I was quite disappointed with Marfa. I was driving between Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Big Bend National Park. There's simply not a helluva lot in Marfa IMO.
I flew into El Paso. I was in the region mainly to visit national parks, but I spent a day in El Paso at the end and I found a few interesting things to see there. Timewise, google maps says it's slightly faster to Marfa from El Paso than from Midland-Odessa, but the latter is a slightly shorter distance.
For me, the big attraction was Big Bend National Park, which exceeded my expectations. It's a vast park with several distinct areas of mountain, desert, and river scenery. I like to hike, and it's a great park for that.
From Terlingua near the west entrance to Big Bend NP, there is a stunning road, route 170, along the Rio Grande headed toward Presidio. Gorgeous scenery along the rocky gorge of the Rio Grande, and almost no traffic at all.