What to do in Houston, Texas
A sprawling city of just over 2.1m people from every background and walk of life, Houston is Texas’ biggest settlement and home to some of the finest museums and entertainment in the United States – as well as the Space Centre. So, if you want big city fun with a Southern flavour, there’s no better place to hang your ten gallon hat!
Anyone who enjoys travel will have at one time wondered what it’d be like to take the ultimate journey of all into space. Well, we can’t guarantee that, but a visit to the Space Centre Houston at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre will help you understand what it might be like to go into space. Featuring a multitude of attractions such as a launch simulator and actual artefacts of space exploration like moon rocks and flight hardware, it truly is a place to inform and inspire in equal measure.
Outside of space flight, Houston has a huge reputation for museums and the performing arts. With dedicated districts devoted to each, over seven million people visit Houston each year to be astounded by the city’s cultural riches.
Located in Neartown, the Museum District incorporates 19 museums covering countless fascinating subjects. With all museums offering free opening hours and 12 being free all the time, the district is a fabulous way to educate and inspire whether you’re a solo traveller or a family.
Highlights are, of course, subjective but many visitors are particularly impressed by the huge Museum of Fine Arts, the eclectic Houston Museum of Natural Science and the highly interactive Children’s Museum of Houston. The district is also home to the sombre Holocaust Museum, Houston and the superb Houston Zoo.
The Theatre District in Downtown is home to Houston’s nine most prestigious performing arts institutions spread across five impressive venues. Houston’s standing in the arts world is evidenced by the fact that it is one of only a handful of American cities that is home to professional, resident companies in all four major disciplines – Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Alley Theatre Company.
If high culture isn’t for you, there’s plenty more to see and do in Houston. From endless premium-brand shopping at the huge uptown Galleria mall to wet and wild fun at the SplashTown Waterpark, Space City is a town built for fun.
