The centerpiece of town square is the Old Blanco County Courthouse, a fine example of Second Empire style architecture. The town was the Blanco County seat from 1858 to 1891, when the county seat was moved to centrally located Johnson City, Texas.

Blanco, Texas is now a popular tourist and resort area in the Hill Country. The town square is joined to the state park by a two-block City Park, with a nature trail featuring Xeriscape garden.

A sunny climate in Blanco, Texas attracts campers, anglers, and hunters. Hill Country streams offer game fishing. Hunters take white-tailed deer, wild turkey, quail, and dove during seasons. Antique stores, art galleries, flea markets, restaurants, and artisans occupy the historic buildings around the old Blanco, Texas courthouse. The courthouse and 37 other Blanco buildings on or near the square are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Lavender is a beautiful, hearty and disease resistant plant that has been cultivated for thousands of years by people around the world for its beauty and many varied uses: scents, salves, oils, soaps, shampoos, lotions, teas–even to enhance the flavors of foods and drinks.

Today lavender blooms from May through July throughout Blanco County, the official Lavender Capital of Texas, and is highlighted in the late spring at the Blanco County Lavender Festival.

With over twenty area lavender farms in Blanco County, the towns of Blanco, Johnson City and the surrounding countryside will be bathed in lavender during the Lavender Festival with the whole county participating in the celebration. Merchants will offer lavender merchandise and restaurants will serve lavender-flavored dishes and selected vendors and artists from across the Hill Country will offer lavender-related pleasures and treasures from the finest craftsmen.

Blanco State Park, a 110-acre park, in the scenic Blanco River Valley, lies largely within the city limits. It offers camping, trailer sites, picnicking, screened shelters, group pavilion, fishing, swimming, pedal boats, a children’s play area, rest rooms, and showers. It is located on U.S. 281. There is an admission.

For a Scenic Drive take R.M. 32 from U.S. 281 two miles south of Blanco. Portions of the drive toward San Marcos follow a ridge called “The Devil’s Backbone,” a treat of Hill Country landscapes where white-tailed deer are often seen, especially early or late in the day.