If I were to go Texas, I would go to the Houston city!

Houston TX is were the life is – there is always so much to do. Pleanty Malls and if you lik basketball there are pleanty of off plays for you to see.

Food – You will never starve over there, there are lots of food courts were you can just pig out.

Explore, plus you will never get lost!

Enjoy!

There is so much to do all over the state. I have a special place in my heart for San Antonio because my grandmother lived there, so I got to visit there quite a few times.

Sure there is the Riverwalk and the Alamo, but there are many other Spanish Missions that you can visit in the area. The San Antonio Zoo is really cool, along with the Sunken Gardens (which have been closed for renovation, I don’t know when they open again.)

Mi Tierra is kinda looked down upon because it is touristy, but they have great food, and afterward you can visit their bakery with all kinds of great pastries. It is attached to El Mercado, which has lots of souvenir shops. (As a kid we always went to the Alamo and El Mercado/Mi Tierra if we didn’t go anywhere else. Now when I go to visit, I always try to make it to Mi Tierra.)

If that isn’t enough stuff to do, Austin, the live music capital of the world (and capital of Texas) is about an hour to the northeast, and the Hill Country is up US-281. Fredricksburg is a great little town (I recommend Fredricksburg Brewing Co. to eat and have a local micro-brew).

What exactly are you interested in? Like others said, Texas is a HUGE state with a variety of different things to enjoy. Depending on what interests you, you can find the perfect place for you to go.

Central Texas!! Austin and Houston and Dallas. In June it’ll be nice and hot. There are lots of springs and lakes to jump in (Krause Springs, for instance: http://www.texasoutside.com/kraussprings.htm )

Or, if you like a mountain-y landscape, try North/Northeast. El Paso, Amarillo— it’s a lot drier (and often dustier) there than Austin/Houston/Dallas in June, which some people find preferable?

Joe is right, Texas is huge and since I don’t know what you want to see and do, I can only recommend based on what I like (and don’t like) to see and do. The islands are nice, the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid on Galveston is amazing, but expect lots of tourists and a springbreak-type crowd on weekends. Avoid Dallas-Ft Worth and Houston. West Texas is mostly scrub desert and from my perspective has very little to recommend it. Central TX, in the hill country, has a lot of great things. Austin is a good place to go for music and funkiness and good food and northwest of there toward the Marble Falls, Lago Vista area there are breath-taking views. Enchanted Rock for camping and hiking, Fredericksburg for shopping, Topsey (near Killeen) for a drive-thru safari. San Antonio is wonderful. Lovely architecture, lots of historical buildings, just a beautiful city all around, with many different attractions close by to appeal to many different tastes. All of these are within 1-2hrs of Austin, an important point for a 3 day weekend.

I have to say that I’ve never been to San Antonio, but I’d definitely want to visit there or Austin. I’ve heard that Austin is one of the prettier places in Texas. I think San Antonio has some of the more rich Texas history.

For a two day visit to the state, concentrate on one place. Don’t try and go to many places or you’re going to feel like you’re stressed out. If Texas is about anything, it’s about a slow pace.

I’ve been to Dallas and Ft. Worth a few times and I like them. Ft. Worth is certainly a place to get that real Texas charm, see a rodeo, that kinda thing. But if you really want historical Texas, I’d follow Dwight’s advice. San Antonio might be a better place to get around on foot, which would make a better place than DFW because you can see more in a less hurried pace.

After your trip, be sure to update this so we can all see if SA was worth it!

There’s just so much in Texas- and for the most part, most places are too far away to try to hit up multiple cities in one trip.

If you’re interested in rodeo, ranching, or other “cow” topics, Fort Worth and the stockyards would be a fun place to visit.

If you’re a huge fan of JFK, the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas would be a great stop. The location of Oswald in 1963 is now one of the largest museums dedicated to JFK’s killing.

If you would like to soak in some Texas history, I’d suggest the Austin-San Antonio area. The Alamo is the well-known touristy spot, but there are also four or five missions from the same time that still retain most of the original structures. (The Alamo is just the chapel of a larger mission that formerly existed on that site). The missions are maintained by the National Park Service and some of the chapels are still in operation as Catholic churches of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. In San Antonio, the Riverwalk is also a nice attraction.

Austin, like someone else mentioned, is only an hour up I-35. The capitol and associated grounds are beautiful (check out the “Texas” door hindges). Across the street is the Texas Governor’s Mansion- built in 1856, it is the oldest continuously occupied executive residence west of the Mississippi.

Just a little ways to the north is The University of Texas campus. On the weekends, you can schedule tours of the “Tower”- the clock tower main building on campus. Night life is great in Austin. Live music and the Sixth Street & Warehouse (4th Street) entertainment districts will ensure you’ll have a good time. Most bars/clubs/music venues in that area don’t charge cover, so if you’re looking to be financially minded, this could interest you.

Depending on your exact set of interests, Austin has a long list of other things you can check out.

Houston also has a good deal of things to check out. If you’re into the space program, Space Center Houston is a lot of fun, although I haven’t been since I was in sixth grade so it might not be great for adults! :-) The museums in Houston normally have amazing exhibits, especially the Museum of Natural Science (although their special exhibits usually have nothing to do with natural science).

I’m leaving out large sections of the state, namely, because I’m not familiar enough with them to even act like I know what I’m talking about. Depending on your interest, Texas should have something for you.

