The Lone Star State is replete with so many awe - inspiring natural splendors and man - made masterpieces , it ’d be pretty hard to fully know them all in one lifetime . So we ’ve nail down things down to the 30 sights that you absolutely must lay your eye upon during your time in Texas . And unlike the Pokémon you ’ve been chasing and are already bored with , these REAL - LIFE landmark have staying power .
1.San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
San AntonioYou can find four breathtaking Spanish compound delegacy – Concepción , San José , San Juan , and Espada – sittin ’ reasonably in this National Historical Park . Encompassed by towering wall , the missionary work house historic churches and building dating back to the other 1700s , when missionaries used them as a castle to convert local Native Americans to Catholicism . In 2015 , the park earned its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , so you recognise it ’s legit .
2.Texas State Capitol
AustinYou ai n’t no Texan until you salute the Lone Star ’s Capitol building . Erected in 1888 in Downtown Austin , the 308ft - tall anatomical structure stands even mellow than even the United States Capitol in DC , testify everything really is bigger in Texas . Throughout the esthetically and historically significant architectural wonderment , you ’ll see 392 rooms , 18 vault , 924 windows , and 404 doors . But more significantly , you ’ll discover a rotunda , which basically act as an reverberation chamber where you’re able to make your 13 - year - old ego proud by whispering a twine of cheating words .
3.Fort Worth Stockyards
Fort WorthFort Worth is dubbed “ Cowtown ” and “ where the West begins ” for in effect reason . Just take a stroll along the famous stockyard , a former livestock market from 1866 , and you ’ll see why . While you take that stroll , do so with an undecided container , because it ’s allowed there , so it ’d be ungodly not to take advantage , correct ?
4.Natural Bridge Caverns
San AntonioYou got ta give it up to the four college kids who key this two - mile - recollective cavern under a limestone bridge in 1960 , mostly because all you execute in college was learning how to cut up ramen and Funyuns into a poor man ’s French onion soup . pay up your respects by visiting the natural keepsake . mould by an hush-hush river that melt the limestone , the 180 ft below - solid ground enactment and beleaguer caves are open to research through guided raise .
5.Rothko Chapel
HoustonWhen an estimated 80,000 people a class from around the globe view as a Houston landmark deserving a sojourn , you know something ’s up . perhaps it ’s because this totally window pane chapel service is widely considered to be one of the holiest place on the satellite , even clear itself a post onNational Geographic ’s “ Sacred Places of a Lifetime : 500 of the World ’s Most passive and Powerful Destinations . ” Hit the bare - bones , contemplative outer space to finger the index .
6.Eiffel Tower with big cowboy hat
ParisLeave it up to this rebel country to take a massive international landmark and nonplus a gargantuan cherry-red cowboy hat on it . situate in Paris , Texas , and standing 65 ft tall , this cheeky homage to the Eiffel Tower was built by an iron worker ’s union in 1993 . That same year , Paris , Tennessee built a 60 ft replica , which was fine by us until they add another 10 feet on top . Not to be outdo , Texans stuck a large ol’ cowhand hat on top of the faux computer architecture , then place title to trapping the " Second Largest Paris in the World . " That is , until Vegas rear a 540 ft tall one in 1999 . Well , crap . At least theirs does n’t have a tired of lid .
7.Mission Control
8.The Huecos
El PasoJust over 30 miles northwards of El Paso , you ’ll stumble upon the 860 - acre Hueco Tanks State Park , which was named for the “ huecos ” – or turgid raw rock basins – that comprehend it . Rumor has it the stead was a religious haven for ancient Native Americans who used the basin ’s pooled water to last in the arid land . Today , their 1,000 - year - old pictograph can be found all over the monstrous boulders . Just remember what your first lady friend learn you : you could calculate , just do n’t touch .
9.Gruene Hall
New BraunfelsBecause the oldest continually run dance hall in the DoS ai n’t going to two - footstep all over itself . Built in 1878 , the legendary dance hall has played home to country euphony great like Willie Nelson , George Strait , and Lyle Lovett .
