With thousands of acres of parks, preserves, and lakes set aside for public enjoyment, Austin is unusually nature-friendly. It's easy to miss that, however, when you're busy negotiating the city's freeways. As soon as possible, get out of your car and smell the flowers: Just a few blocks south of downtown's office towers lie the green shores of Town Lake, where you'll begin to see the real Austin.

Central Austin is, very roughly, bounded by Town Lake to the south, Hwy. 290 to the north, I-35 to the east, and Mo-Pac (Loop 1) to the west. South Austin, east of Mo-Pac, tends to be blue-collar residential, although its northern sections have been gentrified, and hotels have been cropping up like mushrooms since an airport opened in this area in the late 1990s. Although the tech boom-driven development in north Austin is on hold for the time being, residential growth is not showing much sign of slowing down. What was once flat farmland in the old section of east Austin has become home to many Hispanic and African-American communities, while some of the city's most opulent mansions now perch on the lakeshores and hills of west Austin.