12 Best Attractions In Texas, According To Visitors

When Texans say everything is bigger in Texas, they could easily be referring to its size. Being the US's second largest state, the Lone Star State is home to countless attractions spread out over its 268,820 square miles. This, of course, means that a trip to the state needs some planning. The museums of Houston are around 10 hours from the natural wonders inside Big Bend National Park. And visitors anxious to walk San Antonio River Walk, one of Texas' top attractions, will need to drive four hours if they also want to see a cattle drive in the wild-west themed Fort Worth Stockyard.

These long, scenic drives make Texas perfect for road trips. But multi-city trips of that sort are most interesting when you plan them so you see all the attractions in each area as you go along. We combed TripAdvisor and Reddit looking for the top attractions around the state. We also looked for interesting ideas nearby so that visitors wanting to dedicate a few days to each destination would have a plan of attack. Our conclusion was that boredom is not a thing in Texas. You could easily spend a few days in the areas around these top attractions in Texas, and still not see everything there is to see.

The San Antonio River Walk, with its winding river as the center of attraction, feels like an oasis in the city. The gorgeous river makes the area ideal for couples looking for romantic riverside strolls. But others will find much to enjoy. Foodies wanting to sample Texas's famous Tex-Mex, shoppers looking for the perfect find, and just about anyone else looking to indulge in fun activities while being next to a relaxing river will enjoy the attraction.

With its unique juxtaposition of nature and modern attractions, it's no wonder that the River Walk is the top Texan attraction on TripAdvisor. One visitor on TripAdvisor was all praises: "Such a relaxing, beautiful afternoon and evening. Everything is magical and beautiful. We felt like we were at Disney. So many restaurants to choose from. Relaxing boat ride gives transportation for the day with one ticket price." As this review alluded, the area is most alluring at night when passenger boats cruise down the river surrounded by the lights on the buildings lining the walkway. But daytime is almost just as nice.

When it's time to eat, San Antonio is where Tex-Mex was born, so foodies who love the cuisine will find much to enjoy. Good Tex-Mex spots on the River Walk include Domingo's and Rita's on the River. For shopping, there are dozens of boutique shops selling everything from artisan soap to jewelry. And nightlife spots are scattered everywhere. After you've explored the River Walk, San Antonio is a good area to spend a few days in. For history, head to the historic Alamo, The Missions, or Buckhorn Saloon and Museum where there is a museum dedicated to Texas rangers, and a life-size replica of a western town. San Antonio is also home to Market Square, the U.S.'s largest Mexican Market.

The Alamo feels and looks historic from the moment you step into its courtyard. Except for metal plaques telling its history, the exterior walls are all rugged stone that make it clear the building has a long standing history. If that weren't clue enough, inside, the story of the brave Texans who gave up their lives in The Battle of the Alamo comes alive.

The story of the historic building predates the Texan Revolution. Beginning in 1718, The Alamo was built as a mission to force Native Americans of the area to convert to Christianity. At that time, it consisted of a stone building and many huts. It was later taken over to be used as a fort during the Texas Revolution of the 1800s. It is here that the famous events that inspired the saying, "remember the Alamo" unfolded. In short, a tiny Texan army stationed at The Alamo lost their lives while fighting gallantly against the much larger Mexican army. Their deaths would inspire the saying — "Remember the Alamo" — that was to become the motto of the revolution.

After the Alamo, many visitors round off their day with a trip to the nearby missions (four similar buildings that have been designated a UNESCO site). Road trippers spending a few days in the area will also want to explore the unique San Antonio River Walk.

When we started our research, we took inspiration for our initial list of 20 attractions from the 'top things to do in Texas list' on TripAdvisor. It didn't occur to us that Reddit visitors would overwhelmingly recommend attractions that weren't on TripAdvisor. This amazing destination is one of two such attractions, with one Reddit visitor raving: "Big Bend National Park & the nearby State Park is some of the most breathtaking natural beauty of Texas."

Big Bend is the only national park with a full mountain range within its boundaries, and it's a wonder to experience. Whether you take a scenic ride through its approximately 800,000 acres or enjoy a hike, you'll have close-up views of glorious mountains, stark desert landscapes, and soothing rivers. There are also canyons and more bird species than you can find in any other national park to be enjoyed. Yet, with all this, Big Ben is underrated thanks to a remote location that puts it far away from Texas' main cities.

Genuine nature lovers won't mind. After getting there, many spend the night admiring a stunning night sky that's been designated an 'International Dark Sky Reserve' by DarkSky International, before spending a few days exploring the natural treasures within the park. For an added adventure, head to Boquillas Crossing Entry Point to cross the border into Mexico where Boquillas, a tiny Mexican town with authentic Mexican cuisine and culture, can be visited. If you choose to visit Boquillas, a passport will be required.

