You can see the Capitol dome from the end of most streets in West Campus, and it is a twenty-minute walk south from our homes through the university. It is worth the walk. The Texas State Capitol was finished in 1888 out of pink granite, it is taller than the one in Washington, and Texans will make sure you know both of those things.
Free guided tours run every day and take about half an hour. They cover the rotunda, the House and Senate chambers and the story of the building, told with a reasonable amount of Texan pride. You can also walk in and wander on your own; the rotunda floor with the seals of the six nations that have flown over Texas is the photograph everyone takes, looking straight up.
The grounds are 22 acres of lawn and monuments and are a good place to sit with a coffee. The visitor centre in the old General Land Office building on the south-east corner is small and free and better than it sounds.
Go on a weekday morning for the quietest tour. If the Legislature is sitting, which happens for five months every other year, the building is busier but more interesting. It is a short walk from here to Congress Avenue for lunch, and to the bat bridge if you stay until dusk.
