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🇺🇸 State · United States
Texas: the former republic turned giant
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The largest of the contiguous US states, Texas thrives on big scale and a fierce identity. You move from the skylines of Houston and Dallas to the green hills of the Hill Country, from the arid plains of the west to the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Austin, the laid-back capital, calls itself the live music capital of the world; San Antonio blends Hispanic heritage, the Alamo and its famous River Walk. Out west sprawls Big Bend, a vast wilderness along the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. Between ranches, smoky barbecue, historic dancehalls, vineyards and Gulf-coast oyster bars, Texas is best savoured slowly. Distances are colossal: crossing from east to west takes more than a day of driving, yet every region has its own mood, from cowboy to surfer.
Marfa, in the Trans-Pecos, was the main backdrop of the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning “No Country for Old Men” (2007).
Texas was a sovereign, internationally recognized republic from 1836 to 1845, the only US state to have been an independent nation before joining the Union.
Head to Marfa for the mysterious “Marfa Lights” off Route 90 and its desert art galleries deep in West Texas.
Spring, with its wildflowers, and autumn are the most pleasant seasons; summers are long, humid and very hot. Because Texas is enormous, a car is essential, and domestic flights between Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio save real time over long distances. Tip: book early for Big Bend, which is remote and short on lodging. As for coverage, the metro areas and major highways are well served, but the mobile signal grows rare or absent in Big Bend, across the vast stretches of West Texas and on some country roads; carry offline maps and a full tank before venturing far.