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When most people think of Texas, they think of Dallas, even though it is neither the state capital nor the biggest city. Located in the northeastern corner of the state, this is where the cotton fields and oil wells of East Texas meet the wide-open West Texas rangelands. With a forest of sparkling glass office towers dominating the downtown area, Dallas is the commercial and financial center of the "Lone Star" state, a role it has played since its days as the junction between the two main southwestern railroads.
Unlike its flashy neighbor, Dallas, 25 miles to the east, Forth Worth is smaller, much calmer, and more down-to-earth. In many ways it is also truer to its Texan roots. Although cowboy culture lives on the Stockyards District and the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth is also a capital of high culture, with some of the nation's finest performing arts spaces and organizations. Downtown Forth Worth revolves around Sundance Square, comprising more than a dozen blocks of historic buildings at the center of the city. To the north is the Stockkyards District, where the Wild West culture is alive and well. About 2 miles to the west, the Forth Worth Cultural district has some of the country's best museums. These are centered around the landmark Kimberly art Museum which traces the highpoints of European and American art.
The capital city of Texas, Austin is also home to a thriving high-tech industry as well as the state's main university. However, it is best known for hosting one of the liveliest popular music scenes in the country since the 1960s. Musicians as diverse as Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson achieved prominence in Austin.
The most historic city in Texas, San Antonio is also the most popular, both for its pivotal historic role and for its natural beauty. Most of the historic sites lie within a block of the pedestrian-friendly Riverwalk in the downtown core.
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A city of constant change and great history, the story of Houston is a typical Texas success story. The discovery of oil turned the city into a major port following the construction of a shipping channel to the Gulf of Mexico. A huge, sprawling city that has grown to cover over 600 sq miles, Houston is a thoroughly confusing place, lacking in an overall plan. The visitors should be prepared to drive and get lost more than once! The main attractions for visitors lie southwest of downtown, on and around the Rice University campus. Adjacent to the Johnson Space Center, the Space Center is the mission control for all US explorations of space since 1965. This visitor-friendly attraction traces the full story of the Space Race. Hands-on exhibits are particularly appealing to young people and let visitors try on space helmets, touch moon rocks, or peer into actual spaceships such as those from the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Computer simulations let visitors fly the space shuttle or land on the moon.
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