3 Weeks in Texas from the UK (Houston, Dallas: home, neighborhood, theatre)

[Brand_new]

Thank you all so much for responding, I really, really appreciate it! I feel I should explain myself a bit..:

Denton - I land at DFW and have heard Denton is a bit 'alternative'
Fort Worth - Stockyards... and I have tickets for the Cowboys game that weekend
San Angelo - I wanted to see what smaller towns & cities were like in Texas, SA seemed like a nice enough place..
Austin - I love live music and Austin is genuinely world famous for entertainment
San Marcos - Seemed like another small city that would be good to visit. Incidently I'll be there when Trump or Clinton gets elected...
San Antonio - Riverwalk sounds lovely
Dallas - I have to fly back from here. Would be great to see anything JFK related though.

I honestly can't wait to visit!

I've still got a bit of time to cancel some accommodation, I've read a few bad things about San Angelo - is it a place to avoid..

Again - thank you for all your help, really is very much appreciated

[Brand_new]

Edit - I'm there from the end of October to mid-November

[KathrynAragon]

Denton - I land at DFW and have heard Denton is a bit 'alternative'
Fort Worth - Stockyards... and I have tickets for the Cowboys game that weekend
San Angelo - I wanted to see what smaller towns & cities were like in Texas, SA seemed like a nice enough place..
Austin - I love live music and Austin is genuinely world famous for entertainment
San Marcos - Seemed like another small city that would be good to visit. Incidently I'll be there when Trump or Clinton gets elected...
San Antonio - Riverwalk sounds lovely
Dallas - I have to fly back from here. Would be great to see anything JFK related though.

My suggestions:

1. Skip Denton. It's just not a "destination" sort of place. Honestly. Lots of people are telling you that - take our word for it!

2. Use the time you save not going to Denton to spend in Fort Worth. In addition to the Stockyards, which are fun, there is a rodeo just about every night (just outside the stockyards). There is also a bustling Arts District with LOTS of excellent museums as well as galleries - and plenty of funkiness if that's what you like. Also, you may want to wander around Sundance Square. Oh, and you love live music, so be sure you check out Billy Bobs!

Also, Dallas has Deep Ellum which is pretty "alternative," and should give you a good jolt of clubbing, tattoos, live music, and overall grunge if that's what you want as part of your trip. You could hit that on the front end of your trip or the back end.

3. Skip San Angelo and San Marcos. They're overrun with lots of bad traffic, college students, etc. It's not that they don't have some cool things going for them, but I'd check out New Braunfels and Fredericksburg and Bandera and Luckenbach instead of San Angelo and San Marcos.

4. Austin - HAVE FUN. Austin is a fun place to visit. My son works as a bartender in a very trendy bar down on 6th Street - he's lived there for nearly ten years and he LOVES IT down there. There is a lot to do in Austin. Lots of good restaurants too. And of course live music. If you go to Austin, you will probably stumble into the historic bar that my son works at - that would be a lot of fun! I promise you he makes a badass drink!

Seriously - hit the outlet malls between Austin and San Antonio. You won't be sorry.

5. San Antonio - a fantastic city all the way around. It's more gritty and "real" than Austin, and I like that. You will eat some of the best food you ever put in your mouth in that city. But Texas food in general is really good. Check out the Alamo, and the missions, as well as the Riverwalk.

6. Dallas - see notes above regarding Deep Ellum. Another interesting part of Dallas is of course, the JFK stuff. And Greenville Avenue as well - lots of funkiness down there. But actually, though I don't live that far from Dallas, it's my least favorite of the Texas Big Five. It's super busy, super crowded, super hectic, and hot, dusty, and plastic. That's my own personal opinion and I haven't lived there so I probably am not aware of it's charms, but personally I'd spend more time in the Austin/San Antonio region than I would in Dallas.

But speaking of the Big Five - I really like Houston. Some people don't but I personally think it has that "real" Texas edge to it like San Antonio and Fort Worth do. Those cities make me proud to be a Texan. Houston also has a good live music scene. It's also close to Galveston (less than an hour away) and Galveston is interesting - it's pleasant and it also has a lot of intriguing history.

Anyway, hope that helps!

[tcualum]

I used to go to UNT. Honestly, there's really anything for tourists to do there. Fort Worth is a great tourist town and whenever I take a friend from Europe there they have a blast. Check on the Stockyards website to see if they're having a rodeo there when you're in town. Twice a day they have a cattle drive through the Stockyards. You find the schedule on the website. If you're interested in Western art then check out the Sid Richardson Museum in Sundance Square or the Amon Carter Museum of American Art or the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum in the Museum District. If you want to learn about JFK in Dallas then the place to go is the Sixth Floor Museum.

I agree that a college or high school games are more fun. If you want to go to a college game I recommend TCU (Fort Worth), UT (Austin) or A&M (College Station). The problem with College Station is that there's really nothing to do there if you're not an A&M fan. UT is a huge well respected public university that had a total enrollment of 50,950 students in 2015. The games are very popular and frequently sell out so if you want to go I'd try to get a ticket now. TCU is a much smaller private school but the games are popular too. They're less likely to sell out.

I second Fredericksburg and the surrounding Hill Country. It's quite beautiful and quite different from the UK.

