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Things to do guide

The best things to do in Houston

Updated 7 October 2026 · 15 things to do

Pictured: Four Seasons Hotel Houston

'Houston' was among the first words spoken from the surface of the Moon, and the city has been living up to it ever since. This is Space City, home of NASA's Mission Control, and also the energy capital of America, a vast, flat, humid sprawl of motorways and glass towers that is now one of the most diverse cities in the United States. You taste that the moment you sit down to eat.

It rewards the curious. Behind the freeways are world-class museums, many of them clustered in one leafy district, a remarkable private art collection in a quiet neighbourhood of bungalows, and green ribbons of parkland along the bayous. Come for the rockets, stay for the art and the crawfish, and finish with a day on the beach at Galveston.

Don't miss

  1. 1Space Center Houston
  2. 2Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
  3. 3The Menil Collection
  4. 4Buffalo Bayou Park
  5. 5Galveston

The big sights

Rockets first, then one of the best museum districts in America.

  1. Space Center Houston

    Museum

    The Saturn V rocket on display at the Johnson Space Center
    Photo: Jim Evans, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The visitor centre for NASA's Johnson Space Center, south-east of the city, is where the story of American spaceflight comes alive. You can touch a piece of the Moon, walk through a replica space shuttle mounted on the jumbo jet that once carried the real ones, and stand beneath a complete Saturn V rocket, lying on its side and about as long as a football pitch.

    The tram tour is the highlight, taking you onto the working NASA site and, on some routes, to the restored Mission Control room that guided the Apollo landings.

    Tip: Tram tours fill up. Reserve your slot as soon as you arrive, or in advance, and allow most of a day.

  2. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

    Museum

    The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
    Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0

    One of the largest art museums in the country spreads across several buildings in the Museum District, linked by tunnels that are artworks in themselves, glowing with coloured light. The collection roams from antiquities and Impressionists to Latin American modernism and contemporary installations, with a sculpture garden across the road. Pick a wing and take your time.

  3. Houston Museum of Natural Science

    Museum

    A favourite with families, on the edge of Hermann Park. The palaeontology hall is superb, with dinosaur skeletons posed as if hunting and fleeing, and there are dazzling displays of gems and minerals, an Egyptian hall and a planetarium. The glass cone on one side holds a rainforest full of free-flying butterflies.

  4. Hermann Park

    Nature

    The lake in Hermann Park, Houston
    Photo: Zp 2298, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The green centre of the Museum District, and Houston's best-loved park. Avenues of oak trees lead to a long reflecting pool, pedal boats potter around the lake, a miniature train circles the grounds and a Japanese garden offers shade and stillness. The formal gardens at the northern end, with a spiral path up a grassy mound, are a pleasure in spring. The zoo is here too.

Art in Montrose

A short hop from the Museum District, and the most distinctive part of the city.

  1. The Menil Collection

    Museum

    The Menil Collection building in Houston
    Photo: Jacklee, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Houston's great surprise. In a low, grey timber building by Renzo Piano, set on a lawn among bungalows painted the same soft grey, hangs the private collection of John and Dominique de Menil: Surrealists, above all Magritte and Max Ernst, alongside Byzantine icons, African and Oceanic art and modern American painting. The light is natural, the rooms are hushed and nothing is crowded.

    Tip: Wander the surrounding blocks too. Several smaller galleries in the neighbourhood belong to the same campus.

  2. Rothko Chapel

    Landmark

    The Rothko Chapel in Houston
    Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0

    A plain brick octagon a short walk from the Menil holds fourteen huge, dark canvases by Mark Rothko, painted for this room. It is a chapel for all faiths and none, and people sit in silence as the daylight shifts and the near-black paintings reveal purples and maroons. Outside, a steel obelisk rises from a reflecting pool in memory of Martin Luther King Jr.

  3. Montrose

    Neighbourhood

    The neighbourhood around the Menil is Houston at its most walkable and most bohemian: vintage shops, tattoo studios, coffee houses, cocktail bars and many of the city's most talked-about restaurants, on streets shaded by old oaks. It has long been the heart of the city's LGBTQ+ community. Come for lunch after the galleries and stay into the evening.

Parks and the bayou

  1. Buffalo Bayou Park

    Nature

    Buffalo Bayou Park with the Houston skyline behind
    Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The slow brown bayou that Houston was founded on now runs through a long, landscaped park just west of Downtown, with walking and cycling trails, footbridges, public art and some of the best skyline views in the city. You can paddle it by kayak, and at dusk in the warmer months a colony of bats emerges from beneath the Waugh Drive bridge.

