Nicknamed the Crossroads because of its unique location, Victoria was founded by Mexican rancher and impresario Martín de León in 1824 and named Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Jesus Victoria, after the first president of Mexico. Victoria County is the only county in Texas where all six flags flew — Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
The city’s largest park and indisputable gathering spot is 562-acre Riverside Park. Amenities abound with baseball and playground facilities, public boat ramp, exercise trail, 200 picnic areas, kayak and canoe trails on the Guadalupe River, and Riverside Golf Course, a public course featuring 27 holes of golf played in three 18-hole combinations.
While at the park, visit four of the six interpretive displays that are part of Phase I of Victoria’s Trail through Time driving tour. “Six more are coming soon,” says Joel Novosad, director of Explore Victoria, the Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau. “These are museum quality exhibits that tell interesting stories about people and events in Victoria. We’re really proud of them.”
The Old Victoria Driving Tour features more than 80 properties, many of them listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Pick up a brochure at the Victoria Visitor Center and allow plenty of time to ooh and aah over the Neoclassical Revival, Craftsman, Classical Greek and Victorian architecture showcased in these magnificent homes.
Get a history fix at the Museum of the Coastal Bend, a proud member of the La Salle Odyssey Project, where each of seven Texas Gulf Coast museums covers a segment of the story of French explorers in the state. Their Fort St. Louis exhibition explores the first French settlement in Victoria County.
Victoria zoomed into the record books this year, hosting its first Texas Mile event, and they’re getting ready to do it again October 27-29 at the Victoria Regional Airport. The bi-annual motor sports festival brings enthusiasts from all over testing the limits of their motorcycles, performance street cars, race cars and land speed racers.
It’s never too early to get ready for the annual Bootfest blowout, a tribute to the region’s ranching heritage held the first weekend in October, complete with free concerts, vendors, a car show, fireworks display and every conceivable representation of the state’s iconic footwear.
Artistic types will find plenty of kindred spirits here. “The arts scene has been well supported in Victoria for decades,” says Novosad. The Victoria Bach Festival recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, the acclaimed Victoria Symphony Orchestra just marked its 43rd year and the Nave Museum — the oldest fine art museum in the Crossroads area — was built in 1932 and continues to host exhibitions.
Fortunately the town has ample accommodations at dependable roadside chains, as well as thoroughly charming bed and breakfast inns like Timeless Serenity, a restored one-bedroom guest house. Or the historic Inn on Main, where the Loft Room has its own private staircase leading to the downstairs kitchen.
Victoria is also becoming a foodie destination, says Novosad, citing Huvar’s Artisan Market, The Sendera steakhouse and The Pumphouse Riverside Restaurant and Bar as just a few of many popular spots. To combine history and noshing, visit Fossatti’s Delicatessen — opened in 1882 and reported to be the oldest delicatessen in the state. For truly addictive chocolate chip cookies, try Devereux Gardens & Bakery.
For more information, www.explorevictoriatexas.com, www.tourismvictoria.com and www.historicvictoriatexas.com.