10.Enchanted Rock
Hill CountryThis enchanting pink batholith is the secondly - with child granite dome in the nation . just about a billion days ago , a bombastic puddle of magma ( that ’s spicy liquified rock , for all you science haters ) bear on up rock lying about seven mile below the globe ’s Earth’s surface . extra time , it cool down , hardened , and eroded , forge the gigantic granite structure that soars above ground today . Native tribes once believed it to be haunt , so go ahead and camp out overnight . We dual - dog dare you .
11.Cadillac Ranch
AmarilloDon’t be gull by the name . Cadillac Ranch is not a cattle ranch at all , but rather a public art instalment / wayside attraction made up of junk Cadillacs that you most definitely postulate to Instagram on your journey along the heroic Route 66 .
12.San Jacinto Battleground
La PorteThere were a lot of battles in Texas , but perhaps none were more significant than the struggle that is widely known as the critical struggle of the Texas Revolution . We ’ll let you estimate the name of it when you visit the historical San Jacinto Battleground .
13.Battleship Texas
La PorteWhile you ’re in La Porte , hop over to the Houston Ship Channel and encounter this flagship battleship , which charter part in some of the most important naval fight of the twentieth century . Commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1914 , the USSTexas is the last remain battleship that participated in both World War I and World War II .
14.Lost Pines
BastropHidden aside in Bastrop State Park is over 660 acres and 13 land mile of woods thick with 18,000 - twelvemonth - older loblolly pine tree and hardwoods . It gets its moniker from one unique characteristic : it get over 100 land mile away from the genetically identical Piney Woods that cover almost 55,000sqmi of East Texas , Southern Arkansas , Western Louisiana , and Southeastern Oklahoma – a separation that geologists believe was due to a monolithic prehistoric glacier . Get explore , and be certain to drop some time at lookout station points like Fehr ’s Overlook .
15.Texas White House
Johnson CityThe Texas White House is the centre of the LBJ Ranch , home of President Lyndon Baines Johnson and a hub for some serious planetary politicking for over 20 eld . Johnson was the first president to make a functioning center away from Washington , and as such , he donated the “ house full of gifts that ’s a gift to our commonwealth " to the National Park Service and the American people in 1972 .
16.Cowboys Stadium
ArlingtonLove ‘ em or hate ‘ em , the Big D ’s independent pigskin - tossing homies know how to draw a bunch . formally sleep together as AT&T Stadium but easily live as " Jerry World , " the 80,000 - tush stadium cost $ 1.15 billion to build up ( with an original $ 650 million cost estimation , whoop ! ) . Construction was complete in 2009 , when it debut its $ 40 - million display board , the humanity ’s largest ( at the time ) HD video screen that hangs in full gloriole from 23 - curtilage line to 23 - yard business line .
17.Scenic Drive
El PasoThis four - mile reaching edging the southerly tip of Franklin Mountains is the best place to see El Paso all lit up . It also happens to be a grampus makeout spot , so …
18.Prada Marfa
MarfaThe entire vibe of Marfa is offbeat , so it ’s almost carry that you ’ll come up ace - weird thing in the West Texas town . Take Prada Marfa , for instance . The minimalistic art installation was put in by artists Elmgreen and Dragset in 2005 . Described by the artists as a " popular architectural land artwork project , " the permanent artwork has been interpreted as a criticism of consumerism , but it looks more like an abandoned luxury store in the middle of a desert to us .
19.Bishop’s Palace
GalvestonAlso have sex as Gresham ’s Castle , this ornate Victorian - manner house dress with stained - glass window and bronze flying dragon is a focal breaker point of Galveston ’s Historic District . turn up in the East End on Broadway and 14th , the gargantuan stone mansion was built between 1886 and 1892 . Apparently it was constructed with thaumaturgy , because it was one of the few social structure to survive the keen hurricane of 1900 .
20.Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge
AustinWhen it was built over Lady Bird Lake in 1960 , no one knew the bridge would finally house the large urban bat settlement IN THE ENTIRE WORLD . Catch anywhere between 750,000 and 1.5 million Mexican loose - tailed at-bat spiraling out from the bridge deck ’s crevices near dusk , with the best display occurring April through October .
21.Point Isabel Lighthouse
Port IsabelBuilt in 1852 to guide ships through the Brazos Santiago Pass , this iconic lighthouse now acts as a beacon for hipsters trying to live - broadcast the fact that they ’re watching classical films from a really nerveless lighthouse .
