GATORS, GARDENS, GUSHERS & GREAT FOOD
Beaumont, Texas
HIGHLIGHTS ➤ Gator Country Adventure Park – see and touch live
alligators, dine on authentic Cajun cuisine ➤ Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center was
just named among the 10 Greenest EcoProjects in the World ➤ Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum – watch
world’s only replica gusher blow 100 feet in the sky, just like in 1901 ➤ Spindletop Steakhouse – Take a culinary tour in
Beaumont’s historic downtown
DAY-TO-DAY ITINERARY DAY 1: Treat yourself to a scrumptious breakfast at Rao’s Bakery & Coffee Cafe, where you’ll find freshly brewed coffee and piping hot croissants and breakfast burritos. Take a short drive over to Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, where you’ll step back in time to witness Beaumont’s rich oil heritage as you watch the world’s only working replica gusher blow water hundreds of feet into Beaumont’s blue sky. Follow the history of the "Cradle of the Petroleum Age" with a tour of the Texas Energy Museum and experience the fascinating world of oil exploration and refining! Round out your tour of Downtown Beaumont with a trip to a couple of our other intriguing museums: the Art Museum of Southeast Texas and the Fire Museum of Texas. Don’t forget dinner at the legendary Crockett Street Entertainment District!
DAY 2: Rekindle your sense of wonder at Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center, located just minutes from Beaumont. Observe nesting birds in Shangri La’s Ruby Lake through a state-of-the-art bird blind. Explore more than 300 species of plants in one of the most Earth-friendly projects in the world.
After a busy day, relax at Spindletop Steakhouse on historic Crockett Street, where the tantalizing menu items will have your mouth watering.
DAY 3: Start the day by reconnecting with nature at the Big Thicket National Preserve as you slice through the waters of Village Creek in a canoe. Enjoy great Texas BBQ at Willy Ray’s, where you’ll find an array of enticing sides to go along with their famous BBQ. Be inspired at St. Anthony's Cathedral Basilica, one of Beaumont’s many unique and historic places of worship on the Beaumont Faith Trail. Feed your adventurous spirit at Gator Country—Texas’ only alligator theme park. Have a hands-on experience by helping feed LIVE gators and take home a picture to prove it! View educational demonstrations and see the jaw dropping half-ton alligator, lovingly named “Big Al.” End your day on a high note by grooving to the music of a local bayou band and feasting on Gator Country’s famous Cajun cuisine.
See history come alive in any of our three historic homes: the John Jay French House, the Chambers House and the McFaddin-Ward House.
CONTACT: Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau
OTHER ITINERARIES AVAILABLE:
➤ Elizabeth Eddins, Director of Tourism • www.beaumontcvb.com 505 Willow St., Beaumont, TX 77701 Phone: 866-822-0245 • Email: eeddins@ci.beaumont.tx.us
➤ The Faith Trail ➤ Nature Trail
88 June 2010
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