    Tip: Look out for tours of the Cistern, a vast underground reservoir of concrete columns, now used for art installations.

  2. Discovery Green

    Nature

    Discovery Green park in Downtown Houston
    Photo: Daderot, CC0

    A lively park in the middle of Downtown, opposite the convention centre, with lawns, a small lake, splash fountains for children and a regular programme of concerts, films and markets. In a city centre of office towers and underground tunnels, it is where people come up for air. The baseball stadium and the basketball arena are both a short walk away.

  3. Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park

    Landmark

    The Waterwall fountain framing the Williams Tower in Houston
    Photo: Ed Schipul from Houston, TX, US, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Beside the Galleria in Uptown, a towering horseshoe-shaped fountain sends sheets of water roaring down both its inner and outer walls. Stand inside the curve and you are surrounded by the sound and the cool spray, a welcome thing in a Houston summer. Framed by live oaks, with the Williams Tower rising behind, it is a favourite backdrop for photographs.

Eat and drink

One of the most exciting food cities in America, and proud of it.

  1. Tex-Mex and fajitas

    Food

    A platter of beef and chicken fajitas with onions
    Photo: Elisa Arteaga from Caracas, Venezuela, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Houston has a strong claim on the fajita: grilled skirt steak, served sizzling with warm flour tortillas, was made famous here in the 1970s at a restaurant in the city's East End. Tex-Mex remains a local religion, from breakfast tacos to cheese enchiladas and bowls of queso. Order a margarita, pile up the tortillas and take your time.

  2. Viet-Cajun crawfish

    Food

    Only in Houston. The city has one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States and sits next door to Louisiana, and the two traditions met in a pot. Crawfish are boiled Cajun-style, then tossed in garlic butter with lemongrass, ginger and chilli. You eat them by the pound, with your hands, at paper-covered tables. Messy, spicy and completely addictive.

    Tip: Crawfish are seasonal, at their best in spring. Out of season, the same restaurants do excellent prawns and crab.

Day trips

  1. Galveston

    Day trip

    Victorian buildings in the Strand Historic District, Galveston
    Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0

    An hour or so south-east, on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston is Houston's seaside. It was once the richest city in Texas, and the Strand district still has blocks of ornate Victorian iron-fronted buildings, now shops and restaurants. Along the seawall are miles of sandy beach and a pier with funfair rides out over the waves.

  2. Kemah Boardwalk

    Activity

    The Kemah Boardwalk amusement park on the waterfront
    Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY 2.0

    On Galveston Bay, not far from the Space Center, this waterfront amusement area has a wooden rollercoaster, a big wheel, a little train and a row of seafood restaurants with decks over the water. It is unashamedly touristy and children adore it. Combine it with NASA for a full family day out.

  3. San Jacinto Battleground

    Landmark

    The San Jacinto Monument near Houston
    Photo: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0

    East of the city, on the ship channel, a slender stone column topped with a lone star marks the field where, in 1836, Sam Houston's army defeated the Mexican forces in a battle lasting minutes and won independence for Texas. The monument is, naturally, a little taller than the one in Washington. A museum in its base tells the story.

Where to stay in Houston

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Houston →

Getting around

Houston is enormous and built for the car. A light rail line usefully links Downtown with the Museum District and Hermann Park, and taxis cover Montrose and the Galleria. For Space Center Houston, Kemah, Galveston and San Jacinto you will want a hire car or a tour.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable times, and spring is crawfish season. Summers are hot and very humid, and late summer into autumn is hurricane season on the Gulf coast. Winters are mild. Whenever you come, the museums are well air-conditioned.

Questions about visiting Houston

What is Houston best known for?
NASA's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, the oil and energy industry, a large Museum District, a huge medical centre and a famously diverse food scene, from Tex-Mex and barbecue to Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish.
Is Houston worth visiting?
Yes. Space Center Houston is a highlight for all ages, the Menil Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts are among the best art museums in the country, and the restaurants alone justify a long weekend.
What is there to do in Houston with kids?
Space Center Houston, the Museum of Natural Science, Hermann Park with its train and pedal boats, the fountains at Discovery Green, the rides at Kemah Boardwalk and the beaches of Galveston.
How many days do you need in Houston?
Three days: one for the Space Center, one for the Museum District and Montrose, and one for the bayou, the Galleria or a trip to Galveston.
Do you need a car in Houston?
It helps. You can manage Downtown and the Museum District by light rail and taxi, but the Space Center, Galveston and most other outings are much easier with a car.

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