oh, and also home to a fair amount of weirdness as well.

If there is a food type, chances are you can find it within a few blocks on South Congress.  From Guero’s Taco Bar to Home Slice Pizza to a whole host of food trucks featuring everything from fried chicken to crepes.  And for dessert there is a Hey Cupcake truck hiding in a random parking lot.

Once you are through with lunch, it’s time to hit the shops.  As with any shopping district there are plenty of clothes and gift shops, but on South Congress it’s taken a step further.  Lucy in Disguise (with diamonds) has every type of costume in existence.  Uncommon Objects has an unbelievable variety of, well, uncommon objects ranging from 19th century text books to a 1960’s kitchen set to black velvet self portraits.  Even if you have no intention of buying it is an incredible shop to visit.  If Sci-Fi is more your thing, there is a wax museum opening up early in 2015.  On the landmark front, there is the iconic “I love you so much” graffiti on the side of Joe’s coffee shop.  Both the Austin Motel and the Hotel San Jose are among the oldest hotels in the city and have kept the same look and feel for decades.

The best part of South Congress however is the weirdness.  On any given day you can walk down the street and see a deer head mounted on the driver side seat of a convertible.  Or you can see a singing cowboy doing some light shopping while on horseback.  Or my personal favorite, seeing the three most common modes of transportation all in a single shot against the backdrop of the skyline and state capitol (the three transportation modes are of course car, bike, and horseback).

If you want to completely sum up Austin in six blocks, South Congress is without a doubt the way to go.