Things to do in Roma, Texas
Birds, a landmark district and the first agave distillery in Texas — three reasons to come, all within a two-minute walk of one another.
How to spend an afternoon here
Roma is 11,500 people on a bluff above the Rio Grande, an hour west of McAllen. Everything worth seeing is on one plaza, which is what makes a half day here work.
- 3:00 PM — Roma Bluffs World Birding Center, 610–612 N Portscheller. One of nine World Birding Center sites, on the bluff overlooking the river. Thirty seconds from the distillery door.
- 4:00 PM — the plaza. 38 historic properties in a National Historic Landmark District, including the 1884 Manuel Guerra Store, and the square where Viva Zapata! was filmed in 1952.
- 5:00 PM — the international bridge, one block below the plaza. Ciudad Miguel Alemán is on the other side; the view of the river from the bluff is the reason people photograph it.
- 6:00 PM — Ancestral Craft Spirits. A guided tasting of the first agave spirit made in Texas, inside the 1884 building. Stay for the courtyard. Reserve ahead.
What travellers ask about Roma
What is there to do in Roma, Texas?
Three things, and they are all within a two-minute walk of each other: the Roma Bluffs World Birding Center on the bluff over the Rio Grande, the National Historic Landmark District with its 38 historic properties, and Ancestral Craft Spirits — the first agave distillery in Texas — inside the 1884 Manuel Guerra Store.
Is Roma worth the drive from McAllen?
It is an hour each way, so build a half day rather than a single stop. Birding centre in the late afternoon, a walk around the plaza, then a tasting at the distillery as the light goes — that is the itinerary most guests end up recommending to the next person.
When is the best time of year to visit Roma?
November through March. That is when the Winter Texans and the birders arrive, the weather is at its best, and the World Birding Center next door is busiest. It is also when the distillery’s weekends fill first, so reserve ahead in that window.
Was a movie filmed in Roma, Texas?
Yes — Elia Kazan shot Viva Zapata! on the Roma plaza in 1952, with Marlon Brando. The square still looks enough like 1910s Mexico that it stood in for it, and it is the same plaza the distillery sits on today.
Come stand inside 1884.
Reserve a tasting, book the Distiller for a Day, or ask about the courtyard for your event.