If you’re going to be in the Houston area, prepare for high humidity and everywhere, prepare for heat.

Hope this helps!

well, i have to say galveston because i live here! and i love it here…lots of beaches, tons of stuff to do..u can rent a bike on seawall and just cruise around and enjoy the site, rent a surfboard and take in the waves, then u can clean up and have a gourmet dinner at one of our billion restaurants, take in a show at the east end theatre or the 1894 grand opera house…lots of nite life down on the strand, the best food, the best people :o)

u will have the time of your life in galveston!

well texas has so much to offer and is a BIG place ive just moved back to austin tx from seattle ,wa so that ought to tell you something lol. I love austin and in june there are lots of free concerts and tons of stuff to do.6th street offers the best in bars and clubs,There is great food all over austin.If you come to the austin area make sure you go north into round rock to Round Rock doughnuts for THE best doughnuts ever.

IF you decide on San Antonio make sure to do the boat ride down the river walk its amuseing and has great history also make sure to check out the mercados. Courpus Christy and padre island are also great places to go. The uss lexington museum is a great place to go the aquarium is very interesting and great beaches.The light house has beautifull views.

as fir galveston well no offence to the person above but haveing lived in galveston before if you do there DON"T go in the water at the beach it burns and is full of chemicals and more often than not the beaches are full of sea weed and garbage. There are of course lots of other things to do but why go to a place with beaches if you can’t enjoy the water. ive lived all over texas and been most of the places worth going to that i haven’t lives so after you decide where let me know and i can tell you what cool things there are to do there

There’s so much cool, off-the-wall stuff to see in Texas that you should probably avoid the standard touristy stuff. I lived in San Antonio for 15 years, and everyone who visited always wanted me to take them to the Alamo. My response? How about I drive you by and then you let me know if you still want to go in. When I drove them by, the universal response was, “That’s it?” Yep, that’s it. It’s really not all that impressive. If you are a history buff, then great, you’ll love it. If you are looking for John Wayne’s Alamo, go out west to Bracketville and visit the original set for that movie.

San Antonio is still a great place to go, but if you do, visit the Spanish missions and skip the Alamo. They are much more beautiful. When you go to the Southside to visit said missions, ask someone where the “ghost tracks” are and ask them to explain WHAT the “ghost tracks” are. Then make a point of following their directions if you want to get a thrill.

Another not-to-be missed feature in SA: Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Museum. Barney is in his 80s now and is a real treasure. His whacky form of folkart is absolutely unique. His “museum” is in his garage in Alamo Heights, and it costs nothing. It’s well worth the visit.

There are also incredible art and natural history museums in SA. Visit the McNay, the Witte, and the San Antonio Museum of Art. They don’t cost much, and again, are well worth it.

You should go to the King William District just south of downtown. It’s site of an old German settlement and some beautiful historical homes. It’s now the bohemian arts district in SA, home to loads of galleries, cafes, and theatres. The best place to eat in King William, IMO, is Madhatter’s Tea. Rene is the owner there, and he’s a delight.

Don’t miss the food in SA, either. The best restaurants are NOT the tourist traps downtown. Instead, you might want to find the rattiest, most run-down looking taco joint you can and give it a whirl. Chances are, you won’t be disappointed. Plazas Mexican Restaurant at the corner of Fresno and Blanco is always a great bet, as is Las Salsas on San Pedro (assuming they are still there).

As for shopping, skip the malls. Head out to Bussey’s Flea Market in northeastern Bexar County. It’s in Schertz just off IH-35, and any given Saturday or Sunday morning, it’s a riot of vendors and shoppers. If you like “trash as treasure,” you’ll love it.

If you like natural wonders, the bat caves are out close to Bussey’s, and on a summer night just at sundown, you’ll see the most incredible thing you’ve ever witnessed: MILLIONS of Mexican free-tailed bats exiting the cave and going out on their nightly hunt. It’s the world’s single largest population of these bats, and there are so many of them that their nightly exodus appears to be a rainstorm on the weather radar in the area.

I hope you have fun and get off the beaten path while in SA.

I think i’m going to do San Antonio.. from people are saying it seems to offer a good mix or touristy and unique things to do… I am looking at lodging, both The Historic Menger Hotel and Hotel Valencia Riverwalk both look nice… any other suggestions?

I agree. I think Austin/San Antonio is a great place to start. (Although I do love the Dallas/Fort Worth area).

The Menger Hotel is very nice and has a unique feel to it. It’s essentially across the street from the Alamo and walking distance to the river. If you don’t mind the price, it’s a great choice.

If you were going in Aug I tell you to go to the panhandle to Dalhart for XIT Rodeo weekend, then go visit Amarillo. But I do so like Dallas-Fort worth there is so much to do and see there you will never get it done in three days! Have fun in Texas it is ALL good!!

Austin is a place you need to visit. What’s better than spending a day hiking in the hill country, swimming at barton creek, and finishing it off with an awesome meal on the roof of Whole Foods or a movie at the Drafthouse? The Alamo Drafthouse? It’s only the best movie theatre in the States.. Beer, food, and a movie. Need I say more? Marfa is also an interesting place definitely worth a go. It’s way out in the middle of nowhere in west Texas, but it’s a one of a kind town.

I wouldn’t visit Houston for vacation. I lived there for a year and the traffic will take up most of your two days.

I spent a few days in San Antonio and the food was great, and so was the music. Start in San Antonio and visit some of the historical missions around the region. It’s beautiful!