| Austin, the state capital and the fourth-largest Texas city, is famous for its close ties to music and entertainment. As The Live Music Capital of the World, it boasts more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city. The city’s musical hub is centered around 6th Street, which is also home to many of its colorful festivals. Annual events include the famous film/music/multimedia festival known as South by Southwest, the Austin Film Festival, the Austin City Limits Music Festival held at beautiful Zilker Park, the Austin Reggae Festival, Carnaval, the Pecan Street Festival, and for kids, Eeyore's Birthday Party. The city also hosts huge public parties for Halloween, St Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras, July 4th, and Juneteenth (Emancipation Day). Its unofficial motto of "Keep Austin Weird," explains Austinites’ pride in being eccentric. Austin also has a thriving theater culture for those hoping to catch a play or opera. Venues for boating, swimming, and other forms of recreation include three manmade lakes, Mansfield Dam, and several lakeshore parks, all within the city's limits. Another popular spot is Mount Bonnell, a natural limestone formation overlooking Lake Austin. Other attractions include the Blanton Museum of Art, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the capitol building, and Pennybacker Bridge, also known as the "360 Bridge," which crosses Lake Austin. During summer months, people gather on the Congress Avenue Bridge at sunset to witness Austin's Mexican free-tailed bat population of 1.5 million emerge from under the bridge for their migration to Mexico. At night, parts of Austin are lit with "artificial moonlight." Several moonlight towers, built in the late 19th century and recognized as historic landmarks, illuminate the central part of the city. As one of the largest states in the Union, Texas, the Lone Star state, is big on tourism and huge on fun. Two thirds of the over 20 million folks who call Texas home live in its major metropolitan cities, like Houston, Dallas, and Austin. Aside from the typical things most big cities have to offer, like great food and exciting nightlife, folks in Houston can also sign up for space camp. In Dallas, nothing beats catching the Dallas Cowboys football team in action during a home game, or witnessing a true cowboy ride a live, bucking bull in a Dallas rodeo. And, in Austin, the city dubbed “Live Music Capital of the World”, there is always a good band playing and many other types of live entertainment, from theater to orchestras. If relaxing by the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico is more your speed, then head down to the state’s hundreds of miles of coastline. Aside from its many small, quaint beach towns, there’s also Corpus Christi, where you can enjoy a delicious seafood meal while watching the boats sail in and out of the harbor past the barrier islands located just off the mainland. Texas also has several water parks and amusement parks, including the famous Six Flags Over Texas. Whatever you decide to do in Texas, you’re bound to have a good time. And, before you leave, there are two things you definitely don’t want to forget, your luggage…and the Alamo. Dallas, Austin, Arlington, Houston, Cowboys, football, live music, Gulf of Mexico, Corpus Christi, Six Flags, Alamo Austin–Round Rock, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Frost Bank Tower, Pennybacker Bridge, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, IBM, Samsung, Dell, Apple Computer, Sun Microsystems, Austin Independent Business Alliance, Texas Longhorns, SETON Healthcare Network, AMD, Intel, |
