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Austin, Texas Attractions

Unusual landmarks, museums, roadside attractions, and hidden wonders in Austin and the surrounding area. State capital, college town, and new tech hub that embraces its weirdness, with an impressive spray of oddball public art, much of it DIY. Little museums cater to the non-normal. Also: urban bats!

Museum of the Weird

Sights for Oddball Excursions

  • Cathedral of Junk

    Cathedral of Junk

    Austin, Texas

    Vince Hannemann has been building a folk junk-art environment in his back yard since 1988. In 2019 he announced it was "99 percent complete."

  • Museum of the Weird

    Museum of the Weird

    Austin, Texas

    Monsters, UFOs, ghosts, Bigfoot -- this small-but-enthusiastic museum in a gift shop covers it all. Don't miss the frozen missing link, and the sideshow theater performance.

  • LBJ Museum and Library, With Robot

    LBJ Museum and Library, With Robot

    Austin, Texas

    12-story cement block houses the history of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. Best of all: a life-size LBJ robot that tells G-rated versions of LBJ jokes.

  • Quirky Store, Cowboy on Jackrabbit

    Quirky Store, Cowboy on Jackrabbit

    Austin, Texas

    Eclectic antiques store advertises its weirdness with a statue over the entrance of a big rabbit ridden by a cowboy.

  • 33-Foot-Tall Humanoid

    33-Foot-Tall Humanoid

    Austin, Texas

    "Looking Up" was sculpted by Tom Friedman to appear as if made out of thousands of mashed-up aluminum roasting pans.

In and Around Austin

Choice field reports and tips. Or check out: Complete list of Texas attractions.

My Sights

My Sights on Roadside America

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