[War Beagle]

You'll have a good time. While you're in Texas, visit a gun range and rent a variety of guns. Target and skeet shooting is a lot of fun.

It would be WAY out of your way, but far west Texas will remind you of western movies. Marta and Alpine are neat towns too.

Don't go to Galveston. The water is nasty, the beach isn't sand, the city is rundown and the whole area smells like farts sometimes.

[lepoisson]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

You'll have a good time. While you're in Texas, visit a gun range and rent a variety of guns. Target and skeet shooting is a lot of fun.

It would be WAY out of your way, but far west Texas will remind you of western movies. Marta and Alpine are neat towns too.

Don't go to Galveston. The water is nasty, the beach isn't sand, the city is rundown and the whole area smells like farts sometimes.

I agree. Even if you don't particularly like guns, they can be really fun to shoot.

Oh, any make sure you get plenty of good Mexican food and check out Total Wine for their awesome tequila selection. When I lived in France, good Mexican food (even the crappy that you find in most states is way better than French Mexican food lol) and tequila/whiskey were the things I missed the most.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Brand_new

Thank you all so much for responding, I really, really appreciate it! I feel I should explain myself a bit..:

Denton - I land at DFW and have heard Denton is a bit 'alternative'
Fort Worth - Stockyards... and I have tickets for the Cowboys game that weekend
San Angelo - I wanted to see what smaller towns & cities were like in Texas, SA seemed like a nice enough place..
Austin - I love live music and Austin is genuinely world famous for entertainment
San Marcos - Seemed like another small city that would be good to visit. Incidently I'll be there when Trump or Clinton gets elected...
San Antonio - Riverwalk sounds lovely
Dallas - I have to fly back from here. Would be great to see anything JFK related though.

I honestly can't wait to visit!

I've still got a bit of time to cancel some accommodation, I've read a few bad things about San Angelo - is it a place to avoid..

Again - thank you for all your help, really is very much appreciated

This would add hours to your trip, but wondering if you want to skip San Angelo see something really cool. Caprock and Palo Duro Canyons. I just checked and they are (drat!) 4 hours drive from San Angelo.

[ChristieP]

I agree that if you want to see smaller towns in Texas, you should go to Fredericksburg and Bandera in the Hill Country instead of to San Angelo and San Marcos. I'm an Angelo State University alumni, and I would have a hard time finding fun things for you to do and see in Angelo...

The Hill Country is just beautiful in the fall. Enchanted Rock, Texas wineries, craft breweries, and distilleries, historic/cute downtowns, etc.

Don't drive I35 AT ALL if you can avoid it. The awful construction south of Waco until the north side of Georgetown is just bad. Take US281 instead. It's much more scenic, and it will also take you through small towns, including Marble Falls. Stop and eat at The Bluebonnet Cafe there. In Hico, stop at The Koffee Kup for a slice of their famous pie!

[joqua]

Denton - I land at DFW and have heard Denton is a bit 'alternative'

Denton has nothing much for tourists to do. It is a college town - with TWO campuses. North Texas and Texas Women's U. If all you want is to get the small town feel, then go ahead and give it a shot.

Fort Worth - Stockyards... and I have tickets for the Cowboys game that weekend

As others have said, there is MUCH to do in Ft. Worth - IF - you have an interest in the arts. Three world-class art museums within walking distance of each other. Plus the "cowboy" related stuff.

San Angelo - I wanted to see what smaller towns & cities were like in Texas, SA seemed like a nice enough place..

San Angelo has nothing much worthy of tourists either, but is a good example of conservative small town Texas. Abilene is on the way to San Angelo and is an even more conservative small college town. Between San Angelo and San Antonio there are two must-see tourist attractions: Enchanted Rock State Park and the town of Fredericksburg.

Austin - I love live music and Austin is genuinely world famous for entertainment

You could easily spend a week in Austin and not see everything there is to see and do there. And being held up in traffic would contribute to that since you'll be tied up in it much of your visit.

San Marcos - Seemed like another small city that would be good to visit. Incidently I'll be there when Trump or Clinton gets elected...

San Marcos takes all of a couple of hours to visit and is yet another town with very little worthy of tourism. As others have said, spend time in one of the other small tourist towns instead of in San Marcos. Look up Gruene and New Braunfels - two abutting historic towns that tourists love.

San Antonio - Riverwalk sounds lovely

The River Walk is unusual and interesting and gets you around downtown without having to walk in street traffic. You could easily spend a week in San Antonio seeing all there is to see there.

Dallas - I have to fly back from here. Would be great to see anything JFK related though.

Dallas is just a huge metropolis with its own traffic problems that delay getting to and from places. If you are there when the State Fair is in progress (held annually in Oct.), you'll not want to miss it. And even if it's not in progress, the fair grounds are a year around attraction with its museums, aquarium, etc.

[dbsteel]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

Honestly, if I had never been to the US before, Texas would be one of the last places I'd visit. The state is huge, so it will take a long time to travel around. Our big cities are boring, and you'll run out of touristy things to see after a day or two.

Go to NYC, DC, or California. You'll love it as a tourist. If you go to New York, you could drive around to see Niagara Falls and upstate NY. Depending on how much time you have, you might enjoy New Hampshire and Vermont.

That is a weird choice for someone who has never been to the US. Horribly boring. To each his own I guess!