where to travel right now

Free Austin music festival + 6 more Texas travel ideas in January

Austin's Free Week music festival is a great way to support local artists during the slow season.

Photo by Renee Dominguez

If your New Year's resolution is to travel more in 2026, CultureMap has you covered with seven newly opened hotels, deals, and fun events happening around Texas in January.

North Texas wanderers can explore a free music festival in Austin, check in at a newly opened Houston Heights hotel, or stay local by visiting the iconic Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, or check out a free Jane Austen-themed fashion exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art.

Here are our top picks for January Texas travel events, hotel news, and more.

In Austin

Donation-based festival Free Week is returning to Austin's famed Red River Cultural District (RRCD) from January 9-10. This year's festivities will include performances from over 80 musicians and bands at 13 different venues across both days. CultureMap has also compiled a list of our must-see artist picks. Local restaurants are also pitching in with food and beverage deals during the festival. Donations and a percentage of food and beverage sales will benefit the cultural district, which will dole out payments to artists who play, grants to the venues, and other assistance and preservation projects throughout the year.

The Ruby Hotel & Bar in Round Rock is kicking off the new year with a special relaxing deal for January and February stays, via its "Getaway & Decompress" package. Guests who book a two-night stay using the code "GETAWAY" will receive a 15 percent discount, and a "serenity-inducing" Sweet Dreams sleep kit that includes an eye mask, pillow mist, and relaxation balm. Room rates begin at $129 per night, and reservations can be booked online or via phone.

Room reservations are now available at the Inn at Green Pastures, a recently opened hotel in Austin's Bouldin Creek neighborhood on the same historic property as Southern restaurant Mattie's. The three-story inn features 63 guest rooms (including nine suites), a private pool, lounge, bar, and a brand new restaurant called Henry's Nite & Day. Nightly rates at the Inn at Green Pastures start at $395.

In Houston

Houston is starting the new year with a brand new hotel: Hotel Daphne recently opened in the Heights, boasting 49 guest rooms across a five-story building. It also features an all-day, Italian-inspired restaurant called Hypsi, a vine-wrapped courtyard and patio, jewel-box library, lobby retail shop, and an impressive art collection. But the most magnificent features of the property are the numerous mature Live Oak trees that have remained undisturbed during the hotel's construction. Rates at Hotel Daphne begin at $359 per night.

Hotel Daphne lobby Hotel Daphne introduces sophisticated vintage flair to The Heights. Photo by Julie Soefer

In San Antonio

Nine historic artifacts housed at the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) have recently been promised for a return to their rightful homes in Italy. One has departed already, but there's still plenty of time to admire the remaining eight pieces before they, too, are returned to the Italian government in 2030. The museum also features art from all over the world, including pieces from pre-1500s America. Admission is free for SAMA members and for children aged 12 and under, and tickets are $24 for adults with additional discounts for seniors (65-plus), military, and students.

At home in Dallas-Fort Worth

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is gearing up for its 2026 extravaganza on January 16, with 23 days full of action-packed livestock and horse shows, live music, a carnival, shopping opportunities, and so much more. The main events are the daily rodeos at Dickies Arena, including the Best of the West Ranch Rodeo, Best of Mexico Celebración, Cowboys of Color Rodeo, and Bulls Night Out Extreme Bull Riding. Rodeo ticket prices vary by event and date, but there are many ways to get discounts for the Stock Show.

The Arlington Museum of Art is celebrating beloved author Jane Austen's 250th birthday with a special exhibition featuring costumes and jewelry from film adaptations of two of Austen's most iconic works: Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Emma (2020). The exhibit, Dressed for the Drawing Room: Fashion in Jane Austen’s World, will run from January 9 to March 22. Unlike the ticketed Game of Thrones exhibit, which is also on view at the museum, Dressed for the Drawing Room is free to visit. Attendees only need to pay for parking ($10 per car).

travel vacations music festival austin san antonio dallas houston fort worth

Jet setting

Luxury private terminal PS lands at DFW Airport ahead of World Cup

Photo courtesy of PS

PS Direct service provides a personal greeting and escort to and from the terminal.

