Visit Houston

The room where Apollo astronauts were guided, a chapel of dark Rothko canvases, Viet-Cajun crawfish along Bellaire Boulevard and bayous turned into parks: Houston sprawls without an obvious centre, but rewards those who give it four or five days and a car.

Why visit Houston?

Houston is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, from which American human spaceflights are directed, and a Museum District of nineteen institutions, several of them free. One of the most diverse cities in the United States, it offers remarkable world cuisine and is the starting point for the Gulf Coast at Galveston.

Houston's must-sees

Space exploration, 20th-century art and urban curiosities, spread across a very large city.

Space Center Houston

The Johnson Space Center visitor centre: Apollo Mission Control, a Saturn V, a shuttle carrier aircraft topped with a replica orbiter and full-scale mock-ups.

Rothko Chapel

An octagonal place of meditation housing fourteen monumental canvases by Mark Rothko, open to all free of charge, regardless of belief, in Montrose.

Menil Collection

Dominique and John de Menil's collection, from Surrealism to the arts of Africa and Oceania, in a light-filled Renzo Piano building. Free entry.

Museum of Fine Arts

The MFAH covers art from antiquity to today across three buildings linked by tunnels, one devoted to modern and contemporary art. Free on Thursdays.

Natural Science Museum

A vast palaeontology hall, minerals, a planetarium and a tropical butterfly conservatory in the Museum District. Tickets are sold per attraction.

Buffalo Bayou Cistern

A former 1926 drinking water reservoir with 221 columns, converted into a space for sound and light installations. Guided tours by reservation.

Twilight Epiphany

James Turrell's skyspace on the Rice University campus, whose roof frames the sky. A free light show at dawn and dusk, by reservation.

San Jacinto Monument

A 173-metre column topped by a star, on the battlefield of Texas independence. A lift up to the observation deck and a small museum.

Beer Can House

A house covered in tens of thousands of flattened cans by its owner from the 1960s onwards, a folk art curiosity near Memorial Drive.

Rodeo Houston

The world's largest livestock show and rodeo, about three weeks between late February and March at NRG Park, with big-name concerts every night.

What to see in Houston, neighbourhood by neighbourhood?

Downtown and its tunnels

The business district alternates glass towers, theatres and plazas. Beneath the streets, a network of air-conditioned tunnels about 10 km long links nearly a hundred blocks, with restaurants and shops, open only on weekdays during office hours. Discovery Green, a 5-hectare park opened in 2008, livens up the area with concerts and markets. The Theater District, one of the densest in the country, hosts opera, ballet and the symphony. In the evening and at weekends downtown empties: keep it for half a day and a show rather than as a base.

The Museum District and Hermann Park

South of Midtown, the Museum District gathers nineteen museums within a 2.5 km radius, served by the METRORail Red Line. The Museum of Fine Arts, extended in 2020 with Steven Holl's Kinder Building, is free on Thursdays. The natural science museum and its butterfly centre easily fill half a day with children. Hermann Park, right next door, combines the zoo, a Japanese garden and a lake with pedal boats for hire. Allow two days to cover the district without rushing.

Montrose and the Menil Collection

A bohemian neighbourhood north of the Museum District, Montrose mixes wooden houses, thrift shops, bars and one of the oldest LGBT communities in Texas. Its cultural heart is the Menil Collection campus: Renzo Piano's museum, the Cy Twombly Gallery and the Rothko Chapel, opened in 1971, are all free to enter. Allow three hours for the three, starting with the chapel early in the morning, when the silence is complete. The shaded lawns between the buildings welcome picnickers and locals.

Buffalo Bayou and the Heights

The bayou running through the city has been turned into a 65-hectare park west of downtown, with trails, kayaking and skyline views. You can visit the Cistern, a 1926 underground reservoir supported by 221 columns, on half-hour guided tours. At dusk, a colony of about 250,000 bats flies out from under the Waugh Drive bridge. To the north, the Heights line up early 20th-century bungalows, the shops of 19th Street and restaurants; a bike trail built on a former railway links the area to the bayou.

Asiatown and the food scene

Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and you can taste it. On Bellaire Boulevard, about 20 minutes west of downtown, Asiatown stretches for several kilometres with Vietnamese, Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean restaurants, bakeries and markets. This is where Viet-Cajun crawfish was born, boiled then tossed in butter, garlic and lemongrass, best from January to June. Elsewhere, the city is full of Nigerian, Indian, Mexican and Texan tables. Plan on driving or ride-hailing: these places are scattered across a huge metro area.

Space Center and Clear Lake

About 40 km south-east, Space Center Houston is the visitor centre of NASA's Johnson Space Center. The tram tour leads to the historic Apollo Mission Control room and Rocket Park, where a complete Saturn V rocket lies under a hangar. Allow a full day and arrive at opening for the first trams. America's other great space site, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is best visited from Orlando. On the nearby bay, the Kemah waterfront rounds off the day in the late afternoon.

Galveston, San Jacinto and the coast

Galveston, a barrier island about an hour's drive south-east, keeps a Victorian district, the Strand, and long beaches of brownish sand that are no place for turquoise water. The island was devastated by the 1900 hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. East of Houston, the San Jacinto Monument, a 173-metre column, commemorates the 1836 battle that won Texas its independence. To continue the road trip, I-10 leads to New Orleans in about 5 hours 30.

Frequently asked questions about Houston

How much time should you allow at Space Center Houston?
A full day, from opening to closing if you want to do the tram tour, the exhibitions and the shuttle carrier aircraft. Trams to the historic control room fill up fast: sign up as soon as you arrive. Online tickets let you skip the entrance queue.
Can you see the real Apollo 11 Mission Control room?
Yes. The room from which the Apollo missions were followed was restored in 2019 with its period consoles and ashtrays, and is seen from the visitor gallery during the tram tour. The tour depends on NASA operations and may change without notice.
Are Houston museums free on Thursdays?
The Museum of Fine Arts offers free general admission on Thursdays, and the natural science museum opens some halls free of charge in the late afternoon that day. The Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel and the Contemporary Arts Museum are free every day they open.
Should you avoid Houston during hurricane season?
Not necessarily, but August to October concentrate the risk. Take insurance covering cancellations, follow forecasts in the days before departure and obey evacuation orders. October to April remains the most pleasant period, without stifling heat.
Where to eat Viet-Cajun crawfish in Houston?
Along Bellaire Boulevard in Asiatown, home to the places that invented the butter, garlic and lemongrass blend. The season runs roughly from January to June, peaking in spring. Order by the pound, choose your spice level and expect bibs.
How do you get tickets for Rodeo Houston?
Tickets for the rodeo and the evening concert are sold together, several months before the event, and headliner dates sell out within hours. Grounds-only admission to the fair and livestock is easier to get on site. Take the METRORail to NRG Park.
Is Galveston worth the trip for its beaches?
For atmosphere and history, yes: the Victorian Strand, mansions such as Bishop's Palace and the long seawall can be explored in a day. The water, loaded with Gulf sediment, stays brown and sargassum washes up some summers. Do not come for white sand.
Can you use the downtown tunnels at the weekend?
No, the network depends on the buildings it connects and generally closes in the evening and at weekends. It operates on weekdays, during office hours, when its restaurants serve downtown workers. Entrances are discreet: look for them in tower lobbies or on a printed map.
Houston or Dallas for a first trip to Texas?
Houston suits you better if NASA, free museums and world food appeal, and if you plan to continue to the coast. Dallas speaks more to fans of Kennedy-related history and western culture with Fort Worth. The two cities are about 3 hours 30 apart by road.

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