With a simple grid of named and numbered streets in the central business district and a good network of highways and boulevards branching out from the downtown area, Austin is not a difficult town to navigate. Uninformed visitors can run into trouble when asking for directions, however, because many local streets and place names are not pronounced the way you might expect.

The first rule is to forget much of what you learned in school about Spanish pronunciation. Guadalupe Street, a major commercial strip that leads from downtown Austin up past the University of Texas campus, is pronounced "Gwada-loop." For San Jacinto, another downtown thoroughfare, say "San Jah-sin-toe." Other idiosyncratic pronunciations include "May-ner" for Manor Road, "Purd-nah-lis" for the Pedernales River, and "Man-shack" for the suburb of Manchaca. Natives of Austin are accustomed to hearing out-of-towners mangle local place names, but try to learn the correct pronunciation and you'll seem less like a tourist.

As for transportation, you'll probably want to rent a car to make the most of your visit. Free buses known as 'Dillos circulate around central Austin and the nightlife districts (www.capmetro.org), but you'll need your own wheels for more extensive explorations around town and into the Hill Country. Parking is generally not a problem in Austin and, pronunciation snafus aside, driving is easy outside of morning and evening rush hours.

If you prefer to travel under pedal power, consider taking a spin on the Veloway, a scenic 3.1-mile paved loop for bicycles only. Local hero Lance Armstrong, who has won the Tour de France seven times, has trained here.