Places RouteDown Wants to Go

Austin’s local mountain isn’t really a mountain at all.

The upstairs reading room is packed with millions of rare books, literary manuscripts, and historical treasures.

This small stone building, the final work of a renowned artist, offers a peaceful environment with radiant, colorful glass windows .

A high-octane shrine to the greatest Texans who ever lived.

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

A free, canine-friendly alternative watering hole near the more famous Barton Springs.

Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool.

This eclectic, mosaic-clad home includes a bamboo ping-pong loft and a "Whispermaphones" intercom.

A popular swimming hole that hides one of America's most deadly diving spots.

The water in this preserved area spawns vegetation that gives it a deep green color.

Giant heads occasionally litter the industrial Houston neighborhood where sculptor David Adickes has his studio.

A health museum containing a 27’’½-foot intestine.

This tiny, hurricane-resistant house in Galveston is one of the city's most notable architectural oddities.

A mysterious drive-in nestled in the forest that leaves little to the imagination.

Park filled with machinery that drove the southern agriculture and oil industries forward.

A small "palace" and museum made of, and devoted entirely, to salt.

The crumbling ruins of this southern American fort have survived storms, war, and cults.

Pirates had to be ousted from the land where this now ruined Louisiana fortress was built.

The first patented shaved-ice machine heralded a snowy wonderland of iced treats at a favorite New Orleans summer shack.

New Orleans' famous cemetery, located on the site of a former race track.

An abandoned underground bunker not far from downtown New Orleans.

This New Orleans tree is filled with hidden chimes that produce a carefully tuned melody.

This Birdsill Holly fire hydrant is the remnant of a very different type of hydration innovation.

Formerly known as National D-Day Museum, this collection commemorates the battles of Normandy and WWII.