Talk about traveling in style. Just in time for this summer’s FIFA World Cup soccer matches in Dallas-Fort Worth, a private, luxury terminal is opening at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to accommodate well-to-do passengers.

A company called PS (formerly known as The Private Suite) will debut the 12,200-square-foot private, gated terminal on June 1. The terminal, located adjacent to DFW’s corporate aviation facility, will enable travelers to skip the airport’s main terminals, bypassing traditional airport lines in favor of dedicated security and screening.

And to be clear, this is for passengers flying commercial - not those in private jets.

In a release, PS says its facilities are “designed to eliminate the friction at every stage of travel — transforming the journey into a refined and seamless experience, from beginning to end.” The company sells individual and corporate memberships.

The “refined and seamless” PS experience is practically fit for royalty. Guests can choose among two offerings:

The Salon, a social lounge geared toward solo travelers and small groups. It features a 40-foot bar that pays homage to old-fashioned Southern bars.
Private lounges, each of which evokes “a deeply personal, homey feel” to support relaxation.

Perks for PS customers include a chef-prepared menu, spa services, and a BMW chauffeur service. The DFW chauffeur service, which will whisk passengers directly from their aircraft to their hotels or homes, is set to launch later this year.

No mingling with riff raff at security.Photo by Jenna Peffley

Dallas-based designer Jean Liu created the look of the terminal, which PS says “introduces an elevated, design-forward approach.” The terminal’s textures, colors, materials, and art reflect themes of Western landscapes and cowboy culture.

In one lounge area inside the terminal, warm taupes and tans dominate the walls and round coffee table, while the sofa and flooring feature a generous dusting of charcoal and deep brown. All three chairs are upholstered in a mushroom-tone fabric. The entire palette exudes the feeling of a desert landscape.

Complementing its surroundings, a large piece of bold abstract art hanging on one of the lounge area’s walls incorporates black, cobalt blue, deep red/pink, yellow, and white hues.

“We leaned into the notion of Southern hospitality for this project,” Liu says. “As much as possible, we pushed the envelope to incorporate residential elements — rather than what you’d typically see in a commercial space — to truly make this feel like stepping into someone’s home. PS DFW is designed to be warm, elevated, and welcoming for everyone passing through.”

PS private terminal DFW The Salon features a mural by Dallas artist Amy Berlin.Photo by Jenna Peffley

One of the highlights of The Salon: a mural by Dallas artist Amy Berlin in collaboration with Los Angeles artist Candice Kaye. Made of suitcase liners, maps, vintage text, and other materials in Berlin’s signature paper-collage style, the DFW-inspired textures “meet the energized pulse of global travel, inviting whimsy, retreat and calm,” says PS.

The art installations at PS DFW, curated by Los Angeles-based Creative Art Partners, center on “texture and materiality, balancing expressive abstract works with more subtle references to the tones and warmth of Dallas,” the company says. “Softer narrative pieces are woven throughout, creating moments of contrast and pause.”

The DFW terminal and soon-to-open facilities in Miami and Paris represent the next steps in PS’ plan to open private terminals at every major U.S. airport by 2030. The Los Angeles-based company already operates terminals at Los Angeles International Airport and Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.

“As we expand, our focus remains on reimagining the airport experience by bringing the privacy, comfort, and personalized service of a five-star hotel into the journey itself,” says Amina Belouizdad Porter, CEO of PS.

PS will surely be a welcome option for some travelers arriving with high-priced tickets to the nine World Cup games being contested in Arlington, June 14-July 14, 2026.

While PS memberships are available, a la cart experiences are offered, as well. According to the website, The Salon begins at $1,295 per person; private suite rate is $4,950 for up to 4 travelers; and PS Direct service is $1,650 per person.

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