Summertime in Texas goes better with the cooling effects of dipping your body in water, sipping an adult beverage, and eating barbecue.

This year, the Austin Chronicle will host 2016 Association of Alternative Newsmedia at the Westin Austin Downtown (310 E. Fifth) from July 7-9. If you're headed this way, here are your options for getting to the hotel and around town.

We doubt you'll have time to try all of these activities, but don't leave without partaking in a few or it'll be like you were never here.

You’re from out of town and you’re looking for a laugh. You want a night out filled with comedy and maybe a nosh to get you by. Austin’s comedy scene can help with its ever-growing stand-up acts and improv groups. If you find yourself in the Downtown area and beyond, this will guide you to the prime locales for Austin’s top comedy.

So you’re having a good old time at AAN, right? But maybe you’ve had a bit too much fun and whoops! Looks like someone’s waking up in last night’s clothes with a grumbly tummy and in need of weapons-grade ibuprofen. Room service isn’t going to cut it, and you didn’t travel all this way to stay in your hotel room. Here are a few grub options to help dilute the poison.

Austin isn’t necessarily known for its world-class museums. But we are known for embracing our offbeat culture and working to preserve it. While you're Downtown, exhibits, galleries, and museums that represent this dedication essentially surround you.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the saying goes. It’s all a matter of perspective, but one must admit, we can all see that Austin appeals to just about any eye. Passing through Austin via I-35 can give you ample time in traffic to look around, but the short stretch of highway quickly opens up to reveal the city’s depth and expansiveness.

Austin's been around long enough to be self-aware of how weird it is, and the stores that now call this city home reflect that. South Congress (“cutely” abbreviated to SoCo) is a gem of a place to shop and a condensed if somewhat Disneyfied Austin experience. Here are a list of stores that are worth stopping by.

Living in Austin, it isn’t shocking for a waitress, professor, car repairperson, accountant, or barista to casually mention their band’s “sick show this weekend.” Everyone – and we mean everyone – plays music.