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Explore the "jewel in the heart of Austin," also known as the Zilker Botanical Garden. The garden was established in 1995 and sprawls through 31 acres of downtown Austin, offering a sweet escape from city streets and greeting more than 400,000 visitors annually. Themes among the gardens are as varied as nature itself. There's a Japanese garden and koi pond, a rose garden, an herb garden, a butterfly trail and garden, and a cactus garden among the selections to tour. Another unique feature is the Hartman Prehistoric Garden, which recreates the habitat of local dinosaurs. Visitors can tour the gardens for free and take home a Texas succulent or majestic orchid among the many offerings.

The breathtaking beauty and unusual construction of the Texas Capitol are the stuff of legends in the Lone Star State. View artifacts of Texas history, including the original flag from the Battle of San Jacinto, historical paintings, and some of the original Senator desks from 1888. Take a guided tour through the Capitol Building, which has 400 rooms and more than 900 windows. Then check out the Capitol Grounds, which spans 22 acres featuring historical buildings, 17 monuments, and beautifully landscaped lawns.

Nestled within the Lucky Lizard curio shop, the Museum of the Weird is one of the world's last authentic dime museums continuing in the tradition of P.T. Barnum. The museum boasts a variety of unusual attractions, such as monsters, 3,000-year-old mummies, freaks of nature, shrunken heads, giant lizards, wax figures, and Fiji mermaids. It also features unexplained paranormal subject matter like ghosts, UFOs, and a replica skull of Bigfoot, and is home to the world-famous Creature in Ice.