6 Best Things to Do in Athens, TX

October 11, 2019 - Updated

Athens is a small southern city in Henderson County, Texas, quiet and relaxed, but only a short drive from Dallas and Tyler. Once an important railroad town, Athens is today a certified retirement community. To learn about the town’s past, visit fascinating Henderson County Historical Museum. Nearby Lake Athens offers all kids of outdoor recreation including scuba diving and exploring sunken boats. Athens has a nice walkable downtown with antique shops, galleries and restaurants.

1.Henderson County Historical Museum

The Henderson County Historical Museum is located in the historic Faulk-Gauntt Building in Athens, Texas. It was built in 1896 for a grocery store. The entire building is part of the museum, with many rooms recreated to show their use in the past. The first floor is the recreation of an old dry goods store, as it was originally used for this purpose, and the second floor as a law office, bedroom, parlor, bath, kitchen, and schoolroom. The building is located near the St. Louis and Southwestern railroad, and is listed as the Texas Historic Landmark building, one of few surviving buildings from Athen’s railroad era. The museum contains a range of diverse objects, such as a collection of Caddo Indian pottery, a collection of Bibles from several of the pioneer families, pictures, annuals, and more from Athens High School, uniforms, books, medals and personal items from both world wars and much more.

217 N Prairieville St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-677-3611

2.Flossie's Antiques

Located in a tiny charming 1915 cottage, Flossie’s is an eclectic collection of antiques - home accents, art objects, garden decor and statuary, beautiful collection of stained glass, precious and costume jewelry and various handmade items. Flossie’s is a fun spot to browse for treasures, try to imagine who was using the various objects and what story they can tell, or find a curious gift for a friend. Flossie’s also offers estate and goods liquidation services. The story is owned by DiAnn Allen and she will be happy to help you if you are looking for something particular.

401 S Prairieville St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-675-2210

3.Athens Scuba Park

It is not exactly like diving the reefs in the Caribbean, but diving in Lake Athens offers lot of fun to the local scuba enthusiasts. Athens Scuba Park is an all-inclusive dive facility that provides all kinds of diving service, classes, travel and sale of diving equipment They are one of the very few dive resorts in the States that has its own full service dive shop, training pool, classroom and an open water lake, all in one location. There are 35 sunken wrecks to explore and 11 diving docks around the lake, so more groups can dive at the same time and there is no waiting. They have all diving gear needed in their well-stocked store – tanks, masks, BCDs, air and more. They offer scuba diving classes of all levels. Warm, spring-fed lake water of Athens Scuba Park has a visibility of 35 to 70 feet. The lake's depth is from 20 to 35 feet.

500 N Murchison St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-675-5762

4.The Retreat Massage and Day Spa

The Retreat is a massage and full service day spa in Athens, Texas, that is designed as a place for people to gather, escape the stressful environment, retreat for a short time from the life’s problems and let someone else take care of them. Each of the five spa rooms have a different theme. The Massage Rooms are called the Tropical Palmetto Room, the Magnolia Room and the Tuscan Room for Couples. The Haute-Couture Room is the room for Facials and The Rose Room for Nail Services. The stylish waiting room is also decorated as Magnolia Room. The Retreat can accommodate up to eight clients only at a time in order to provide intimate and customized service with a full attention to each client. Each staff member is an independent contractor and all appointments with each staff member is by private appointment only.

225 S Prairieville St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-677-4211

5.Jalapeno Tree

The Jalapeño Tree is a family-owned Mexican chain of restaurant with a large menu of classic Mexican food. They use fresh, seasonal ingredients in the made to order kitchen where everything is made from scratch. Like all their store, their Athens location is spacious, brightly colored and cheerful, with two large outdoor patios for those warm summer evenings. Besides all Mexican favorite dishes on the menu that guests are used to expect such as tacos, quesadillas, nachos and burritos, there are also Mexican traditional dishes as well as American favorites. While most guests go for the delicious sizzling fajitas, there are also wonderful salads such as Summer Salmon Salad with salmon, oranges, greens, pineapple and watermelon.

1112 E Tyler St, Athens, TX 75751

6.The Geranium House

Geranium House is a charming Bed and Breakfast in Athens, Texas, occupying a beautifully renovated 1900s former home of Percy Collier and his family. The house was built on 100 acres that were used as a dairy farm. The original dairy barn structure is still standing behind the guest cottage. The Geranium House is today an adult getaway, with three beautifully decorated rooms furnished with original antiques and offering all modern amenities. The Geranium House also has a lovely tea room where guests can indulge in a moment of nostalgia for the more relaxed times and serving a hot cup of tea in beautiful china was part of everyday life.

600 Wood St, Athens, TX 75751, Phone: 903-675-6895