Terry’s DON’T MISS List for Fredericksburg, TX

A slow start and delicious brunch is the best way to start a Sunday! Located just a few blocks south of Main Street, Hill & Vine is one of the best restaurants in Fredericksburg and our first choice for a Sunday brunch. Order pancakes, a fully loaded Hill Country (or perhaps a Hangover Burger is required), sip on a Texas-style mimosa or icy Texan Ale from Das Bar Bus, a restored VW bus in the courtyard, and start your Sunday the right way at Hill & Vine. 

The restaurant is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner with live music in the courtyard on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings if you prefer a night out on the town! No reservations required – first come, first served.

Sage Restaurant and Lounge is absolutely gorgeous and has endless options to indulge with a mix of modern and vintage gathering spaces – intimate dining lounges, alfresco patios, a large veranda with a fireplace, and the Courtyard Takeaway with social hour and half price drinks Monday to Saturday 4pm to 6pm. The servings are on the small side but flavorful and outrageously good, the drinks menu is extensive, and the atmosphere is unbeatable. Sage is a great choice for lunch, happy hour, dinner or a private Bachelorette party!

Chase’s Place Cocktails + Kitchen is the best cocktail bar in Fredericksburg! The historic Fredericksburg home (one block off Main Street) has been beautifully restored into a classic, intimate cocktail bar and kitchen with creative cocktail creations, a diverse selection of local wines from featured Texas winegrowers, and a small (and incredible!) menu. It’s our favorite place to unwind, cocktail in hand – in a cozy, classy and casual atmosphere.

I’ve been known to get two (and often the whole pie)! You can’t visit Fredericksburg without sampling the famous, home baked pies at the Fredericksburg Pie Company, one block off main street near Marktplatz. Over 20 different kinds of pie are baked daily from scratch – cream pies, pecan pies, fruit pies, and sugar free pies on special order! 

They open at 10am and sell out fast so get there early for a freshly brewed coffee and slice (or two) of the best pie in Fredericksburg. There’s indoor seating, an outdoor patio, and a quaint gift shop with vintage quilts, antiques, and tempting cookbooks. You can also order whole pies for pickup to indulge at home.   

If you’re traveling to Fredericksburg with kids, Mr. Gatti’s Pizza is always a huge hit with the little ones! Eating out with kids can be challenging, but Mr. Gatti’s Pizza caters for kids of all ages with a fun center packed with state of the art video and arcade games, cool redemption prizes, and all you can eat pizza buffets. Located 3 miles from downtown Fredericksburg on Hwy 16, it’s our favorite place to feed and entertain the grandkids.

We love to visit the Edge Tasting Room and Restaurant at The Resort at Fredericksburg for sundowners, laid-back live music, incredible views of the Pedernales River, and one of the best sunsets in Fredericksburg. The resort lies along the Pedernales River in the heart of Texas Hill Country, only a few miles from downtown Fredericksburg, and is worthy of a spot on your wine tasting adventures along the 290 Wine Trail. 

Grape Creek Vineyards is the closest thing to Tuscany in Texas! The sprawling wine estate, vineyards, patios and terraces ooze old world charm and are a must stop on the 290 Wine Trail. One of our favorite things to do in between shopping is to take a break at the Main Street Fredericksburg tasting room for a classic wine tasting! If you’re staying a few days, get a wine membership and enjoy a glass of wine daily! The hop-on hop-off 290 Wine Shuttle is the best way to experience the 290 Wine Trail without a designated driver!

Signor Vineyards is one of our favorite settings to sip wine, nibble on handcrafted charcuterie boards, and pick up gourmet bites and sweet treats for home at Joanna’s farmhouse market. The tasting room is set in a super sweet vintage home with an outdoor patio surrounded by French country gardens, towering oaks and olive trees, and a sweet smell of roses.

Becker Vineyards is another of our favorite places to visit. They have many award winning wines. The actual winery is out in the country in a beautiful setting with lavender fields, a gorgeous covered outdoor patio area for hot Texas days. You can bring a picnic or cheese plate with you too!

They have another tasting room in the old Buick dealership on Main Street Fredericksburg. The tasting room on Main Street has a wide selection of fabulous Texas wines (served to three US Presidents!) lots of covered outdoor space, and a gift shop loaded with lavender products from their vineyard lavender fields. Walk-in tastings are available 7 days a week and while they don’t serve food, you’re welcome to bring along your own!

William Chris Vineyards share their passion for Texas winegrowing with unique wine tasting experiences in a gorgeous contemporary tasting room overlooking acres of grapevines and the lush hill country. Wine experiences of their 100% Texas grown wines include Winemaker’s Tastings, The Vineyard Table Experience, Picnic Lunches, and Stories under the Oak Grove with live weekend music on the patio. Spending a lazy afternoon at William Chris is one of our favorite experiences on the 290 Wine Trail. Reservations are required for all tasting experiences.

Besides shopping, eating out, and sipping on Texan wine, one of my favorite things to do in Fredericksburg is to bike the scenic hill country roads. If you’re road-tripping to Fredericksburg, be sure to bring your bikes along or you can rent bikes locally for the whole family at Hill Country Bicycle Works or buzz about town on a moped rental from Fred Moped in downtown Fredericksburg (no motorcycle license required!)

Marktplatz von Fredericksburg on Main Street is the heart and soul of Fredericksburg, home to the annual Oktoberfest, the Fredericksburg Farmers Market and year-round festive events. We love to take time out with our grandkids to explore the green spaces, picnic in the gardens, learn about the history of Fredericksburg at the Vereins Kirche museum, and have endless fun on the kiddies playground. 

If you’re visiting Fredericksburg in the winter – during the Christmas holiday season (Thanksgiving to New Year), the Eisbahn skating rink in Markplatz’s Kinder Halle Pavilion is a blast for the whole family! 

Take the kids bat watching in Fredericksburg! Every year from May through October over 3-million Mexican free-tailed bats migrate from Fredericksburg to Mexico and form a bat colony in an abandoned railroad tunnel in Old Tunnel State Park. A nature trail offers viewing opportunities of the bats in the cave during the day and each evening thousands of bats emerge from the cave swirling through the skies putting on a spectacular performance, unique to Fredericksburg! Capacity is limited and reservations are required.

The Exotic Resort Zoo is one of Fredericksburg’s lesser known attractions but highly recommended if you’re traveling with young kids. The 137-acre safari park is home to over 600 creatures including kudus, springboks, zebra, ostrich, camels, eland, elk, buffalo, bison, kangaroos and llamas free roaming the pastures, as well as a petting zoo to hand feed the animals. You can take a self-guided drive thru but the best way to experience the Exotic Resort Zoo is on a cool guided safari tour aboard a tractor-tram!

Fredericksburg is also known for its amazing festivals and small town parades worth traveling for! There are over 400 events and festivals each year in Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg Trade Days is an amazing not to be missed event on the third weekend of every month – but one of my favorite things is the small town parades in Fredericksburg. They’re festive, old-fashioned and super fun. Our favorites are the Fourth of July Parade (and kiddie parade at Marktplatz), the Peach Parade in June, and the amazing Light the Night Christmas Parade.