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All United States Texas

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Texas

326 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Texas

Updated May 1, 2023

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Cities

Top Cities
Austin
A beautiful bridge.
San Antonio
Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern
Houston
Dallas
Marfa
Fort Worth
All Cities
  1. Amarillo
  2. Austin
  3. Cedar Creek
  4. College Station
  5. Comfort
  6. Conroe
  7. Cross Plains
  8. Culberson County
  9. Dallas
  10. Denton
  11. El Paso
  12. Fort Worth
  13. Fredericksburg
  14. Galveston
  15. Glen Rose
  16. Houston
  17. Huntsville
  18. Irving
  19. Katy
  20. Laredo
  21. Marfa
  22. Mc Lean
  23. Mineral Wells
  24. Panhandle
  25. Paris
  26. Plano
  27. Round Rock
  28. San Angelo
  29. San Antonio
  30. San Marcos
  31. Seguin
  32. Terlingua
  33. Texas City
  34. Tyler
  35. Waco
  36. Waxahachie
  37. Zavalla
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories
Lists

Unusual Attractions in Texas

Dripping Springs, Texas

Hamilton Pool

An emerald-green grotto just a short trip from Austin.
Museum of the Weird, May 2018

Austin, Texas

Museum of the Weird

Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style.
Cathedral of Junk

Austin, Texas

Cathedral of Junk

This unique structure in suburban Austin is made up entirely of other people's castaways, and constantly changing.

Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth Water Gardens

A modernist landscape of water and sci-fi concrete.
Uncommon Objects sign

Austin, Texas

Uncommon Objects

One part antique store, one part curiosities hodge-podge.

Amarillo, Texas

Cadillac Ranch

A sculpture made of 10 Cadillacs as a monument to the "Golden Age" of the American automobile.
Crowds gather to watch the bats fly out as the sun sets.

Austin, Texas

Congress Bridge Bats

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.
Jacob's Well

Wimberley, Texas

Jacob's Well

A popular swimming hole that hides one of America's most deadly diving spots.
See All 326 Things To Do in Texas

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Texas

It's a hidden gem of one of the busiest streets in Houston.

Houston, Texas

The Hobbit Café

A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.
Pecan Pie Vending Machine

Cedar Creek, Texas

Pecan Pie Vending Machine

A 24-hour vending machine restocked daily with homemade full-sized pecan pies.
The artesian bottling factory that now houses the Dr Pepper Museum.

Waco, Texas

Dr Pepper Museum

Housed in a century-old building, this museum's dedicated not just to soft drinks, but to the free enterprise system.

Bastrop, Texas

The Gas Station

The pit stop from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" now serves beef and pork barbecue, not people.
See all 10 Places to Eat in Texas
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

7 Places to Experience Big Wonder in Texas

Texas is a wide-ranging, diverse, and expansive state. Even the barbecue you’ll get from one county to another is never the same, and the music sounds a little different in the depths of West Texas than it does in the panhandle. Texas is huge—you’ve probably heard that—and it offers attractions to match its size. We’ve rounded up our favorite places to see the heights and depths of Texas—from its tallest peaks to its heftiest steaks. Put on your ten-gallon hat and your tallest boots, and set out on a road trip that’ll help you get a sense of just how big the state really is.

View Itinerary

Explore Texas

Art 34
Museums And Collections 29
Collections 23
Statues 22
Animals 22
Architectural Oddities 21
Sculptures 18
Outsider Art 17
Cemeteries 16
Roadside Attractions 15
Parks 14
Water 14
Unique Restaurants & Bars 6
Places To Stay 3

Texas Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Avatar image for satxwdavis
    satxwdavis
    27
  2. Avatar image for Clinton
    Clinton
    13
  3. Avatar image for Fred Cherrygarden
    Fred Cherrygarden
    5
  4. Avatar image for jbartlett2000
    jbartlett2000
    4
  5. Avatar image for ATX Mike
    ATX Mike
    4

Places Edited

  1. Avatar image for notoriousFIG
    notoriousFIG
    64
  2. Avatar image for knoxium
    knoxium
    47
  3. Avatar image for narlenevans93
    narlenevans93
    35
  4. Avatar image for Rachel
    Rachel
    34
  5. Avatar image for Darrell Powers
    Darrell Powers
    24

Places Visited

  1. S
    Scott Terrell
    184
  2. K
    katyavonjovi
    163
  3. R
    rbsammel
    149
  4. T
    Thewanderingmeatball
    124
  5. K
    kmenard
    123

Recent Texas Activity

  • N

    nilesong

    has been to Sal del Rey

  • K

    kselvage

    wants to go to Mineral Wells Fossil Park

  • X

    Xijai

    wants to go to Congress Bridge Bats

  • K

    Konczewski

    has been to Caddo Lake

  • A

    amabing82

    wants to go to LBJ Presidential Marker

Stories About Texas

Chef Damian Brockway and his wife, Kornpawee Brockway.

Podcast: Distant Relatives

Tried and true barbecue favorites meet unexpected spices and flavor profiles.
Sponsored by Travel Texas
A brisket bento box at Kemuri Tatsu-Ya reconsiders barbecue’s most iconic cut of meat.

In Texas, Barbecue Has Gone Global

Across Texas, chefs and BBQ obsessives are stretching the limits of brisket, smoke, and sauce.
Sponsored by Travel Texas

Podcast: Chapel Creek Ranch

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
September 14, 2022

Video: Roaming the Salado Sculpture Garden

Salado Creek is guarded by a sculpture of a doomed mermaid, whose tears are said to feed its waters today.
Sponsored by Visit Salado

Video: A Resilient Fairytale Cottage

This house, considered the most ornate small cottage in Texas, features incredible architectural ornate details as well as a combination outhouse and former lending library.
Sponsored by Visit Alvin

Video: The Joys of Bat-Watching

Every evening, locals and visitors congregate at Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge to watch a show made up of 1.5 million performers. Specifically: bats.
Sponsored by Visit Austin

Video: Next Stop: Space History

This facility is home to a lifesize replica of the original shuttle Independence—the only one of its kind in the world that’s mounted to an aircraft carrier.
Sponsored by Visit Bay Area Houston

Video: A Legendary Texas Music Community

In this town located 15 minutes outside of Fredericksburg, musical performances are hosted 363 days a year. Grab a beer and kick back under 300-year-old oak trees that have heard some of the best country musicians of all time.
Sponsored by Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau

Lists Featuring Texas

Target Marathon
Profile of the Steel House
Prada Marfa.

30 Places to Go Deep in the Art of Texas

Saddle up for the state's ultimate creative road trip.

30

Including Stonehenge II, Target Marathon, and Robert Bruno’s Steel House

Winter Solstice 2019
The Spiral Jetty
Double Negative's north trench

A Tour of Spectacular 1970s Art Made From the Landscape Itself

Eight places to witness the incredible ambition of the Southwest land art movement.

8

Including Sun Tunnels, The Spiral Jetty, and Complex City

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