Introduction
Texas is a country-sized state — bigger than France, with a coastline, a desert, pine forests, hill country and four of the eleven largest cities in the United States. It runs from the piney woods of the east to the mountains of Big Bend, from the Gulf beaches to the high plains, and its culture is a blend of Southern, Western, Mexican and a fast-growing global mix.
Discover Texas
Austin built its identity on live music — it bills itself the “Live Music Capital of the World”, and the venues of the Red River and South Congress districts, plus the giant SXSW and Austin City Limits festivals, back the claim. The other obsession is barbecue: central-Texas smoked brisket, served by the pound on butcher paper, is a genuine pilgrimage food, with queues forming early at the most celebrated joints. Beyond eating and music, Austin is an outdoors city — swimming in the cold spring-fed Barton Springs Pool, paddleboarding on Lady Bird Lake, hiking the greenbelt — and a quirky one, summed up by the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan and the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that pour from under the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset from spring to autumn. The State Capitol and the LBJ Presidential Library add the civic layer.
Ways to Experience This Destination
Austin's live music and central-Texas barbecue, and Houston's globe-spanning, top-tier dining.
The Alamo and San Antonio's UNESCO Spanish missions, the River Walk and Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
The Fort Worth Stockyards' longhorn drives, dance halls and the working-ranch heritage of West Texas.
Fredericksburg's wineries, spring bluebonnets, swimming holes and Enchanted Rock west of Austin.
Big Bend's canyons and dark skies, Marfa's art scene, and the Gulf beaches of Galveston and Padre Island.
Frequently asked questions
Cities in Texas
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