Top Places to Visit in Texas

Texas is vast enough to feel like several different countries. From Big Bend's desert wilderness to the Gulf Coast beaches to Austin's music scene, the state offers more variety than almost any other.

San Antonio is Texas's most visited city by tourists. The River Walk — a network of walkways along the San Antonio River lined with restaurants, shops, and hotels — is one of the most popular urban attractions in the South. The Alamo, site of the 1836 battle during the Texas Revolution, is here. San Antonio also has one of the finest zoo collections in the country and the sprawling Pearl district, a converted brewery turned into a food and culture hub.

Big Bend National Park is the most spectacular and least-visited of Texas's national parks. Straddling the Rio Grande at the border with Mexico, it combines Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains, and river canyons into one of the wildest landscapes in the US. The park sees fewer than 500,000 visitors per year — remarkable for its size and beauty.

Marfa is a tiny West Texas town (population ~1,700) that became one of America's most unexpected art destinations. The Chinati Foundation, established by minimalist artist Donald Judd in a former military fort, drew the international art world to the desert. The Marfa Lights — unexplained glowing orbs seen in the surrounding desert — add to the mystique.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park contains Guadalupe Peak (8,751 feet), Texas's highest point, and one of the world's finest fossil reef exposures — the ancient Capitan Reef, visible in the canyon walls.

Austin offers world-class live music (Sixth Street and the Red River Cultural District), excellent food, Barton Springs Pool (a spring-fed swimming pool in a city park), and Lake Travis for water recreation. South by Southwest (SXSW) draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each March.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo is called the "Grand Canyon of Texas" — 120 miles long, 20 miles wide, and 800 feet deep. It's one of the most underrated natural attractions in the country and completely uncrowded compared to Arizona's Grand Canyon.