The Top Five Cities to Visit in Texas

Texas is a fantastic state with many great things to do with the family. If you ever get a chance to visit Texas, I have written a seperate hub on the top ten places to visit in Texas that you can check out. In this hub, I will focus on the Top 5 Texas cities to visit.

5. Houston- Houston, Texas is the largest city in Texas. It is located just up from the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is home to many sports teams and vacation attractions. Some vacation attractions are the Johnson Space Center and The Mission Control Tower. This is the place where they guide and talk with the folks on the space shuttles. Another area of attractive sites is the Houston Museum District. It is a part of Houston, located around Rice University. The Houston Museum District is home to many parks, a large zoo, fine arts museum, health museum, and science museum. There is 16 notable museums located in the district. The district even has its own train to shuffle visitors around. There is also a Theater District. The main place in this district is the Bayou Place. The Bayou Place is an entertainmant complex which holds many movie theaters, bars, and restaurants. Houston is a great city to visit with many things to do.

4. San Antonio- San Antonio, Texas is the second largest city in Texas. San Antonio is know for its Mexican culture and influence. In my opinion, the greatest attraction in Texas is located here. Its The Alamo. The Alamo was a battle in the Texas Revolution againest Mexico and Santa Anna. The Texans won, claiming independence. The Alamo today has been re-done since the war times and is now a popular museum. Another big attraction is the River Walk. The River Walk is a place where there are sidewalks next to the river. You can walk along the river and enjoy a nice, quiet walk. Well, quiet if your not by the mall. Located along the River Walk are many stores, malls, and restaurants. Bands can also be seen playing along the river. Boat rides are also available, which I recommend greatly. I have never forgotten the time when we rode boats in the river through the city. If you ever get a chance to visit San Antonio, those 2 attractions would be the most fun for you and your family.

3. Austin- Austin, Texas is the fourth largest city in Texas. Austin is Texas' capitol, which is probably the most important attraction. The capitol building offers special tours for visitors. You get to see a great part of the capitol building. One other attraction is the Arboretum. The Arboretum is a series of malls, fancy restaurants, high-end living places, and successful companies. Some museums in Austin are the Texas Memorial Museum, Harry Ransom Center, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. The Bob Bullock Museum, for short, is a specialized museum for telling the story of Texas and its beginnings. It contains three floors of exhibits, an IMAX theatre, and many stop and go shows. Austin is a cool city to visit, especially at night.

2. Amarillo- Amarillo, Texas is the largest city in the Panhandle, and the 14th largest city in Texas. Amarillo has many fun attractions and sites. One big attraction is the American Quarter House Association. Its a museum dedicated to the American Quarter Horse, which is a breed of horse used for racing. Another fun place to visit in Amarillo is the Big Texan. At the Big Texan, which you might have seen on my other Texas hubs, is a big restaurant with many great things to do. Inside there are electronic games to play, fake shooting games, and my favorite part, the restaurant. The restaurant area is a famous place in Texas. It is the home of the FREE 72 oz steak. There is a raised platform at the front where any challenger that wants to take on the task can do so. You have an hour to eat the steak (which has alot of fat), a roll, salad, and a baked potato. There is a catch though; if you don't eat all of it, its $72.00! So come hungry, and hopefully leave happy. Overall, Amarillo is a great city with cool places to visit.

1. Dallas/Fort Worth- The Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex is located in northern Texas. Dallas and Fort Worth are neighbors, so thats why I put both Dallas and Fort Worth. I will be focusing on Dallas, though. Dallas is the 3rd largest city in Texas. Dallas is number 1 because I believe it has the best tourist attractions. Some big ones are the Cotton Bowl, where the fair is also located, Dallas Museum of Art, Reunion Arena, Southern Methodist University (SMU), The State Fair of Texas, Six Flags/Hurricane Harbour, Texas Stadium, which is being moved to Arlington, Texas, The Dallas Zoo, Victory Plaza, and Reunion Tower. If you will only be here a couple days or so, I strongly suggest Reunion Tower. Reunion Tower is also called to Dallas residents as the "Ball". That name says it all. Reunion Tower is a tower in downtown. You can go up to the top, where there is a fancy restaurant and a place to just go up and look. From up there, you can see all of Dallas and way off to other places. One interesting characteristic of Reunion Tower is that it spins. You can't see it spinning, but it does. It takes an hour for the "Ball" to go all the way around in a complete circle. If you eat at the restaurant, you will surely see the whole ball rotate at least once. Dallas is a very great city to visit.

I hope you get to visit Texas someday, maybe even these cities. Thanks for reading!

--John

http://johnburgdorf.webs.com/