2nd Street District

2^nd Street District is about 6 blocks and has restaurants, very cute girlie type shops, a movie theater, and a few day spas including W hotel.
My sister walked into Lux Apothetique that had clothes, unique gadgets, etc. (reminded me of Urban Outfitters) and ended up getting a cute color and cut because they had a salon in there too.
Not sure how it transforms at night but if you’re looking for a place to walk around, eat, maybe check out the children’s museum then this place is fun.

One-​percenters walk their designer dogs while speaking loudly about real estate deals on their hands-​free phones. Men who get weekly facials stride briskly towards their next wine tasting, alongside makeup queens who always look as if they smell something icky somewhere. Suicide blonde yuppie pod people chat at little sidewalk tables while the birds sit silently in the trees. This «district» reminds me of the Neiman-​Marcus ads that make me nauseous whenever I flip through Texas Monthly. The people who enjoy this kind of scene are not real Austinites: they belong in Dallas. This is a wealthy, shiny, creepy place. The people here make me feel like I’m in Stepford.

Local shops, great food, fun events, and three garages!
I love strolling around down here.

As a first-​time visitor in Austin, I wanted to try out some shopping in the several hours of free time I had during my last day. I came to the 2^nd street district. First of all, don’t be fooled by the image on here; the 2^nd street district is only really on 2^nd street; there’s a couple things you can find just off that strip, but for the most part, go a block away, and you’re by warehouses, city hall, or other commercial buildings.
On this narrow strip of street, there were several restaurants, a number of boutiques, and a few assorted shops (Lofty Dog was fun to browse in, and I bought some «cat candy» that is, to my cat, what cocaine is to a junkie).
Overall, it was kind of a waste of time to come here, since I wasn’t looking for women’s clothes. I spent most of my time looking around to find more places to browse, and, if I had the chance to go back, I’d have just driven around to see the sights with my free time.
PS: As it says on the 2^nd street website, park under city hall, and get validated by one of the 2^nd street businesses for 2 hours free. I just got a $ 2.50 cup of lemonade from Austin Java, and they validated me.

My Pup and I LOVE the 2^nd Street District! Gallery D, Shiki, St Bernard and Minx allow my Butt Sniffer Four Legged Kid to shop with me and Teuscher has a walk up order window and Lofty Dog has everything my Pup could wish for and all the restaurants with patios are Dog Friendly!