El Paso, Texas is known as the Sun City because of the beautiful weather year-round. The sun shines on El Paso more than 300 days a year, making it a great choice for a vacation. Besides the beautiful weather, there are a number of attractions surrounding El Paso, and there is something for everyone each season of the year.

The Franklin Mountains in El Paso, Texas are a great place for hiking in the spring and fall, and for picnics in the summer. From the mountaintop, one can see well into Mexico and Texas, as well as surrounding states. Museums, shops, and attractions including horse races, casinos, amusement parks, and a zoo also provide entertainment around El Paso.

El Paso has a rather sordid history and was a favorite spot of several outlaws including Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin, and Buffalo Bill. The Mexican hero, Pancho Villa, died in El Paso and rumors about his ghost still linger. The unique city of El Paso, Texas arose out of the Chihuahuan Desert at a crossroads of ancient empires and at a point where the Rio Grande, streaming south from New Mexico, rounded a bend and started flowing east. In 1598, accompanied by 600 adventurous pilgrims, colonist Juan de Onate headed north from Mexico and crossed the Rio Grande on 4th May, designating the crossing El Paso del Rio del Norte. Two hundred years later, a Spaniard named Juan Maria Ponce de Leon built the first El Paso residence, a small shack north of the river where the modern day El Paso and Paisano Street intersect.

For a while, depending on who was collecting taxes, the El Paso area either belonged to Chihuahua or New Mexico. In 1848, Mexico and the United States signed a treaty in which the Rio Grande River was established as the international boundary, and the north bank of the Rio Grande, including El Paso, passed forever out of the hands of Mexico and became the property of the United States. Throughout the colorful history of the city, El Paso has remained a beautiful oasis combining culture, creativity, and nature.