There are two ways to think about the Texas Hill Country. Physically, it spreads across the undulating Edwards Plateau, with Austin to the east and San Antonio to the south. Near the center is Fredericksburg, which was once the main show in these parts, but no longer. To get a feeling for the Hill Country in the second sense — the state of mind where cool mingles with tradition, and industriousness and idleness are equally esteemed values (depending on the time of day) — head out among the limestone knolls full of live oak groves and cypress-lined creeks, and to the gritty pin-dot towns built largely of native stone. Here you’ll find a delicious tension between rural and refined. Inns and restaurants are bringing a clever touch to Lone Star hospitality and mythology, and with the vineyards and boutique farms (lavender, olives), some people make comparisons to Napa Valley or even Provence. But those assessments ignore something fundamental: the Hill Country — being Texas at its finest — is like nowhere else in the world.

FRIDAY

3 p.m.

1. Water Music

For a dramatic Hill Country landscape, many visitors go to Enchanted Rock, an enormous meatloaf-shaped piece of granite outside of Fredericksburg. Pedernales Falls State Park (2585 Park Road 6026, Johnson City), just east of Johnson City, is less well-known but equally spectacular. Cutting through a shallow canyon, the Pedernales River tumbles down a series of limestone shelves, with the water collecting in turquoise pools among giant boulders. The soundtrack — the rumble of cascading water — is just as exhilarating as the view. Entry: $6 a person.

7 p.m.

2. The Meat Master

At Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (604 West Young Street, Llano; coopersbbqllano.com), one of the premier barbecue joints in Texas, let your fingers do the ordering. Stop at one of the pickup-bed-size grills on the front patio and point at your meat of choice. Mesquite-smoked brisket, cabrito, prime rib, pork ribs, sausage. Or all of the above. Inside, dig in at picnic tables surrounded by mounted deer heads — another reminder you’re in serious carnivore country. Dinner for two, $60.

10 p.m.

3. Raise a Glass

The best night life is in Fredericksburg, and the choicest spot there is Lincoln Street Wine Market (111 South Lincoln Street, Fredericksburg; lincolnst.com), which maintains a Texas-big selection of 300-plus types of wine. The atmosphere is pleasantly unpretentious (especially for a wine bar); you may even find the owner, Sean Smajstrla, wearing a rancher’s Carhartt jacket. Every wine here is available by the glass, even those that go for $600 or more a bottle. On weekends, listen to live music on the patio. Wines by the glass start at $5; by the bottle, $20 and up.