This realistic List of Best Places helps you pick the top spots to visit on Austin Museum Day 2024.

Austin Museum Day is an annual event in the Capital of Texas. Local museums offer free admission on September 22, 2024.

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Austin Museum Day became a local tradition since the first event in 1998. It takes place on the second to last Sunday every September. The Austin Museum Partnership coordinates the event each year.

There are a few museums that participate nearly every year. Others try the event out for a year before taking a hiatus. Staff at some lesser know museums might not even know about the event.

Swag giveaways, raffles, and scavenger hunts await visitors on Austin Museum Day. You could connect with the local community while visiting art, history, science, and house museums for free.

Crowds and little parking are a by-product of an event of such scale. If you plan on visiting more than a couple of museums, advance planning is of utmost importance.

This List of the Best Places to Visit on Austin Museum Day includes top museums from the previous years. The exact lineup for 2024 will be released in August. This list gives you a head start.

1. Neill-Cochran House Museum

• Address: 2310 San Gabriel St, Austin, TX 78705.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Neill-Cochran House Museum is the best place to visit on Austin Museum Day. This museum is a 1855 Greek Revival house on West Campus. It regularly participates in Austin Museum Day.

You should take this opportunity to tour the historic house for free. A usual $10 per adult fee for a self-guided tour is a bargain among house museums. Yet, these savings could add up for an adult group.

Both floors of the mansion, temporary exhibitions, and the nearby Slave Quarters will be open to the public. Free parking on site is a big bonus point for the Neill-Cochran House Museum.

There is another reason that makes it the best place to visit on Austin Museum Day. Museum staff, members, and volunteers organize a free lemonade and ice cream stands, art fair, and swag giveaway.

2. Flower Hill Urban Homestead Museum

• Address: 1316 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, special hours on Austin Museum Day.

The Flower Hill Urban Homestead Museum is the second best place to visit on Austin Museum Day. This museum preserves a 1877 single family house.

The mansion is one of the prettiest house museums in Austin. Yet, it is quite difficult to tour this house outside Austin Museum Day. You have to arrange a tour for a weekday in advance with unclear pricing.

The Flower Hill Urban Homestead Museum could be a bit of a hit-and-miss on Austin Museum Day, too. While the museum usually participates in the event, the house interior might be still closed to the public.

If this happens, you could still explore the museum grounds. But you are unlikely to see actual flowers on the hill in September. There is free street parking on Pressler Street on Sundays.

3. Blanton Museum of Art

• Address: 200 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78712.
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Blanton Museum of Art is one of the best places to visit on Austin Museum Day for art connoisseurs. This museum on campus of the University of Texas has modern and contemporary art exhibitions.

Austin Museum Day gives you a cost-effective way to see “Austin” by Ellsworth Kelly. This art installation became the symbol of the museum. Enjoy $15 per adult in savings!

Free admission does not mean free parking. You still need to pay regular rates ($4 per hour) to park at the nearby Brazos Garage. Or look for free street parking on Brazos Street and San Jacinto Boulevard.

Museum staff and student volunteers often organize raffles and giveaways in front of the museum. You might get a prize if you visit a certain number of museums on campus.

4. French Legation State Historic Site

• Address: 802 San Marcos St, Austin, TX 78702.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the grounds, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the museum.

French Legation State Historic Site is among the best places to visit on Austin Museum Day for history lovers. This museum preserves a 1841 house that was once a French Embassy to the Republic of Texas.

You could see the main house, detached kitchen, and a visitor center. You would save $7 per adult compared to a normal day. Museum staff might be also giving away swag if this is your thing.

French Legation does not always participate in Austin Museum Day. Check the official list to confirm if this State Historic Site is part of the event in 2024.

This museum has a small parking lot at the corner of 9th Street and Embassy Drive. You could also park along San Marcos Street if the lot is full.

5. Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms

• Address: 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr, Austin, TX 78754.
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last admission at 4 p.m.

Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms is a solid place to visit on Austin Museum Day. It is a living history museum and farm. It preserves historic buildings that date back to the 19th century.

Thanks to Austin Museum Day, you could save $8 per adult and $6 per youth. You might even catch a glimpse of the decorations that the park puts on for Halloween.

Parking is not going to be an issue at Pioneer Farms, either. Yet, there are a few considerations against this historic museums. The park is a good drive from other museums that participate in the event.

Most historic buildings were not built at Pioneer Farms. Instead, they were moved from elsewhere in Central Texas. That creates a weird fusion where different styles co-exist in a theme park setting.

6. The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria

• Address: 3809 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Contemporary Austin – Laguna Gloria is one of the best art places to visit on Austin Museum Day. This art museum is a large outdoor exhibition on the shores of Lake Austin.

There is a permanent exposition at Laguna Gloria. You could see the ordinary items become art objects and part of the landscape. This is a similar setting to MUSA near Isla Mujeres in Mexico.

Make sure to take a look inside Driscoll Villa. You could save $10 per adult by visiting Laguna Gloria on Austin Museum Day. This is a good value for a hike among the art works.

