What cities in Texas have the best tourist and historical attractions? (Houston: good hotels, place to live)

[lallen2004]

I'm exploring the idea of opening a bed and breakfast in Texas and as they say - location! location! location! I'd love to know which areas of Texas have the greatest tourist attractions, as well as the best historical and other sites that would bring in a regular flow of visitors year-round (except maybe July and August!). We'd have horses on property for our guests and my husband loves to fish, so having the B&B on acreage near water would also be ideal. Thank you so much for any advice you can give - its always best to get it from a local or those who have been there!

And hey - if you think Texas is oversaturated with B&Bs, Ranches or other such businesses and doesn't need another one, feel free to tell me that too!!!!!

[jimithing78]

Your best bet for that type of thing would be out in the Texas Hill country. Somewhere like Fredricksburg.

[CptnRn]

San Antonio would get my vote. It was the first significant spanish settlement, has the Alamo, SeaWorld, La Villita and the Riverwalk.

[lothartheterrible]

I'd stay somewhere in between, like in Bryan or something like that. That way, you're no more than a 4-5 hour drive from D/FW, Austin, Houston or San Antonio and all they have to offer.

D/FW - Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, and the Fort Worth Stockyards (among many others).
Austin- First and foremost the State Capitol, the UT Campus, Zilker Park and the bat caves (among many others).
Houston- Battleship Texas, San Jacinto Battleground State Park and the San Jacinto Monument, NASA, the Kemah Boardwalk (among many others, ad nauseam)....
San Antonio- The Alamo, the Riverwalk, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, tons of other stuff.

Plus there's Fredericksburg, Georgetown, New Braunfels, Waco, and everything else in between. Have fun during your stay!

[atxcio]

San Marcos, or New Braunfels... between San Antonio (most tourist attractions) and Austin (also popular, especially for the big festivals). You've got people coming from all over the state to tube the rivers, go to Canyon Lake, or the large water park in New Braunfels. A nice B&B would be great. I'm not sure if the area is over saturated with them, though.

The Frio River/Uvalde area would be another nice spot.

[kmc757]

Austin, San Antonio, Hill Country area. Pick a nice place between Austin and San Antonio as a base. See the sights in both cities and then venture into the Hill Country area around Austin.

[lallen2004]

What about Bandera - that's in Hill Country, right? Is there a lot to see tourist wise besides the cowboy town itself?

[doctorjef]

I'd second the Hill Country (or third it, perhaps, after the rec. for Bandera). I'd agree with the suggestion of something near Fredericksberg, Bandera, possibly Llano (Hwy 71 that direction from Austin is a beautiful drive) or possibly in the Hill Country closer to San Antonio, promoting some of the SA attractions, amongst which the Mission Trail shouldn't be forgotten -- a series of wonderful colonial Spanish missions that trail gradually out of the city (the Alamo, if included, is the only one that is really in the middle of SA, downtown). Being relatively close to Enchanted Rock could be a good idea. All the years I lived in Austin we never got there, because you need to be there early in the day to avoid the heat if you want to climb it, and it would be much better to have a starting point nearby from whence you could start out early in the morning. Also, Kerrville is a lovely place and could be a good location for a B&B just outside of town. The Cowboy Artists of America Museum is there, among other attractions. There are a couple of good hotels, but might still be a niche for boutique B&Bs, esp with horse facilities.

[DanielWayne]

Definitely the Hill Country. Best place to live in Tx. For it's size, Fredericksburg has the most attractions, shops, shows, festivals, proximity to state parks, and places to stay. A close second is Brenham. There are lots of B&Bs (we stayed on a ranch B&B and it was fantastic!), and a small, but thriving downtown full of shops, cafes, and a really nice hotel. The Blue Bell Creamery is a big draw for tourists even though this town has under 20000 people. We have thrown around the idea of opening a B&B in Brenham in the future. Oh another tourist draw to Brenham is that it is very close to a lot of historical places that are part of Texas Independance, and I may not have this completely correct, but I think the only 5 star restaurant in Texas is in a countryside resort near Brenham.

[doctorjef]

Brenham is a completely different scene,however, being essentially in East Texas (East Central, perhaps, but still East). It's just not Texas like the Hill Country. Too gentle and Southern. Not at all rugged. Not really horse country, either. Attractions nearby include Liberty, TX with its great antique rose business (forget the name) and farther on, Washington-on-the-Brazos, original capital of the Republic. It's not happening in the way that the Fredericksburg-Kerrville-Bandera region of the Hill Country are.