Seasonal Highlights
Winter 2025 #TexasToDos
As winter settles across the Lone Star State, Texas lights up with festive traditions, culinary delights and outdoor adventures made for crisp, sunny days. From exciting hotel openings to holiday celebrations and seasonal escapes, this roundup captures the best of Texas in the winter season.
Accommodations
Hotel Daphne, Bunkhouse’s recently opened second project in Houston is a sophisticated yet relaxing place for visitors and the local community in The Heights neighborhood. It features painted brick, stepped parapets and steel windows, blending Arts and Crafts style with Folk Victorian architecture. It has 49 rooms and suites in its five stories and also has an all-day restaurant, bar and lounge, courtyard, pool and pool bar, library and lobby retail shop.
The Monarch, in San Antonio, is a new 17-story, 200-room Curio Collection by Hilton property that draws inspiration from the transformative journey of its namesake butterfly. Set to open March 3, the hotel will debut luxury guest rooms and suites, a full-service modern spa and a terrace pool with expansive city views. Five food and beverage concepts, including a rooftop restaurant and bar and an intimate basement speakeasy, offer both indoor and outdoor dining.
Culinary Spotlights
The MICHELIN Guide Texas announced its 2025 selections in October. This year’s honorees spotlight the creativity, craftsmanship and bold flavors that continue to define the state’s dynamic culinary scene.
Check out the newest One MICHELIN Star and Green Star additions highlighting the diversity and depth of Texas dining:
At Mamani, Chef Christopher De Lellis brings French contemporary finesse to Dallas with a bistronomie-inspired menu built on top-tier ingredients and flawless technique. Its MICHELIN Star reflects standouts like the brown-butter Dover sole, veal "Cordon Bleu" with silky pommes puree and a classic Paris-Brest, all complemented by an exceptional wine list.
Nicōsi in San Antonio boasts an eight-course dessert tasting menu set within an intimate, no-phones space draped in velvet. Its creative, ever-evolving lineup of courses earned the restaurant a MICHELIN Star, showcasing imaginative combinations from cheese-cracker mille-feuille with cavier to beef short rib topped with freshly spun cotton candy guided by themes of acidity, umami, betterness and sweetness.
Isidore blends a sleek San Antonio Pearl District setting with a Texas-forward approach to modern American cooking, complete with a live-fire hearth and midcentury touches. The restaurant’s MICHELIN Star highlights its commitment to local flavors along with a thoughtful offering of Texas wines.
Sourcing hyper-locally in Austin, Nixta Taqueria crafts tortillas from heirloom Oaxacan corn milled in-house, while building direct relationships with small Texas farmers and producers to minimize waste and celebrate cultural heritage, earning the restaurant a MICHELIN Green Star.
Festivals and Celebrations
Texas comes alive during the winter season and into spring with vibrant festivals, cultural celebrations and community events. From city streets to countryside fields, travelers can enjoy something for everyone, from lively parades and seasonal shopping to local traditions.
The Round Top Antiques Winter Show, spanning venues across Round Top, Warrenton, Carmine, Burton and Fayetteville, is one of the largest antiques events in the country. Visitors exploring these small Texas towns can browse everything from high-end furniture to vintage neon signs, spread across fields, tents and historic barns, making it a must-visit for collectors and casual shoppers alike.
In Galveston, Mardi Gras celebrations, the third-largest of their kind in the United States, ignite the city with festivity. From February 6-17, the streets come alive with parades, balls, balcony parties, live music and colorful celebrations.
Charro Days is a lively, binational celebration honoring Mexican heritage in both Brownsville, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas. From February 26-28, visitors can enjoy daily parades, traditional Mexican food, music by local artists, contests, and Sombero Festival.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, set for March 2-22 at NGR Stadium, combines thrilling rodeo competitions and livestock exhibitions with live concerts, carnival rides, and local cuisine, offering a quintessential taste of Texas culture at one of the world's largest rodeos.
Outdoor Winter Exursions
Mild winter weather makes Texas an ideal destination for outdoor adventures, from coastal wildlife encounters to stargazing beneath some of the darkest skies in the country.
The Texas Gulf Coast is one the best places in the country for winter birdwatching, as migratory species flock to the coast for warmer weather. From the wetlands of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport to the boardwalks of South Padre Island and the bays in Corpus Christi, travelers have the potential to spot over 400 species of birds. Each February, Port Aransas hosts the Whooping Crane Festival, celebrating the annual return of the endangered whooping cranes with guided birding tours, boat excursions, expert panels and family-friendly programming.
West Texas offers some of the darkest night skies in the U.S., and winter’s cooler, drier air makes them even clearer for stargazing. Big Bend National Park and the surrounding region provide unmatched celestial viewing, while the McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis hosts star parties, constellation tours and telescope viewings throughout the season.
Palo Duro Canyon transforms into a cool-weather hiking haven during winter months, offering colorful canyon walls, sweeping overlooks and quiet trails. Guadalupe Mountains National Park provides equally stunning winter trekking, with rugged canyons, fossil-rich ridgelines and access to Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in Texas. For a mix of cliffs, riverside paths and scenic waterfalls, Colorado Bend State Park rounds out the season’s top hiking destinations, giving winter visitors a chance to explore its dramatic limestone terrain in crisp, comfortable conditions.