Note that the museum parking lot is quite small. It could fit at best a dozen cars. There is free parking along 35th Street. But it gets busy with visitors to Mayfield park and its peacocks.

7. Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum

• Address: 605 Azie Morton Rd, Austin, TX 78704.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum is among the best places to visit on Austin Museum Day for art lovers. This museum displays the works of Charles Umlauf in an outdoor space near Zilker Park.

You could save on admission fees of $7 per adult on Austin Museum Day. Park staff and volunteers might still push you for a voluntary donation. Doing this on a free event might leave a bad taste in your mouth.

It will take you about 15 minutes to see all sculptures at UMLAUF. The sculptures and the landscape are in perfect sync. Depending on the year, an art competition might take place at the museum, too.

There is free parking on the premises. But the museum parking lot could fit at most 19 cars. This is not enough to deal with the Museum Day crowds. You could also park at these free lots down the street.

8. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

• Address: 4801 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX 78739.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last admission at 4 p.m.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a a great place to visit on Austin Museum Day. This botanical garden is a regular participant in the annual event.

On paper, a visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center gives you the highest savings. A regular admission costs $15 per adult and $8 per youth. It is more expensive than most museums in Austin.

There is also a spacious parking lot next to the gardens, so you do not need to worry about parking. But there are a few reasons why this museum scores lower on this list of the best places.

September is not the best time to visit a garden in Texas. Few plants will be in bloom. Location also plays a role. The garden is at the southern edge of Austin. It is quite far from other participating museums.

9. Texas Capitol

• Address: 1100 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
• Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Texas Capitol is a great destination to visit on Austin Museum Day. This 1881 building is a seat of Texas government. Both Texas Legislature and the Governor have offices in this building.

Texas Capitol is a symbol of Austin and the Lone Star State. You might be wondering why it scores so low on this list of the best places to visit.

The answer is quite simple. Texas Capitol is free to visit year round. Austin Museum Day does nothing but brings larger crowds to this beautiful building. You are better off visiting the Capitol on any other Sunday.

There is a Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at the corner of San Jacinto Boulevard and 12th Street. Parking is free for the first two hours. You could also use street parking along San Jacinto Boulevard.

10. Elisabet Ney Museum

• Address: 304 E 44th St, Austin, TX 78751.
• Hours: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Elisabeth Ney Museum is another great house museum to visit on Austin Museum Day. This museum protects an 1892 house and studio of a famous sculptor.

This fact makes it a bit similar to Frank Lloyd Write Home & Studio near Chicago, Illinois. The castle like museum is the last thing you could expect in Hyde Park neighborhood. Park on Avenue H.

You could see all three floors of the house museum. The first floor houses sculptures by Elisabet Ney and free workshops by museum staff. The second floor has paintings and exhibits.

And the tower is an enclosed space for meditation. The lines to the tower could often resemble climbing towers at Casa Loma in Toronto, Ontario. The museum is free to visit year round.

11. Chateau Bellevue

• Address: 708 San Antonio St, Austin, TX 78701.
• Hours: by appointment.

Chateau Bellevue is a 1874 mansion that houses Austin Woman’s Club. It is not a museum but rather an event venue. A lot of weddings, receptions, and dinners took place at this mansion.

Chateau Bellevue participates in Austin Museum Day occasionally. But you might be disappointed if you head there during the event. The venue staff might have little idea about Austin Museum Day.

Get ready for a less than ideal exchange. On top of that, there is an unclear situation with parking. The designated lot is reserved for Austin Woman’s Club members. You could park on Nueces Street instead.

12. Humanities Texas

• Address: 1410 Rio Grande St, Austin, TX 78701.
• Hours: by appointment.

Humanities Texas is a nonprofit organization that supports libraries and museums in the State of Texas. It has been a participant in Austin Museum Day in 2022 and 2023.

Yet, the Byrne-Reed House has not opened its doors to the public on either of these days. If Humanities Texas chooses to participate in the event this year, the same issue might happen again.

This explains a lower position of Humanities Texas on the list of the best places to visit. You are welcome to admire the Byrne-Reed House from the outside. There is a small parking lot next to this landmark.

Takeaways: Austin Museum Day 2024

Austin Museum Day is a great annual event in the Capital of Texas. Unlike the National Mall in D.C, most local museums charge admission. This event is a once-a-year way to visit Austin museums for free.

Most museums that participate in the event do not extend their opening hours. If you are trying to get the most value, you need to decide what museums to visit ahead of time.

This way, you could find an optimal route. A few museums open at 11 a.m. or noon. It might be a good idea to visit the ones that open at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. first. The same logic applies to the closing times.

Picking the right place to stay is a dealbreaker for out-of-state visitors on Austin Museum Day. You need to be close to the museums. Rent a car to reach all museums quickly.

Beat the crowd and see the museums you both visited before or came to for the first time. Have fun and enjoy raffles and giveaways. Let your Austin Museum Day experience always be positive.

Take a look at this Video List of Best Places to Visit on Austin Museum Day. And visit the YouTube channel for the latest videos.

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