A town of 3000 residents that is a three-hour drive from the closest airport, Marfa became a famous art destination around 2012, although its art history dates back much earlier than that when artist Donald Judd established the Chinati Foundation back in 1986. It’s known for its large-scale art installations like the Prada Marfa that can be found along the freeway.
Marfa is located in Far West Texas, in the high Chihuahan Desert, and only 60 miles from the border of Mexico. The closest major airport is 3 hours away in El Paso, which is worth sending some time in for its own art scene. Here’s how to spend an art-filled weekend in El Paso and Marfa.
Friday: Check into The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park
Lobby at The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park
(Fiona Chandra)
For most travelers outside of the West Texas region, you’ll get here by flying to El Paso International Airport. Spend the night here to explore the local scene before making the drive to Marfa.
I recommend staying at The Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park. It’s a historic boutique hotel that is conveniently located in downtown El Paso. Apparently Elizabeth Taylor lived here for a few months in 1950. The hotel underwent a major renovation in 2020. Now, it’s a 130-room luxe hotel with Art Deco interior and Le Labo toiletries.
The on-site restaurant, Ámbar Restaurante, is a great place for dinner and drinks, serving modern Mexican food and home to one of the largest collection of agave spirits (they carry over 800 different agave spirits).
The hotel is also just a very short walk to the El Paso Museum of Art, so you conveniently visit before starting the drive to Marfa.
El Paso Museum of Art
(Fiona Chandra)Saturday: Head to Marfa
If you didn’t have time on Friday to visit the El Paso Museum of Art, take an hour or two to do so in the morning before you start your drive. It’s a small but well-curated museum that is free to visit. The museum tends to have a good mix of rotating exhibits influenced by El Paso’s identity as a borderland.
On the way out of the city, make a stop at Lincoln Park. The highway overpass pillars here are covered in over 50 different murals that celebrate Chicano heritage.
Murals at Lincoln Park in El Paso
(Fiona Chandra)
If you’re leaving around lunch time, take a short detour to Socorro and grab some pozole or chili at James Beard Award finalist Cafe Piro. The menu is an homage to the owners’ indigenous Piro heritage.
Some of the large-scale art installations can be found on the side of the freeway on the way in, including the famous Prada Marfa (installed in 2005) and cut-out murals of James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor from the movie “Giant.”
Marfa had a surprisingly good dining scene for such a small town. For dinner, head to Alta Marfa, a wine bar serving wines made in the Texas high desert, and some outstanding small plates. For an after-dinner nightcap, Marfa Spirit Co is a great place to go to. This is the local distillery which makes its own gin and agave spirits. They also make some really good cocktails.
I stayed at the historic El Paisano Hotel, which dates back to the 1930s. It’s dated but certainly has character, but there are also more modern options in town.
Sunday: Continue to explore Marfa
Donald Judd’s work in concrete
(Fiona Chandra)
Some of the art installations in Marfa are housed inside art museums which aren’t open at night, so in case you got in too late to check them out on Saturday, Sunday morning is the time to do so.
That said, a lot of Marfa’s galleries and studios, like Marfa Studio of Arts, are closed on Sundays, so it’d be wise to get in early enough on Saturday to visit one of them.
The main art destination in Marfa to visit is The Chinati Foundation, founded by artist Donald Judd, who was largely responsible for Marfa transforming into the famous art destination that it now. There are Judd’s concrete art installed outdoors that you can explore for free, and other collections indoors you can only see indoors on a guided tour, so I recommend booking a tour in advance. Judd’s artworks in the artillery sheds will be closed for renovation from October 2026, so keep that in mind.
Grab lunch at Brodo at some point before you leave. I still dream about their mortadella sandwich with pistachio butter and wished I had gotten a second one for my flight home. They also serve some really good gelatos.
Mortadella sandwich from Brodo
(Fiona Chandra)
Another famous artwork that’s part of the Chinati Foundation is Robert Irwin’s “untitled” which is a short drive away. Other spots to check out include Ballroom Marfa, Veldt Gallery and so much more. It’s hard to check everything off in one weekend, so prioritize and visit what you can.
Prada Marfa
(Fiona Chandra)
On the way out, stop to check out the large-scale installations on the sides of the freeway that you didn’t manage to catch on the way in. It’s at least a three-hour drive back to El Paso International Airport, and you might hit that weekend road trip traffic, so plan enough time to catch your flight.