Texas Renaissance Festival: The Nation's Largest Ren Fair

Every fall, a patch of Grimes County northwest of Houston transforms into a walled fantasy kingdom — the Texas Renaissance Festival, the largest Renaissance fair in the United States. Since 1974 it has grown across some 60 acres into eight themed villages, close to 400 shoppes, jousting arenas, feasting halls, and a cast of thousands of performers who fill the grounds with knights, minstrels, and merriment on weekends from October into late November. This tour is your map to the kingdom: where to enter, which villages to wander, where the king holds his feast, and where to lay your head if one day isn't enough. Note that the festival runs seasonally on fall weekends — check dates before you drive. Dress for the weather, wear good walking shoes, and be ready to lose track of time.