7 stops on the route
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Photo: Utexas06 at English Wikipedia, Public domain (source) 01
Texas State Capitol
Head of Congress Avenue
The big one. Pink granite, a dome taller than the U.S. Capitol's, and the best photo in town from the middle of Congress Avenue.
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Photo: Jouaienttoi, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source) 04
Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge
Lady Bird Lake at Lamar
A curving bridge across the lake with the whole downtown skyline in front of you. Pedicabs are allowed on it.
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05
Stevie Ray Vaughan statue
Auditorium Shores
An 8-foot bronze of the blues legend, guitar in hand, facing the skyline across the lake.
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Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source) 06
South Congress and I Love You So Much
South Congress Avenue
Austin's most famous shopping street, and the hand-painted love note everyone lines up to photograph.
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Photo: Capvideo, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source) 07
Congress Avenue Bridge bats
Lady Bird Lake at Congress
Up to a million and a half bats pour out from under this bridge at dusk, March through November.
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Good to know
- Starts
- Texas State Capitol. We can pick you up at your hotel instead.
- Finishes
- Congress Avenue Bridge bats
- Distance
- about 6 miles, plus time at each stop.
- Guests
- Up to three per cab. Bigger groups ride together in more cabs.
- Price
- From $220 per cab. See all tour fares, or build a custom tour.
Rider guide
The route, timing and talking points for the rider giving this tour. Guests are welcome to read along. About 95 minutes at stops, plus riding time.
- Start about 2 hours before sunset so the last stop lands 20 minutes before dusk. Bats fly March through November; in winter, end at South Congress instead.
- Route: Capitol view on Congress, down to the Driskill, east to Rainey, west along Cesar Chavez to the Pfluger Bridge, across to Auditorium Shores, over to South Congress, then back north to the Congress Avenue Bridge.
- Agree the fare before the ride. Austin requires it, and the fare has to be posted in the cab.
- Up to three guests per cab, everyone over six in a seat.
- Don't ride on the Capitol grounds or UT campus roads (state property) or on hike-and-bike trails. Narrate from the street.
- The Pfluger Bridge and the sidewalks beside the Lady Bird Lake bridges are fine to ride.
- Weekend nights, 6th Street is barricaded: don't enter without APD permission. Stage at Brazos or Red River.
- Don't supply alcohol. Guests can drink in the cab, no glass.
- Ride the route yourself before leading it, and check anything marked 'check' in the talking points.
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1
Texas State Capitol
about 10 minWhere to stop: Narrate from Congress Avenue or 11th Street. Capitol grounds are state property: pedicabs don't drive on them.
- Finished in 1888 from sunset-red granite quarried near Marble Falls.
- At 302.64 feet it's taller than the U.S. Capitol. Texans will tell you that.
- Paid for by trading about 3 million acres of Panhandle land, which became the XIT Ranch.
- The Goddess of Liberty on top is a 1986 aluminum replica; the original is inside the Bullock Museum.
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2
The Driskill Hotel
about 10 minWhere to stop: Pull to the Brazos Street curb. On weekend nights 6th is barricaded; stay on Brazos.
- Built by cattle baron Col. Jesse Driskill in 1886, Austin's oldest operating hotel.
- Look up: busts of Driskill and his sons and carved longhorn heads on the facade.
- Governors have held inaugural balls here for well over a century.
- Lyndon Johnson took Lady Bird on their first date here, in 1934.
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3
Rainey Street
about 15 minWhere to stop: Weekend nights Rainey closes to cars, with drop-off at the ends; pedicabs are a natural fit. Use the Cesar Chavez end.
- The houses date from the 1880s to the 1930s; the district has been on the National Register since 1985.
- The first bar, Lustre Pearl, opened in 2009. Now nearly every house is a bar or patio.
- Great contrast shot: little porches in front, 50-story towers behind.
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4
Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge
about 15 minWhere to stop: Ride it at walking pace. Stop at the middle for photos without blocking the path.
- Opened in 2001, named for architect James D. Pfluger.
- The double curve lets it bend around the Lamar road bridge; the northwest ramp came later, in 2011.
- One of the few bridges where pedicabs ride with the walkers: take it slow.
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5
Stevie Ray Vaughan statue
about 10 minWhere to stop: Auditorium Shores is on the hike-and-bike trail, which pedicabs can't ride. Park on Riverside Drive and walk guests over.
- Bronze by Ralph Helmick, unveiled in 1994, four years after Vaughan's death in a 1990 helicopter crash.
- Look behind him: a bronze shadow is cast on the ground.
- Fans leave guitar picks and flowers. Ask if anyone wants a photo with him.
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6
South Congress and I Love You So Much
about 15 minWhere to stop: SoCo gets crowded. Stage on a side street (James or Elizabeth) and walk guests to the wall.
- I Love You So Much was spray-painted in 2010 on the side of Jo's Coffee by musician Amy Cook, for her partner Liz Lambert.
- It's the most photographed wall in Austin. Expect a line on weekends.
- SoCo is boots, vintage shops and food trucks, with the Capitol framed at the end of the street.
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7
Congress Avenue Bridge bats
about 20 minWhere to stop: Time the tour to arrive about 20 minutes before sunset. Watch from the bridge sidewalk; the lawn by the Statesman bat observation area fills up early.
- The largest urban bat colony in North America: Mexican free-tailed bats, mostly mothers and pups.
- They moved in after a 1980 bridge rebuild left perfect crevices underneath.
- Each night they eat tons of insects. Peak emergence is late summer.
- Officially the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, named for the governor.
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