El paso is a city in the western part of texas right on the u.s mexico border due to its place on the rio grande river the location has a storied history dating all the way back to hunters and gatherers in the waco tanks area spanish colonizers in the 1500s and
Eventually the start of the city itself in the mid-1800s el paso today is one of the largest cities in texas and is a popular town due to its location and the college that brings students from all over the world we spent a few days exploring el paso
And here are some of our favorite spots let us know what we left off in the comments first up is downtown el paso downtown el paso is known for san jacinto plaza which is the park that’s right in the middle and has a statue of alligators prominently on display
This statue was made in homage to the alligators who lived in the public park in the early to mid 1900s the park was also where the presidents of mexico and the united states met for the first time it’s a beautiful park with a cafe art and even public ping pong tables
Plus it’s a great meeting place in downtown el paso walking around from there you should also visit the plaza theater which is historic in the city and the museum of art as well Moving on from downtown the next recommendation is the el paso scenic drive this is probably my favorite thing to do in el paso as the views are awesome this drive takes you up to a viewpoint in the franklin mountains that looks down over the city and out into mexico
It’s a great viewpoint especially at sunrise or sunset it’s crazy that it’s only a 10 minute drive from downtown el paso as well be sure to also stop at tom lee upper park on the way down from the drive it’s a great spot for another view of downtown el paso Recommendation number three is utep el paso is home to the university of texas el paso it’s a huge portion of the city’s western area and a fun place to walk around and explore the campus has the popular centennial museum lacong a bhutanese temple and lots of art around the campus
I always loved exploring these big colleges and utep was no different plus you can see in new mexico from many of the parking lots or a football game if you’re there at the right time next up is the casa de azucar casa de asucar is a private residence in an
Amazing palace of art done through the hard work of one man he has been working on the house for over 24 years and it’s really stunning to see we got a chance to chat with him and learn about how he wants to keep el paso beautiful
And do his part to encourage the city that he loves it’s an enjoyable spot and be sure to leave a donation if you visit before leaving the downtown area for a few more recommendations here are two food spots to check out in el paso
First up is l j cafe if you only eat one thing in el paso make sure it’s l j cafe this place has some of the best tex-mex i’ve ever had from the salsa they give you that’s hot and has a unique tomato soup base to the green chili
Enchiladas it’s always busy but it’s worth the wait i highly recommend the green chili enchiladas with raw onions sour cream and an egg but the mole is also stellar as well it’s a great historic spot for an amazing meal in el paso next up is chico’s
Chico’s is a local fast food spot known for its rolled tacos which are also known as flautas that are basically drowning in a tomato soup based sauce it’s an institution in el paso and a good spot for a cheap meal i’ll let you decide whether it’s worth a
Stop or not and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments for these last three recommendations we’re leaving the downtown area of el paso to explore a few spots outside the city first up is the mission trail which is south of el paso
On the missions trail there are three different missions to see from the 17th and 18th centuries which are some of the oldest churches in texas i recommend driving the nine-mile trail and visiting each of them to see how each one differs from the others when i went only two out of the three
Were open to go inside but it was still a great way to get a better understanding of the area’s history next up is the waco tanks the waco tanks is a popular climbing area outside of the city that is also great for hiking the large rocks are home to caves small
Sources of water and even pictographs plan to spend a half day just climbing around and doing many of the short trails in the park i like the chains trail best myself as it takes you up to a great viewpoint in the waco tanks lastly if you have the time while in el
Paso spend a half day in the towns of las cruces and messiah these two historic towns are only 45 minutes from el paso and they have great mexican food fun downtown areas to explore and the world’s largest chili pepper it’s a fun adventure to have while
Visiting el paso and if you have more time you could always head over to white sands national park as well i have a video just on that park in the description before we end this video here’s three more quick stops that i didn’t really get a chance to spend much time at
First is the welcome to el paso sign it’s just a fun place to take some pictures while you’re in el paso next is the chamizal national memorial it wasn’t open when we went but i’d love to go back and learn about the history lastly there’s a border patrol museum on
The outside of town that you might be interested in checking out and there’s an aerial tramway that wasn’t running when i was there so that’s it for my favorite things to do in el paso let me know what i left off in the comments and we’ll see you on the next video