22.Lakewood Church
HoustonWhether you ’re into faith or not , Joel Osteen ’s megachurch housed in a former sports arena is a sight to be see . When Houston relocated its sports team to the Toyota Center in 2003 , the city leased the sphere to Lakewood Church , which then place $ 95 million in renovations to commute the arena into the dead massive mansion of adoration that it is today . Around 43,500 citizenry pay heed each hebdomad , making it easily the largest congregation in the United States .
23.San Antonio River Walk
San AntonioLying a history beneath the street of Downtown , the winding Paseo del Río is one of the most democratic tourer attractiveness in the entire state . The taproom , restaurant , and shop - line esplanade is fun yr - round , but we suggest visiting during the magical Fiesta de las Luminarias around Christmastime .
24.Hamilton Pool
Dripping SpringsThis cavernous limestone swimming hole is the coolest place to seek refuge from the scorching Texas sun . ostensibly locals sense the same way , as you could evidence by the line to get in if you try on shew up after noon . The drop - dead gorgeous natural pool and grotto was created when the noodle over an underground river caved in .
25.Palo Duro Canyon
CanyonDid you know Texas had its own Grand Canyon ? show off a seemingly endless raiment of green- and sunset - colored terra cotta over its 120 - nautical mile recollective , 800 foot deep landscape , it ’s the secondly - large canyon in the United States . But the seriously underrated deep-set vale is only shoot the breeze by around 300,000 people per class compared to the Grand Canyon ’s 5 + million , making it one of the state ’s well - kept secret .
26.Dealey Plaza
DallasYup , that JFK assassination internet site . Get your conspiracy theories quick and head to The Sixth Floor Museum , which occupies the top two story of the former Texas School Book Depository edifice , from which Lee Harvey Oswald fire that rifle ( allegedly ) .
27.Gorman Falls
Hill CountryThe 5,000 + acre Colorado Bend State Park is n’t without rude beauty . There ’s 32 miles of sinkhole , cave , and springside trails for you to get lost on , after all . But perhaps the sickest trek you may make is the rugged hike to Gorman Falls , where you ’ll be treat to the misty quiver and rightfully amazing sight of a 60ft - in high spirits waterfall cascading into a fern - enshroud grotto .
28.Big Bend’s Hot Springs
Big BendSpanning over 800 K acres , Big Bend National Park is one of the largest national parks in the US , so there ’s manifestly a lot of area to breed . Start with a healing soak in a hot outflow in the Mungo Park ’s Hot Springs Historic District , where ancient fossil pee contain dissolved mineral salts gets heated to 105 degree by geothermal cognitive operation . A dip is enounce to be upright for the brain , body , and soul , but you require to save that visit for the winter .
29.The Big Tree
RockportWith a trunk circumference of 35 ft and a top soaring 44 ft into the sky , not only is this more than 1,000 - year - old tree one of the largest live oak tree trees in Texas , it ’s also one of the largest in the commonwealth .
30.The Alamo
San AntonioDid you seriously think we were extend to not remember the Alamo ? The wear symbol of the Texans ’ heroic resistance to subjugation in their battle for independence ? ? We ’ll deliver the history example for your sojourn and give you a sweet specter tarradiddle instead : before the Alamo was built as a mission in the late 1700s , the site was used as a inhumation ground between the years 1724 and 1793 .
In improver to the thousand of bodies that were laid to eternal sleep there , the Battle of the Alamo bring the death of another 200 rebel Texans and more than a thousand Mexican soldiers , some of whom were swallow while others were burned or thrash about in the San Antonio River . It did n’t take long for the wraith sightings to occur , the first of which came only weeks after the engagement . After get ahead the battle and leaving San Antonio , General Santa Anna was becharm by Sam Houston . In retaliation , Anna sent messengers back to destroy the Alamo , but when they got there , they claimed to see six emotional state guarding the mission door and yelling , " Do not touch the Alamo , do not pertain these walls ! " Fearing their life-time because ghostwriter are creepy AF , they fly and the Alamo was left resist . Some say the ghosts were spirits of the Alamo guardian , while others say the messenger may have gotten into some rogue mezcal . Either way , the Alamo lives on .
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