When you think of parks, the first things that come to mind are amazing landscapes and hiking. And to be sure, Palo Duro Canyon State Park has all that. But if you're a history buff, the state park is filled with historical sites and artifacts that could rival a museum's. Some of the most interesting artifacts include cooking and other daily utensils used by Native American tribes that lived in the area thousands of years ago.

To see these, head to Canyon Gallery in the visitors center before starting your hike. On exhibit are pieces from the Comanche, Zuni, Navajo, and Kiowa tribes. Turquoise jewelry, pottery, hunting knives and more, can all be viewed. Once outdoors, an illuminating site is the preserved homestead at Cowboy Dugout where Charles Goodnight and Mary Ann Goodnight, the historic founders of the Texas Panhandle's first ranch had their first homestead in the 1880s before going on to build the more magnificent Goodnight Ranch. To see the dugout, hike the Paseo Del Rio trail.

Visitors consistently recommend the small town of Fredericksburg, in Texas Hill Country, for its orchards, wineries, and having some of the best beer in Texas. Grape Creek Vineyards is one of the town's best places to tour an actual vineyard and try some local wine. Tram tours to explore the outdoor vineyards, where lush grapevines are the main attraction, can be booked. But visitors interested in only the wine can book wine tastings alone.

After your tour, Fredericksburg has orchards ripe for picking fruits and inhaling the aroma coming from the fruit trees. Visitors wanting to spend a few days in the area can book accommodations in Fredericksburg before spending a day or two exploring the scenic lakes of Texas Hill Country or hiking interesting spots like Enchanted Rock with its pink granite rock formations. Texas Hill Country is also home to the San Marcos River for river tubing and numerous caves for underground explorations.

Amidst the desert heat of Texas sits a perfect destination to cool down — and immerse in history while you're it. Barton Pools in Austin are fed by underground springs which have ferried cool waters into the pools for millions of years. Approximately 10,000 years ago before they became popular with visitors and Texans, ancient Native American tribes frequented the pools and there is proof the pools may have held a sacred place for them.

Today, visitors and locals alike head to the pools' cool waters to escape the Texas heat. One visitor on TripAdvisor gushed about the refreshing water. "Such a lovely place to visit on a very hot day in Austin! Very chilled vibe and the water is really pleasant to swim in. It can get quite busy on a weekend, but there's plenty of space on either side of the pool to relax and lie in the sun. The water is really quite cold, we enjoyed it but some might struggle."

After cooling down in the pools, the city of Austin is filled with restaurants and nightlife. But the best thing to do in the city known as 'the live music capital of the world' is to take in a live music show. For blues, Antone's Nightclub is top rated. Those with more diverse interests can catch live shows in all genres and the Austin Film Festival at the popular Paramount Theatre.

After its split, Padre Island is now two distinct beachy paradises with white sand and gorgeous waters. On the south is a resort town called South Padre Island with stunning beaches, high rise-hotels, and fun activities. On the north is the Padre Island National Seashore, an untouched seaside park that beach lovers who consider themselves purists will enjoy .

You won't find this beachy escape in TripAdvisor's top 20, but the destination got high marks on Reddit that beat out many in the top 20, so it had to be included. One reviewer on Reddit had high regards for South Padre Island: "Big Bend is awesome for hiking. I've heard Granbury is nice. South Padre Island is IMO our nicest beach city."

Visitors who choose to spend a few days in South Padre Island go for the beaches. But there is shopping, water sports, and excellent animal preservation sites — The South Padre Birding, Nature Center, and Alligator Sanctuary and Sea Turtle Inc. The northern part of the island, where the national seashore area can be found, is a rugged seaside paradise filled with untouched beaches, picnic areas, and wildlife.

NASA's Johnson Space Center is an actual working facility where astronauts train, and spaceship launches are monitored from a mission control facility. You may not be able to visit all areas of the official facility, but the museum at nearby Space Center Houston is almost as good. On display are fascinating exhibits that space lovers and the generally curious will enjoy. Spaceship geeks will enjoy the interactive Starship Gallery with its collection of space craft — both genuine artifacts and replicas. Would-be space explorers and conspiracy theorists will want to investigate the moon landing exhibits in the Apollo Exhibit.

Most memorable among the interactive exhibits are Sky Lab, a reproduction of the U.S.'s first space station in 1973, that shows how astronauts live while in space. Also check out The Independence, a truly amazing replica of a space shuttle mounted on NASA 905, a real shuttle carrier aircraft. It's fascinating to see how a shuttle is flown, and how astronauts live and sleep. Numerous other exhibits like Mission Mars and Artemis could fill a whole day, but you'll want to save time for the tram tour to the Johnson's Space Center where the real astronaut training action goes down daily.

The Space Center could easily take a full day. But if you happen to do it in less or have a few days in the area, Houston is Texas's museum capital, so you could easily drive 30 minutes to the nearby Houston Museum of Natural Science or spend a day exploring favorites like The Health Museum or The Holocaust Museum Houston.

