Corpus Christi is also a capital of Tejano culture. The music that grew up along this stretch of South Texas found its brightest star in Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano music, and the city honors her at the Mirador de la Flor on the seawall — a place of flowers, sea wind, and quiet visits from fans who never stopped coming. Heritage Park keeps the old houses; the wind that never quits has made the flats of the Laguna Madre and Bird Island Basin one of the best windsurfing and kiteboarding waters in the country.
Five centuries after a Spanish captain named the bay, Corpus Christi is still what it has always been: a working harbor with a beach town's heart. The carrier is still at her berth, the turtles still come ashore on Padre, and the Gulf wind still never quits. From the Blue Ghost at anchor to the turtle tracks in the sand — wear a little of the Sparkling City by the Sea.
Why People Visit Corpus Christi Texas
- Tour the USS Lexington, the WWII carrier "the Blue Ghost," moored as a museum on the bayfront.
- Explore the Texas State Aquarium for Gulf of Mexico wildlife and sea-turtle conservation.
- Walk the wild dunes and beaches of Padre Island National Seashore — nearly seventy miles of protected barrier island and Kemp's ridley turtle nesting grounds.
- Beachcomb and birdwatch on Mustang Island, just across the causeway.
- Stroll the downtown seawall, the marina, and the bayfront miradores for skyline and harbor views.
- Visit the Mirador de la Flor, the bayfront seaside memorial to the Queen of Tejano music.
- Wander Heritage Park's restored historic homes for the city's multicultural story.
