Panhandle Plains
Reason enough to stop if you're any place near Abilene, Frontier Texas! makes 100 years of frontier history (1780–1880) possibly more interesting than the…
Must-see attractions in Texas
Permian Basin Petroleum Museum
Panhandle Plains
This museum is worth a stop even if you're not utterly fascinated with the oil business, for it's as much a history and geology museum as a shrine to the…
Panhandle Plains
For a slice of the real West, head on a Monday morning to the Amarillo Livestock Auction, just north of SE 3rd Ave on the city's east side. The auction is…
Panhandle Plains
The life of musician Bob Wills – originator of Western Swing, and author of the iconic ‘Faded Love’ – is recalled in Turkey’s tiny city hall. Wills’ fame…
Waco Mammoth National Monument
Dallas & the Panhandle Plains
In 1978 two Waco arrowhead hunters found a bone in a ravine. It turned out to belong to a Columbian mammoth that had perished there about 68,000 years ago…
Caprock Canyons State Park & Trailway
Panhandle Plains
Natural beauty aside, the trail system is what makes Caprock Canyons one of Texas’ best state parks: 90 miles of outstanding and diverse hiking, mountain…
Northeast Texas
Caddo Lake State Park is a good place to start your lake adventure. Take an interpretive hike through the cypress forest on the lake’s western edge. Or,…
Panhandle Plains
What was once the largest Spanish fort in Texas has been beautifully restored. Presidio de San Sabá dates to 1757 and is close to the town of Menard, some…
Dallas & the Panhandle Plains
This stunner of a courthouse (1895) uses every Romanesque trick in the book to awe you. The pink granite and red limestone are magnificent and a recent…
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum
Panhandle Plains
Quarter horses, favored on the Texas range, were originally named for their prowess at galloping down early American racetracks, then a quarter-mile long…
Rio Grande Valley
The only palm tree native to Texas grows at this 557-acre sanctuary, operated by a foundation for the National Audubon Society. It sits in a bend of the…
West Texas
This national park is almost the size of Rhode Island: when you’re traversing Big Bend’s 1252 sq miles, you come to appreciate what ‘big’ really means. It…
Austin
This 350-acre park is a slice of green heaven, lined with hiking and biking trails. The park also provides access to the famed Barton Springs natural…
Austin
Whatever you do, don't call it 'Texas University' – them's fightin' words, usually used derisively by Texas A&M students to take their rivals down a notch…
George Bush Presidential Library & Museum
East Texas
Whether you agree with the former president's politics or not, it's hard not to be fascinated by this museum. Exhibits trace George HW Bush's life and…
Hill Country
Run by the National Park Service, the beautiful LBJ Ranch preserves the sites where Lyndon B Johnson was born, lived and died. Explored on a 7-mile…
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Austin
Big, glitzy and bursting with high-tech interactive exhibits, this showcase museum celebrates the story of the Lone Star State, from its earliest…
Coastal Plains
Established by the Spanish in 1749 – to deter the French, then sniffing around the northeastern edges of their empire – Presidio La Bahia played a role…
San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site
East Texas
A hallowed site for some Texans, this 1100-acre park is where Texas fought for – and won – its independence in 1836. You can learn about the battle by…
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
West Texas
Few Texans seem to know about Guadalupe Mountains, but this remote desert enclave is a true Texas high spot, literally as well as figuratively. At 8749ft,…
Lost Maples State Natural Area
Hill Country
The foliage spectacle in October and November at Lost Maples is as colorful as any in New England. In fall, big-tooth maple trees turn shocking golds,…
Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Library & Museum
Austin
Devoted to the 36th US president, who launched his political career in Austin, this museum is still attracting the crowds more than 50 years since he left…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Established in 1824, 2 miles north of West Columbia, this plantation centers on a grand mansion – accessible on guided tours only – plus several…
Dealey Plaza & the Grassy Knoll
Dallas
Infamous for its location alongside the road where John F Kennedy’s motorcade was ambushed in November 1963, the tiny park known as Dealey Plaza is now a…
Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site
West Texas
The best art galleries in south central Texas are right here along the Rio Grande, and their works have been on view for at least 4000 years. This state…
Houston
This nationally renowned palace of art starts its displays with ‘Splendors of the Ancient World’, and has a fine collection of pre-Columbian golden…
Dallas & the Panhandle Plains
The Dr Pepper soft drink was invented by Waco pharmacist Charles C Alderton in 1885. This museum celebrates his creation and is housed in a stately brick…
West Texas
As you look out at the desert from the pavilion that houses this recent addition to the park, it's hard to imagine that a shallow sea once covered much of…
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Austin
Anyone with an interest in Texas' flora and fauna should make the 20-minute drive to the wonderful gardens of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,…
Hill Country
How gorgeous is the pool beneath Hamilton Creek, which spills over limestone outcroppings just upstream from the Pedernales River? Let's just say…
El Paso
Home to Texas’ oldest continually active congregation, tracing back to 1680, Ysleta Mission was established for Spanish refugees and Tigua people fleeing…
Ann & Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail & Boardwalk
Austin
You can gaze at the downtown skyline from a series of photogenic boardwalks on this scenic 10-mile trail, which loops around Lady Bird Lake. Shorten the…
Austin
A big university with a big endowment is bound to have a big art collection, and now, finally, it has a suitable building to show it off properly. With…
Galveston
Bordering the Strand, the residential East End Historic District has scores of pretty old houses, from simple cottages to Greek Revival mansions, some of…
Dallas
The fabulous glass-and-steel Nasher Sculpture Center stands across from the Dallas Museum of Art downtown. Partnered by a divine sculpture garden, its…
San Antonio
You don't have to be a kid to enjoy Fiesta Texas – this popular theme park has plenty of rides that you must be 'this tall' to enjoy. Of course, there are…
Galveston
Housed in the 1895 Galveston Orphans' Home, this excellent museum displays documents and artifacts from the Bryan family's collection, covering state and…
Houston
A superbly curated and presented museum offers an in-depth education on the context, history and aftermath of not only the holocaust itself but of Nazi…
West Austin
On the weekend, you might find yourself tiptoeing around a wedding ceremony at Mt Bonnell, the highest point in the city at 775ft. This pretty overlook…
Hill Country
To admire vast cultivated fields of color – especially between March and April, when wildflowers like orange Indian paintbrushes, deep-purple wine-cups…
