Fodor's Cityguide Austin

Metropolitan life On a bad day in a big city, the little things that go with living shoulder-to-shoulder with a few million people wear us all down. But the special pleasures of urban life have a way of keeping us around town and thankful, even, for every second of stress. The field of daffodils in the park on a fine spring day. The perfect little black dress that you find for half price. The markets so fabulously well stocked that you can cook any recipe without resorting to mail-order catalogs. The way you can sometimes turn a corner and discover a whole new world, so foreign you can hardly believe you're only a few miles from home. The never-ending wealth of possibilities and opportunities. If you know where to find it all, the city cannot defeat you. With knowledge comes power. That's why Fodor's has prepared this book, with the editors at Texas Monthly. It will put phone numbers at your fingertips. It'll take you to new places and remind you of those you've forgotten. It's the ultimate urban companion and, we hope, your new best friend in the city. It's the Austinwise shopaholic, who always knows where to find something, no matter how obscure. We've made a concerted effort to bring hundreds of great shops to your attention, so that you'll never be at a loss, whether you need a special birthday present for a great friend or some obscure craft items to make Halloween costumes for your kids. It's the restaurant know-it-all, who's full of ideas for every occasion you know, the one who would never send you to the slick chain joint where the tortillas taste like cardboard and the steaks don't taste like anything at all. In this book we'll steer you around the corner, to a perfect little place with five tables, a chalkboard menu, and the family matriarch in the kitchen. It's a hip barfly buddy, who can give you advice when you need a charming nook, not too noisy, to take a friend after work. Among the dozens of bars and nightspots in this book, you're bound to find something that fits your mood. It's the sagest culture vulture you know, the one who always has the scoop on what's on that's worthwhile after dark. In these pages, you'll find dozens of jazz clubs, concert venues and arts organizations. It's also the city whiz, who knows how to get you where you're going, wherever you are. It's the best map guide on the shelves, and it puts all the city in your briefcase or on your bookshelf. Stick with us. We lay out all the options for your leisure time and gently nudge you way from the duds so that you can truly enjoy your Austin life.Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc. Staff is the author of 'Fodor's Cityguide Austin' with ISBN 9780679004998 and ISBN 0679004998.