Rainey Street is Austin's most photogenic bar district — a single block of craftsman bungalows converted into bars and restaurants, lined with food trucks and strung with lights. It runs south from Caesar Chavez Street near the lake, and on weekend evenings it fills with a somewhat older and more affluent crowd than the 6th Street strip.
The bungalow format gives each venue a distinct identity: some have large back patios, some cram into the original small house floor plans, some have gone fully open-air. The food trucks parked along the street provide the eating while the bars provide the drinking. It's more relaxed than 6th Street, easier to have a conversation in, and better for a slower evening. The walk to the Congress Avenue Bridge for the bat emergence is a natural combination.