Texas Top Attractions
- The Alamo. All Texans know about this site that inspired the battle cry for Texas independence, and John Wayne helped cement this historic mission firmly in the minds of everyone else. The building is small, but significant for its role in the fight against Mexico. All the soldiers who fought to defend it lost their lives here.
- Big Bend National Park. Ride the rapids of the Rio Grande River, trek through classic Old West landscape, and marvel at the moonscape that skirts Boquillas, Mexico, at this 801,163-acre national park in West Texas. It is one of the nation's most geographically diverse parks. Kids love the star-viewing parties and the hot spring in which they can swim.
- Fort Worth Stockyards. This is the Texas you imagined when watching or reading Westerns. Fort Worth's Stockyards National Historic District boasts the Fort Worth Herd (a twice-daily longhorn cattle drive at 11:30 and 4), the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, restored 19th century buildings, the Stockyards Museum, the Stockyard Station shopping area, a vintage railroad—and the world's largest honky tonk, Billy Bob's Texas (complete with an indoor bull-riding ring). Saddle up!
- Schlitterbahn Waterparks. This place has triple the fun, because it has three locations in Texas: Galveston, South Padre, and New Braunfels. The Galveston location has a heated indoor park, for wet fun year-round. The largest of the Texas trio of parks is the 65-acre New Braunfels location. It's been voted the best water park for a decade. The Dragon's Revenge consists of creepy caverns, a two-story freefall, special effects, and one angry dragon—everything a pre-teen boy wants.
- NASA's Space Center Houston. As soon as a shuttle's launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral, Mission Control in Houston takes over. Visitors to this Space Center can take a tram tour through the working NASA area and the old Mission Control station. The on-site museum has lots of hands-on activities related to space.
- South Padre Island. Dolphin-watching, scuba diving, glass-bottom boats doing ecotourism trips, horseback riding on the beach, a fun water park, and of course, sunning and swimming at the beaches—it's all here on South Padre, a favorite with families (except during Spring Break, when college kids take over the island).
- The State Capitol. Texas's majestic State Capitol, in Austin, is taller than the U.S. Capitol and is made of beautiful Texas granite. Tours are available.