For the most genuine taste of Texas' wild west, visitors agree that the Dallas-Fort Worth area is the place to be. One visitor on Reddit had this to say: "Go to the Ft. Worth Stockyards even if just for a day. It's Cowboy Disneyland. It would be worth it to stay overnight..." One of the most authentic experiences is to be had at Austin's massive State Fair of Texas, held September to October each year, and often regarded as America's largest state fair.

If your visit doesn't happen in October, Fort Worth Stockyards with its daily cattle drive, wild west aesthetics, and authentic swashbuckling cowboys is also a good bet. To fit in, or perhaps to fulfill wanna-be-cowboy or cowgirl fantasies, visitors often don wide-brim cowboy hats before visiting the stockyards. Once inside, they find themselves looking like the cowboys tending the widehorn cattle that run through the streets inside the stockyard daily. 

Before lining streets to watch the afternoon cattle, visitors can grab lunch at any of the eateries looking like they belong back in an old wild west town, go shopping, or catch a real rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum. If you have a few more days, Texan culture is all over Fort Worth. Catch live country music at the historic Billy Bob Texas, where you can also watch bull riding. The John Wayne Museum is also nearby if you're a fan of the movie star who played cowboy roles in countless western movies.

If you love nature, Natural Bridge Caverns is a unique way to experience what can only be described as an underground wonder. One reviewer on TripAdvisor couldn't stop praising the caverns. "Captivating and awe-inspiring! These caverns are gorgeous and massive. Our guide was knowledgeable and offered many opportunities to ask questions. There was a beautiful light show at the end. I appreciated the automated ramp back to the top, as I was particularly slow to use the wet steps going down."

Natural Bridge Caverns are actually two caverns — the Discovery Cavern and Hidden Wonders Cavern. Hidden Cavern is the newest discovery after being found hidden completely underground. A tour immerses you into a world of breathtaking rock and cave formations, and a light show that is part of the experience. Visitors can also ride the conveyor belt aided B.A.T (Belt Assisted Transport) on the way out. To experience real bats, the one-of-a-kind Bracken Bat Flight experience is the way to go.

20 million bats, the world's largest colony, leave Bracken Cave (inside the caverns) and blanket the sky like a cloud of black soot every summer. Dates are published on Natural Bridge Cavern's website in May if you want to book the experience.

The soothing arrangement of the gorgeous gardens in the outdoor Japanese Tea Garden inspires contemplation and peace with every step. Every detail, from the soothing waterfalls to the peaceful koi pond seem to be carefully placed to slow down the soul.

The picturesque garden is stunningly designed with stone bridges reminiscent of Central Park's, water bodies that one could easily find solace in, flowerbeds with benches for soul searching, and a rustic pavilion that looks like it could have come straight from Japan. Visitors staying for lunch can enjoy a meal in the onsite restaurant, Jingu House.

If you can pull yourself away from the peaceful oasis, its location in San Antonio puts you close to treasures like the San Antonio River Walk, the Alamo, and The Missions. The San Antonio River Walk has enough to fill a whole day if you plan on spending a few days in San Antonio.

The most impressive thing about the Museum of Fine Arts Houston isn't that it has a Michelin-starred restaurant inside. While that certainly makes lunch time more interesting, it's the collections in the museum's buildings that keep visitors enthralled. Every genre is well represented, from the traditional European masters to greats like Picasso and Matisse who began the modern revolution with their abstract and cubist styles.

The colorful African and Latin American styles of art are also well-represented — as is an excellent exhibit of American masters (in the nearby Bayou Bend building, also in Houston). For lunch, art masterpieces give way to culinary excellence at the Michelin-starred Le Jardiniere restaurant. If you want something more casual, there is also Cafe Leonelli for laid-back Italian eats.

If you plan on spending an additional day in Houston, leave fine art behind and experience the quirkier side of the city at some of the more eclectic, art-filled attractions. The unusual Beer Can House is decorated with repurposed beer cans on the outside; Smither Park is an outdoor destination with hundreds of mosaic art installations; and the Orange Show is equally unique.

We pulled a list of the top 20 attractions in Texas on TripAdvisor as a starting point for our research. Since we were looking for 12, we had to find a way to narrow this initial list down. To do this, we looked to Reddit. All 20 attractions were filtered through Reddit to see which got the highest marks from Reddit users. The highest marks were calculated by giving one point for every favorable mention (review, recommendation, or opinion) and tallying to see which 12 came out on top.

We found that on Reddit, a few attractions that were not in the top 20 on TripAdvisor kept getting mentions (and marks higher than many on TripAdvisor). These were Big Bend National Park and Padre Island. Both were added to the list, along with the 10 from TripAdvisor that had scored highest.