6th Street
6th Street
4
About
No place captures the slogan, "Keep Austin Weird," quite like 6th Street. This vibrant district has bustling bars, restaurants, and cool entertainment venues. Head to the Museum of the Weird for curios and other oddities, have a craft cocktail at a speakeasy, sink your teeth into a messy burger at a dive bar, and laugh the night away at a comedy show. There are certain weekend nights when the streets are closed off to traffic and you'll see people sprawling the streets in search of fun. Check out all the best spots on 6th Street on a walking food tour or e-bike tour of Austin. – Tripadvisor
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Neighborhood: Downtown
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1,469 within 3 miles
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400 within 6 miles
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
1,583 reviews
Excellent
617
Very good
449
Average
292
Poor
129
Terrible
97
736cathy
Windsor Locks, CT114 contributions
Sep 2021
If 6th Street is "city sponsored", this is very sad indeed. This place is dangerous, dirty and surrounded day and night with homeless. We witnessed the activity from a balcony at our room for a week so we saw it all. It is so sad and dangerous. I've been to NOLA, and to me, this was worse in terms of the city homeless on every corner. And every night, it is extremely loud from the time the sun goes down with banging extremely ridiculously loud "music?" The only thing I liked was one restaurant called the Parkside, good food and service, but I would be way too scared to walk that street at night and even during the day. Because of the situation, we didn't even bother going to other places on that strip. If you have young adult kids, I would not let them walk there - it is a bit scary. I say this with understanding all big cities have homeless and I'm not heartless, I just would say avoid this place unless you are hitting up one thing in particular. It is not a "pub crawl" for the wise.
Written October 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ElvisAndrus
Arlington, TX912 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Heaven for bid that you would think this is what represents Austin as the music capital of the world. Yes there is a concentration of bars with live music that starts early and goes late. Yes there are all sorts of happy hour specials and generally inexpensive drinks and yes there are places to eat. But this is not where you’re going to see the good music these days. That will require a little looking around, finding out which venues, some very close by and some further away, are playing the kind of music that you want to see. I hate the feel of this place and locals pretty much as a whole avoid it altogether. And Uber driver said the only people that go there are young woman having bachelorette parties. I gave it to Starr’s because it is worth walking down once and because there is some history.
Written March 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Barb L
Sainte Agathe des Monts, Canada25 contributions
Feb 2020
Don’t bother wasting your time visiting this section of Austin! Many bars are permanently closed and boarded up. Many of the rest are really seedy looking. The bars with live music don’t offer food either. Many homeless people lining the sidewalks, others just panhandling or trying to sell anything for money, such as almost dead flowers.
Written February 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike H
Austin, TX4 contributions
Apr 2021
It used to be a dirty fun place to go to cut loose but now its a dirty place that is the most dangerous area of the city due to the homeless. The homeless run Austin and the mayor encourages it for some reason. Sad to see a once beautiful city go downhill so fast! I am a grown man and I don't feel safe downtown so please don't let your daughters or wives navigate this area of the city alone!
Written April 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael D
4 contributions
Jul 2021 • Business
I remember going up and down 6th street and checking out the bars and live music and having a great time. I was back in the area on a business trip and decided to see what had changed with 6th street. It is nothing like it use to be. Half the places are out of business, homeless people everywhere bagging for money or cigarettes. If you have not been there in the past 3 years you probably won’t recognize it. The smell was bad too. It is sad to see what it has become. If you want to see how quickly liberal policies will destroy a once thriving area look no further. It is a shame.
Written July 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LindaRad
Oklahoma1,315 contributions
Mar 2021
We went for a girls getaway trip. We stayed downtown at a very nice hotel. Explored all of 2nd street shopping and Congress area. We were excited to check out sixth street with the bars and restaurants. How ever the couple of times we walked the area, it was full of homeless or homeless by choice people. There were men everywhere along the sidewalks, sleeping, makeshift areas in doorways, and drug users. I don not judge anyone's life style choices, but the over whelming amount over shadowed the area. All Store fronts or restaurants and bars were filthy, no attempt to sweep or clean up along 6th street. We have visited downtown Nashville on numerous occasions and travel to NYC regularly and were hoping Austin would become a favorite as well. But we will choose other places to see.
Written March 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chim
2 contributions
Apr 2021
Been coming here for years. Didn’t come last year because of COVID, showed up this year and is 6 th street really gone down hill. Homeless everywhere, you can’t walk the sidewalk without being confronted by numerous homeless. The music is disappearing and safety is a concern. Spend your money someplace else.
Written April 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sophie
San Antonio, TX5 contributions
Dec 2021 • Friends
STAY AWAY!! Not safe at all to go at night. place is very dirty and smelly We kept being followed by homeless. This used to be a great place to walk around, grab some good greasy food, see people and listen to music.
Now I know why it’s called dirty 6.
Now I know why it’s called dirty 6.
Written February 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bluesmama
Havertown, PA24 contributions
Dec 2019
6th Street is definitely happening, although you need to pick and choose which places to visit. While the music is constant and there is great variety, some bars have a more college-aged/young 20s crowd, while others cater to older tourists and local hipsters who live in the condos/apts. in downtown Austin. The more authentic and local places seem to be in East Austin, without as much random partying and more seriously focused on the music. 6th street is worth a visit before you get down to the real Austin in SoCo and East Austin.
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
K91709Reviewer
55 contributions
Nov 2020
My husband and I were on a road trip throughout Texas, and Austin was a place I wanted to see. I had heard about how country music artists go play in Austin bars hoping to be discovered, so I wanted to see what the "famous" 6th Street bars looked like. It was awful! It was full of homeless people with a large homeless encampment right there under the freeway as you turn on to 6th Street. Just a short drive after exciting the freeway it was a very uncomfortable experience. I was thinking we might park and walk around, but all we did was drive down the street and get right back on the freeway to head out of Austin.
Written November 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi,
In your experience, can you still visit bars/restaurants in the 6th street area without wristbands/participating in SXSW?
Written March 7, 2022
Will 6th street still get packed if the weather is supposed to be 28 degrees? Definitely wanna go but heard it’s supposed to be super cold this weekend!
Written January 16, 2019
We dressed for 50s & 60s temps as the general forecast had predicted, but in fact it was freezing for much of our stay and uncomfortably so because we weren't prepared for it. The temps didn't seem to retard the crowd in the slightest on the w/e or any other time.
Layer up, as probably a jammed night spot will get warm, so you'll want to be able to adjust.
The w/e was too loud for us geezers to enjoy, but it was totally "happening" despite the weather.
Written January 17, 2019
Does anyone have the top 5 best hotel to get for 6th street ? ($-$$$)
Written March 11, 2018
I guess many would say the Driskoll but there are a number of 4/5star hotels close to 6th Street. Personally I wouldnt be hung up on staying specifically on 6th St. Maybe go online to see what is available nearby at best rate. For the next 2 weeks availability will be very tight / expensive with SxSW festival on
Written March 12, 2018
What are the best hotels to walk to the honky Toni's in downtown Austin?
Written September 3, 2017
We like the Embassy Suites right on Congress. Get one of the suites on the upper floors if you have kids, it's worth the splurge! Walk across the street and watch the bats come out from under the bridge, then walk up to 6th street (or take the hotel's shuttle and walk back!!)
Written September 5, 2017
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