If you've been to Austin, you've heard of the bats. But unless you've stood on or below the Congress Aveune Bridge during a dry summer sunset, you've not truly experienced the bats. It is estimated that 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats live together under this bridge, and they all take off for their fruit and insect hunts together at nighttime. Just watch out for the guano.

Austin prides itself on its embrace of the counterculture, and nowhere is this more evident than in the celebrated iconography of the lovely Leslie Cochran. You can usually find him in the loudest outfit imaginable, trudging up Sixth Street, and asking to borrow a lighter or giving a word of advice to stumbling passerby. 

More than a costume store--more like a way of life--Lucy's is Austin's favorite spot for dressing up for special occasions or just a night on the town. With a sprawling inventory of outrageous outfits, wigs and accessories, you can bet your bottom dollar the staff here knows how to get you exactly the look you've set your heart on.

After two decades of stacking literal junkyard refuse into an interconnected sculpture, Vince Hannemann turned his entire backyard into an impressive tower of power. After a prolonged legal battle about zoning rights in 2010, Hannemann received permission to continue his work of art, and folks from all over the U.S. still make the pilgrimage to see the Cathedral of Junk.

Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon is a no-frills Austin kind of bar with one major exception: Chicken Shit Bingo. Every Sunday afternoon, locals start lining up around the pool table to buy tickets for the hour when Sissy the Chicken begins dropping her treasured gifts upon the oversized bingo board below her. Tickets are $2, but you might turn that in to $120 depending on how the shits fall.

Maria's Taco Xpress is a beloved breakfast taco spot every day of the week. But on Sundays at noon, these tacos are taken to a whole new level when Hippie Church turns Maria's into a singing, dancing and taco-eating religious service. Folks of every faith are invited to attend and join the energetic, 100% unique worship service experience.