The French Legation Museum, Austin

To understand the French Legation Museum, you first have to remember an important fact of Texas history: this was once an independent country. As an independent country, it had foreign emmbassies and legations...which is where this building comes in...

Austin's oldest standing building, this 1841Greek Revival bayou-style home was built by Alphonse Dubois de Saligny, named charge d'affaires to the Republic of Texas when Louis Philippe of France recognized the republic in 1839. The parlor contains some of Saligny's personal belongings. You can see it on a guided tour, conducted Tuesday through Saturday afternoons. The tours also visit the legation's kitchen, the only authentic reproduction of an early Creole kitchen in the United States.

Location: 802 San Marcos, Austin

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