Rainy Day Date Ideas in Austin

The Bullock Texas State History Museum keeps everything indoors, across three floors of exhibitions. Two theaters, IMAX and the Texas Spirit Theater, are inside too, along with a museum store and The Star Cafe.

Tickets cost $22 for adults, but the first Sunday of every month brings free entry. The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm.

Take in rotating galleries of documents and artifacts at the Harry Ransom Center, a free indoor stop on the UT campus.

The galleries are open Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5pm. The center is closed Mondays.

Traditional and contemporary Mexican, Latino, and Latin American art fills the indoor galleries of Mexic-Arte Museum downtown.

Adult admission is $8, students and seniors pay $5, and Sundays are free for everyone. The museum is open Monday through Thursday from 10am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 12 to 5pm.

Browse together at Austin Central Library, a six-story building with an art gallery and a used bookstore inside. Cafe Creme, the on-site cafe, is there for coffee.

The library is open Monday through Thursday from 9am to 8pm, Friday from 9am to 5pm, Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 12 to 5pm. Underground parking is paid.

Spend an evening with the galleries and Ellsworth Kelly's Austin building at the Blanton Museum of Art on the UT campus, which stays open until 8pm on Saturdays. It closes at 5pm on the other days it is open.

Adults pay $15, and every Tuesday is free for everyone. The museum is closed Mondays.

Skate together at Chaparral Ice, an indoor rink in North Austin. Public skate sessions run daily, and adult-only sessions are open to ages 18 and up.

Admission is $14 plus $6 for skate rental, $20 per person. Check session times before you go, since they can change without notice, and pack thick socks.

Make something together at Ghost Pepper Glass, a glassblowing and flameworking studio in North Austin. In the beginner Taste of Glassblowing crash course, you pick colors while an instructor helps shape molten glass into a keepsake such as an ornament or paperweight.

Sign up for classes on the website. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 6pm and Sunday from 2 to 6pm, or by appointment or class.

Race each other in electric karts at K1 Speed Austin, an indoor track. The karts reach up to 45 mph over up to 12 laps, and the fastest lap wins.

Walk-in drivers can join Arrive and Drive racing anytime. K1 is open Monday through Thursday from 12 to 10pm, Friday from 12pm to 12am, Saturday from 10am to 12am, and Sunday from 10am to 10pm.

Climb together at Austin Bouldering Project, an indoor bouldering gym. First-timers get rental shoes included with a day pass, plus a short orientation on arrival.

The pass also covers yoga and fitness classes. The Springdale gym has saunas and cold plunges, and a second gym sits at 4477 S Lamar Blvd Suite 600.

Throw pots together at Broad Studios Club House, a pottery studio that also offers hand building, open studio time, and date night classes. Wine, a charcuterie board, and a wheel-throwing lesson all come with the popular Saturday-night date class.

Staff fire your finished pot and plant a succulent in it, ready for collection on a later visit. Register for classes on the website.