This natural underground cavern was discovered by construction workers building the I-35 highway. Choose from one of the guided tours (we like the one-hour version) and learn the difference between stalagmites and stalactites while you explore the cavern’s Ice Age animal fossils.

To get far away from festival crowds and throw in a healthy nature experience while you’re at it, head to Walnut Creek Part. Part of a greenbelt that connects with Little Walnut Creek Park in East Austin (also quite pleasant), it many hilly, meandering trails and walks along its shaded creek bed. If you happen to have a dog or a mountain bike, take them along—it’s popular with mountain bikers and an off-leash dog park as well as being generally dreamy.

ince opening in 1973, Playland Skate Center has been the place to get your roller-skate on. (At 27,500 square feet, it’s also the largest in Austin.) In addition to keeping the rink in great shape, it features a light show, fog machine and state-of-the-art sound system.

For almost 60 years, Dart Bowl has been there for Austin bowlers young and old, enthusiastic amateurs and wizened experts who are no strangers to the perfect game. Be sure to try the enchiladas in the snack bar.

It’s all about the peacocks at Mayfield Park. Stroll around there and the nearby, lakeside Contemporary Austin—Laguna Gloria grounds, and you’ll peace out, despite (because of?) the squawking.

If you have time, a full tour of all the art brought to the University of Texas by its amazing Landmarks program is advised, as is popping into Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin, recently completed on the grounds of the Blanton Museum. If you’re pressed for time and in need of a break, though, head to Turrell’s permanent installation (a Landmarks project)—an enclosed structure with an oculus for experiencing how the view of the sky transforms as colors on the walls change. The ideal times to visit are at sunrise and sunset, but the place is quiet, contemplative, and compelling any time of the day.

In 1991, four forgotten acres tucked in the woods near Barton Springs were turned into an art garden after 20th-century American sculptor Charles Umlauf donated dozens of stone and bronze works to the city. The garden has evolved since then, with xeriscaping, winding paths, benches, and a small pavilion being added. Now it’s like a walk in the park. With art.

The Wildflower Center operates year round and invites return visits. In addition to offering vast displays of its namesake flowers (depending on the time of year), it offers many more displays, educational programs and events, and the opportunity to see more 800 species of native Texas plants, buildings and hardscapes that are constructed with locally harvested stones and reflect regional architectural styles, a 68,500-gallon capacity rainwater capture and storage system, and perhaps some of the more than 143 species of birds, 15 species of mammals, and 1,800 species of insects that populate the center’s 284 acres.