The Long Center for the Performing Arts
Austin Opera, along with Ballet Austin and the Austin Symphony Orchestra, is one of the founding resident companies of the Long Center, Austin’s creative home. The Long Center provides performing artists and organizations in the Greater Austin region with facilities and services that foster excellence, encourage originality and promote collaboration.
To broaden the appreciation and enhance the enjoyment of the cultural arts, the Long Center connects diverse audiences to significant local, regional, national and international artists and performances in a world-class venue.
Getting to the Long Center
The Long Center for the Performing Arts is located at 701 W Riverside Drive. Whether arriving from north, south, east, or west, driving routes to the Long Center for the Performing Arts are often impacted by local traffic and multiple events around town. Please build extra time into your transportation and/or parking plans—or arrive early and enjoy special dining and drinks events created just for you.
The Long Center is located in the heart of Austin’s entertainment corridor. CapMetro offers affordable options to get you to the opera on time. Use your smart phone’s mapping feature to find your bus route to the Long Center.
Nearby transit stops: Vic Mathias / Auditorium Shores Station, South 1st/Riverside, South 1st / Barton Springs, and Barton Springs Station.
Transit Routes: 1, 3, 7, 10, 20, 30, 801 and 803
Using a rideshare service to get to the Long Center? Here are instructions for your driver: use the same lane/entrance as the valets. The valets should have a lane clear in the Long Center drive for rideshares and other drop-offs to pull past the valet stand. Once you are past the valets, they can drop off in the second half of our drive and then easily exit. If they use the garage entrance, they will have difficulty exiting without paying to enter the garage. Please do not unload on Riverside.
Walking to the Long Center from downtown is easy. Just take Cesar Chavez to the First street bridge. Follow the pedestrian bridge across Town Lake and continue all the way to the front lawn on the Long Center.
Parking Options
Onsite parking is available for all opera performances at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. As with every thriving city, parking garages fill quickly as there are often many events happening around downtown. Please plan to arrive early to ensure you do not miss a moment of the opera.
Starting at $12.00 – Cashless
Parking is available at the Palmer Events Center Parking Garage, located next to the Long Center and accessible from Riverside Drive. Be aware the garage often fills and is shared with the Palmer Events Center, which sometimes hosts concurrent events. Note: Palmer Events Center Garage is a public parking facility managed and operated by the City of Austin.
Starting at $20.00 – Cashless
Valet is accessible from the Long Center Circular Drive from the Riverside Drive entrance; right entrance. Note: up-front valet parking is an additional $10. If you plan to valet, please allow extra time in your arrival plan for the inevitable traffic delays.
Special Event Rate Starting at $10.00
The One Texas Parking Garage is located at 505 Barton Springs Road. Learn more about the One Texas Center.
RiverSouth is a mixed-used building at 401 S. 1st Street. Special event rate parking is available and can be reserved in advance.
Mixed-used building at 801 Barton Springs Road directly east of the Long Center. Special event rate parking is available and be reserved in advance.
FREE
Bicycle parking is always available at the Long Center. As you approach the Long Center Parking Garage from Riverside Drive, there is a bike rack located to the right of the parking garage. Best of all, it’s free!
Accessibility
The Austin Opera strives to provide the best services and accessibility for all guests. Tickets for accessible seating for physically disabled guests are available at The Long Center. Please call the box office at 512-472-5992 for further information. Guests requiring wheelchair accessibility or other special seating should notify the Box Office at the time of their ticket purchase.
