6th Street is Austin's mecca for college kids and tourists. Featuring lots of bars, live music, and entertainment, there are tons of things to do downtown. Festivals like South By Southwest heat up this hot spot even more. However, if you live in Austin and are not of college age, you might quickly tire of the downtown drinking lifestyle. There are more laid back places on 6th street closer to Lamar, like Mother Egan's. So, basically, you graduate from the college joints at 6th and Congress to the older people joints at 6th and Lamar.