Texas Travel Guide

Dallas-Fort Worth

The two biggest cities in North Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth, are 30 miles (48km) apart but have been drawn together into one urban concentration known as the 'DFW Metroplex' with a combined population of more than four million.

The two cities are, however, very different halves of a whole. Dallas, its soaring glass-sided skyscrapers seemingly growing like mushrooms out of the prairie, is full of glitz and glamour. Its urban landscape is vigorous and classy, its citizens enjoying the good things in life from fashionable clothing to flashy cars. This thriving city is the ninth largest city in the United States, having grown from a frontier outpost with 20 streets in 1841 to a center for big business and big banking, helped along a little by 'black gold', the oil that was discovered 100 miles (161km) east of the city in 1930.

Fort Worth, the western half of the Metroplex, is the gateway to the Wild West. Having started out as 'Cowtown', a base for cattle drives, Fort Worth still reflects a laid-back and slightly 'cowpoke' attitude, although surprisingly it has also developed into a cultural center with world-class museums and a thriving performing arts sector.

Dallas is certainly the place for visitors to enjoy a rich shopping experience and upmarket wining and dining, but Fort Worth is the venue for exciting and interesting attractions and a taste of western culture.

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Amarillo

The city of Amarillo, about 330 miles (531km) northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, is where the old West lives on in the commercial center of the Texas panhandle.

Amarillo started out in 1887 as a 'buffalo-hide tent camp' for railroad construction workers. Today, the town named for a nearby stream, the Arroya Amarillo, boasts a convention center, symphony, ballet, theater, opera and two higher education facilities, Amarillo College and Texas State Technical College.

Amarillo's fortunes have long rested on the horns of cattle ranching, but it has also become a popular stopover for tourists keen to play cowboy or cowgirl, with numerous motels and restaurants having opened up in recent years. The town is located on the major Route 1-40 east-west highway, making it easily accessible for visitors and those who come for the famed frenetic Amarillo Livestock Auctions.

At first glance Amarillo may seem unprepossessing and have little to offer apart from cowboys and cattle, but it is worth digging below the dust of the high plains to discover its attractions.

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Houston

The massive metropolis of Houston, sprawling across the Gulf Coast plain of East Texas from its busy port, is almost twice the size of the entire state of Rhode Island. Even with this heavy urban concentration, though, Houston is green and lush, sited at the end of a belt of forest coming down from the north, and characterized by marshlands and bayous lined with cypress trees in the southern reaches.

Houston, named after former Republic of Texas president Sam Houston, is hot and humid. To make life more bearable in the close-packed downtown area much activity has gone underground. The city center sports an air-conditioned seven-mile (11km) pedestrian tunnel system full of restaurants and shops. Unlike most cities, downtown in Houston is the hub of residential development, so it remains busy and bustling long after dark.

Texas' largest city is not generally a sought after tourist destination, being concerned more with business than pleasure and leisure. Computer manufacture, gas and oil, and a huge concentration of medical institutions account for most of the economic activity, but all those hard-working citizens have to play sometimes, and there are some good attractions like excellent museums, the amazing Astrodome sports pavilion, some wonderful theaters and, thanks to the cosmopolitan mix of its residents, some ethnically diverse cuisine on offer in its many restaurants and neighborhoods. For visitors the absolute 'must-see' in Houston is the famed Space Center, mission control for the US space program.

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Austin

Capital of Texas, the city of Austin lies almost in the center of the state, a big city with a small town feel, young population, casual lifestyle and reputation as a Mecca for live music shows.

Home of the University of Texas campus, Austin life is closely entwined with the energy and enthusiasm of its students, but this city that has been a state capital since 1838 does not ignore its history. Young people are drawn here too by the array of live concerts that are held frequently around the shores of Town Lake. Most famous of these events is the annual South by Southwest music festival-conference held each March. Visitors wanting to tune in to Austin's live musical repertoire, which spans everything from blues and country to reggae, simply have to drift down the famous Sixth Street strip of pubs and clubs any night of the week.

Austin's laid-back attitude lends itself to the great outdoors, and the city has miles of hiking and biking trails linking parks, preserves and greenbelts adding to the ambience of its leafy streets.

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Galveston

The island city on the Gulf Coast, linked to the Texas mainland by a causeway, Galveston has survived the USA's deadliest natural disaster to become one of the country's hottest tourist destinations, and a favorite port of call for hundreds of cruise liners. Offering miles upon miles of beautiful beaches, some of the country's most superb restaurants and seafood, art galleries, antique stores, enervating entertainment, a fantastic portfolio of Victorian architecture and some fascinating attractions, there is possibly no better place to step ashore and become a land-lubber.

It is hard to believe that in 1900 Galveston was all but devastated by a hurricane, which claimed around 10,000 lives. Fortunately most of the historic buildings on the east end of downtown survived, and today the city is protected by a sea wall built post the disaster. The wall now safeguards a compact city that most locals declare they need never leave, because they have it all, right here in Galveston. Galveston citizens are only too pleased to welcome visitors to their wondrous city, and in fact they have produced countless attractions to suit all tastes, from fascinating museums to harbor tours with dolphin watching; excellent theater to a unique fun family waterpark and a paradise for shop-a-holics.

The city's events calendar bursts with fun too, with an annual Mardi Gras, the famed Jazz and Blues Festival, a beach festival, bike rally and Victorian-styled Christmas festival, most taking place on The Strand, which is Galveston's hub of entertainment and fun. Even getting around Galveston is fun, whether it be on a horse-drawn carriage, aboard the 'Treasure Isle Tour Train' or a paddlewheel steamer.

San Antonio

San Antonio has the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of a small town despite being the seventh largest city in the United States. Attractions such the Alamo, where Davy Crocket famously took his last stand, and the restaurant-lined Riverwalk ensure that San Antonio is one of the most popular destinations in the country, drawing 26 million visitors per year. The city has a unique combination of Spanish colonial plazas, downtown Germanic architecture, and vibrant Tex-Mex culture. Its music scene combines Mexican and Texan country and western strands, and its cuisine reflects tortillas and T-bones in interesting combinations. San Antonio's Fiesta week, in late April, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and now ranks as one the biggest community events in the nation. The city is easily navigable on foot, particularly the Riverwalk, which winds its way along the San Antonio River, past cafes, restaurants, shaded groves and perfectly preserved colonial buildings. The Riverwalk is the heart of this charming city, linking its key attractions together and providing sanctuary from the heat of summer.

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