Top things to do in Texas

Dream of landing on the moon? You can’t get closer than the visitor center/museum alongside NASA's Johnson Space Center, where interactive displays explain past, present and future missions, with lots of eager antic…

For proud Texans, the much-fabled Alamo, entered freely off San Antonio’s central plaza, is not so much a tourist attraction as a place of pilgrimage. Many visitors get downright dewy-eyed as they explore the site o…

A little slice of Europe in the heart of downtown, the 15-mile River Walk is an essential part of the San Antonio experience. Wandering this charming network of canals and pedestrian walkways, set just below the dow…

As you step inside the historic artillery shed, with its enormous windows, sweeping desert views and sun-dappled aluminum boxes, the Marfa hoopla suddenly makes sense. Artist Donald Judd single-handedly put Marfa on…

What's so enchanting about a rock? Well, when you see the pink granite dome dating from the Proterozoic era rising 425ft above ground – one of the largest batholiths in the US – you'll know you're not looking at any…

Far from the light pollution of big cities, West Texas boasts some of North America’s clearest and darkest skies, making it the perfect spot for an observatory. Some of the world's largest telescopes are perched on …

Every year up to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats make their home upon a platform beneath the Congress Ave Bridge, which crosses the Colorado at the southern end of downtown. It's an Austin tradition to sit on t…

This Spanish Colonial revival-style mansion, 5 miles north of downtown and originally owned by Marion Koogler McNay, is spectacular. McNay's collection of European and American art, which she left to the city after …

Fronted by a huge sculpture of Holly's hallmark horn-rims, the Buddy Holly Center holds a small but definitive museum celebrating the man himself. His career is explored in detail – Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Ro…

This famous BBQ joint only serves lunch, and only until it runs out – usually well before 2pm. To avoid missing out, join the line – and there will be a line – by 10am (9am on weekends). Treat it as a tailgating par…