ROUTE: Paris to DecaturDISTANCE: 148 milesNUMBER OF COUNTIES: 6WHAT TO READ: Michael Andrews’s Historic Texas CourthousesWhenever I start to suffer the ill effects of traffic overload and endless status updates on my smartphone, I set out for a quieter, quainter place that has at least two of the following: a
More than sixty art insiders gave us their list of favorite works of art to see in Texas. So grab your notepad, sketchbook, or iPad and take the ultimate tour of must-see art in Texas.
A round-up of impressive art exhibitions.
Grapevine
1. Alibi BoutiqueGruene’s unofficial motto may be “Gently Resisting Change Since 1872,” but a new(ish) retail spot southwest of the town’s historic heart has shoppers altering their usual itinerary. This fashionable women’s shop could double as the personal closet of an eco-minded, paparazzi-aware young actress. Decked out in an organic
Mex-Mex has the purist vote wrapped up, but these Tex-Mex bastions win hands down when it comes to comfort food and customer loyalty.
1. Olde Towne General StoreAfter learning about Nacogdoches’s colorful past at the visitors center across the street, stop in at this down-home deli for sustenance. The chalk-board menus list appetizing offerings—corned beef sandwiches, deviled eggs, loaded baked potatoes topped with barbecue sauce—that’ll bring you back to your grandma’s kitchen. If
Fort Worth Stockyards.
In Donald Judd’s last interview before his death, in 1994, the artist explained that he’d first come to Marfa two decades earlier because he “just wanted a place in the Southwest for the summertime.” Whether he intended it or not, this far West Texas town has since become the
Quick! You still have time to get in a great vacation before school starts and summer ends. And with this handy—and extremely thorough—guide to five perfect trips, all you need to do is fill up the tank, buckle up the kids, and go.
Poteet
How a modest Corpus Christi burger stand became a Texas icon.
Not that you’re looking for an excuse, but these five original cocktails concocted by Texas bartenders using local liquors are a thoroughly acceptable reason to pour yourself a drink. Or three.
A few of the state’s best mixologists share their secrets to making delicious drinks.
Thirty years after he took his first photograph for us—of charming kook Stanley Marsh 3—contributing photographer Wyatt McSpadden looks back on his extraordinary career and tells the stories behind some of our favorite images.
Television journalist Jorge Ramos, the author of the book Dying to Cross, on immigration reform and being called the “voice of the voiceless.”
Was I giddy from the altitude or just happy to be strolling the sidewalks of El Paso?
While the first issue of 2013 is en route to newsstands and your mailbox (because you are a Texas Monthly subscriber, right?), here's a little preview of some of the sights, sounds, and tastes I discovered while on assignment in...can you guess which Texas town? (Click through
With three days in Dallas’s historic Oak Cliff, my mantra was “Shop, eat, repeat.”
Meet Texas Style & Substance and The Diego Files.
Patrolling the placid waters, historic B&Bs, and treasure-filled antiques shops of Jefferson.
In the November 2012 issue of Travel + Leisure, the magazine's editors have compiled a list of 101 places around the world that they say "define the traveler's core curriculum right now." One Texas destination has made the list. Can you guess what it is? Click
This time last year, I was leaving the Cotton Bowl along with thousands of football fans who'd made the annual pilgrimage to watch the 106th Red River Rivalry, one of the highlights of the State Fair of Texas. While throngs of UT
As a recent study of hotel booking trends pointed out, us Texans prefer to vacation in Texas. Since our last roundup of the state's most notable lodgings was in 2004, I thought it was high time to revisit the subject. So
So I’ve been MIA from the blog lately, but I think I have a pretty good excuse, as I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on a Texas travel feature for our November issue. For the latest installment of “Where To Stay Now,” I picked up where
The best way to visit Houston is one neighborhood at a time. Let’s start with Montrose.
