Texas Region

Texas is famously big and proud - music, BBQ, cowboy heritage, and landscapes from Gulf beaches to desert canyons.

Why go / don’t miss: the live music and food of Austin, the Alamo and River Walk of San Antonio, the space center and museums of Houston, the modern skyline of Dallas, and the desert wilderness of Big Bend National Park.

Areas: Central Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Hill Country); the big metros (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth); the Gulf Coast; and far-West Texas (Big Bend, Marfa).

Getting around: fly into a major hub; distances are huge, so a car (or short flights) is a must.

When to go: spring (bluebonnet season) and fall are best; summers are long and very hot.

Where to stay: Austin or San Antonio for a first trip.

Dining: Texas BBQ (brisket), Tex-Mex, breakfast tacos and Gulf seafood.

Local tips: Texas is enormous - it’s an 8-hour+ drive across, so plan around one or two regions.

Stretching from the Gulf Coast to the deserts along the Mexican border, Texas is a huge, varied state of sprawling plains, rolling hill country, pine woodlands and arid mountains - a place where big skies and bigger stories are the norm. The state’s size and breadth give it many characters at once: coastal beaches and barrier islands, inland rivers and lakes, the dry Chihuahuan Desert in the west, and humid subtropical lowlands in the east.

Cities bring Texan variety to life: the live‑music and tech scene of Austin; the energy and cultural institutions of Houston; the vast metroplex of Dallas and Fort Worth; the historic missions and River Walk of San Antonio; and the border culture of El Paso. Out west the dramatic canyons and night skies of Big Bend National Park and the soaring peaks of Guadalupe Mountains National Park show a very different, rugged Texas.

Outdoor recreation is a core draw: you can hike desert trails and mountain ridgelines, paddle or fish along the Gulf Coast and bayous, explore limestone caves and canyons, or chase wildflower displays in spring across the Hill Country. Winter brings mild escapes along the coast and occasional snow in the Panhandle and high country for a change of scene.

Food and drink here are bold and regional: Texas barbecue and smoked brisket, sturdy Tex‑Mex and breakfast tacos, Gulf seafood on the coast, and a growing wine scene in the Texas Hill Country around Fredericksburg. Craft beer and distilleries have also expanded in major cities, making food tourism as compelling as the landscapes.

Visit Texas for its sheer scale and variety - from live music and food culture in Austin and historic San Antonio to the wild deserts and starry skies of Big Bend National Park and the alpine hikes of Guadalupe Mountains National Park - all served up with trademark Texan hospitality and big‑flavored cuisine.

Texas spans several climate zones: the east is humid and subtropical while the west is much drier and more desert‑like, so timing depends on where you plan to go. Spring and autumn are widely favored for milder temperatures and outdoor activities.

Because Texas is vast, most visitors get around by car for regional travel and use flights between major cities; intercity buses and limited Amtrak routes supplement road and air travel.

Major Highways

Major interstates cross the state: I‑10 runs east - west from the New Mexico line through El Paso, across to San Antonio and Houston toward Louisiana; I‑35 is the north - south spine linking Laredo, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas - Fort Worth up to Oklahoma; I‑20 traverses northern Texas connecting Midwestern routes through Abilene and the Dallas area to Louisiana; I‑45 connects Houston and Dallas while I‑30 links Dallas to the Arkansas border and I‑37 runs from San Antonio down to Corpus Christi.