For the October installment of the Wanderer, I spent three days exploring a Houston hood with a colorful history (a 1973 Texas Monthly article called it “the strangest neighborhood in Texas”) and a colorful array of shops, restaurants, and watering holes. Can you guess
For my first official outing as the Wanderer, I got to play cowgirl for a few days in Bandera, the (self-proclaimed) Cowboy Capital of the World. As I was busy riding horses, two-stepping, and eating fried delicacies, I managed to take nearly
The first column I wrote for Texas Monthly appeared in the March 2000 issue. The article was titled “Voting Rites,” and I argued that the Voting Rights Act, which Lyndon Johnson had proposed to a joint session of Congress 35 years earlier, was the greatest accomplishment of his
From horseback riding to grilling my own ribeye, three days in Bandera brought out my inner Dale Evans.
During a recent trip to Houston, I decided to make an early-bird dinner reservation so I could get over to the Rice University campus in time for the evening viewing of James Turrell’s Light Epiphany. Open since June, the site-specific “skyspace” was commissioned to mark the
For many travelers, this far West Texas town is a last-chance pit stop before heading south to brave the wilds of Big Bend National Park. But, this past spring, after driving 407 miles (that’s roughly 7 hours and 143 country songs) from Austin to
In one of my favorite descriptions of Marfa, writer David McDannald points out that sometimes it’s “a shadow of a town” and sometimes it’s “a desert Mardi Gras.” At the end of this month, West Texas’s buzziest destination will be lit up like Bourbon Street on
WHAT: Wild Boar Farms, a roadside farm stand worth pulling over for. WHERE: Stonewall, at the northeast corner of Hwy 290 and Luckenbach Road. WHY: For starters, the head farmer’s name is Daniel Bacon. That’s as good a reason as any to patronize this long, wood-paneled structure, which
If you’ve already picked up your copy of Texas Monthly‘s September issue, you’ve noticed that the magazine has undergone a top-to-bottom redesign. In the new Touts section, you’ll find the debut of my Texas travel column, the Wanderer (or, as my colleagues like to call
Fort Davis.
1. Grapevine Vintage RailroadNestled among the shops and restaurants along Main Street are several landmarks, including an eight-by-ten-foot 1909 calaboose and the 1888 Cotton Belt Depot, which houses the Grapevine Historical Museum. From there you can board Victorian-style passenger cars pulled by a 1953 diesel named Vinny for a ride
The annual folk festival celebrates its fortieth anniversary next month, but there's more to this Hill Country town than banjos and fiddles.
Come spring, this charming East Texas town will draw tourists with its annual dogwood festival—and sweets lovers with its popular pecan cake.
This once sleepy Cowtown neighborhood has morphed into a shopping and nightlife hot spot.
The oil-fueled boomtown may be running out of water, but there’s still plenty of shopping and culture to be found.
When the weather turns cold, the self-proclaimed “Center Stage” of East Texas, attracts tourists with its famous Wonderland of Lights. And have you tried the raspberry-chipotle burger?
Dozens of charming, century-old homes just north of Houston have been transformed into a historic shopping district, complete with wooden clogs and fried Oreos.
The Gateway to Big Bend offers enough tasty food and worthy art to attract event the hiking-averse.
The two-year-old extension of the famed promenade offers Roman antiquities, Roman delicacies, and plenty of opportunities for roamin’.
How I learned to (sort of) love camping.
This Hill Country town founded by Freethinkers and abolitionists offers unique artisanal wares, first-rate antiquing, and a tasty $8 hamburger.
Flower lovers drawn to the Rose Capital of the Nation will find snazzy frocks and spicy guisado de puerco amid the petals and thorns.
1. Merry Heart TeaRoomIn this quaint lunch spot, men are about as scarce as empty seats. Women, on the other hand, flock here for the exact reasons the guys steer clear: to share gossip while snacking on the signature “toasties” (essentially croutons with a kick), to eat dainty portions of
Make like a whooping crane and head south to this coastal hot spot to indulge in seafood and collect treasures for your nest.
