The oil and gas capital of the United States, the fourth-largest city in population and second largest in area, with the first dome stadium, the largest concentration of medical institutions in the world, and of course the foremost space centre — Houston exemplifies the Texas ideals of being the biggest and the best.
Houston is also very attractive, liveable, and fun. There are many parks and smaller green spaces and many unusual public sculptures and fountains. The first impression visitors get when they step off their Houston flights is the architecture which is often in-your-face with no end to the odd juxtaposition of elegant and mundane, functional and whimsical. Buildings show a decided degree of originality: the name of Texas Children’s Hospital is spelled out on its sloping lawn in brightly coloured letters and a Mayan pyramid tops a skyscraper.
Tourists booking flights to Houston shouldn't worry about not having enough activities to keep them busy during their visit; the city has plenty to offer from NASA, the rodeo, museums, the Astrodome to elegant restaurants and barbecue spots. And Houstonians are among the world’s friendliest people. Never hesitate to ask for directions or information; this town, for all its sophistication, still shows the spirit of the frontier days when the pioneers all pitched in to lend a helping hand.
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Houston is a year-round city. It’s large enough to accommodate big events, though you might want to avoid it when there’s a mega-event such as the Super Bowl. The weather is pleasant from autumn through spring. Summers are very hot and very humid, and in late summer thunderstorms are frequent, occasionally spawning tornadoes. Houston is also vulnerable to hurricanes. Winters are generally mild, but there can occasionally be very sudden cold weather in late autumn and winter, when frigid winds whistle down off the plains.
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Peak Season:
The ideal times to take a flight to Houston are early spring and autumn. In October and at least early November, the weather is often still warm enough for summer clothes, but the humidity is gone.
Off Season:
Most visitors prefer to avoid the hot, humid summer from June until September.
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George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Distance: 22 miles north
Drive time: one hour
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Distance: nine miles southeast
Drive time: 45 mins
Both airports provide taxis, private limousines, scheduled buses and shuttles, and access to public transport. From IAH, there is shuttle service to the Galveston beach area as well.
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If you’re planning to spend most of your time downtown (including the museum district), you can get by without a car. The area is compact, and hotels provide shuttles to many common destinations. Houston also has a very good public transport system, the Metro, with good bus service and the popular light rail.
If you plan to go further afield, a car is a necessity. Navigating is fairly easy. Houston is laid out in a logical manner, and the roads and streets are well marked. Driving, as opposed to navigating, is another story. The roads are excellent, but the drivers are not. Be prepared for drivers who not only go fast but who cut in and out in a blood-curdling fashion. And rush hour traffic is as bad here as it is most places.
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- Space Centre Houston is the official visitors’ centre for NASA's Johnson Space Centre. The tram tour and the four-hour tour show you working parts of the space centre, and sometimes you can see astronauts in training. The Astronaut Gallery has a number of actual flight suits and pictures of all astronauts and crews. Films, simulations, and interactive displays give you the feel of being in space. Plan to spend at least half a day. If you take the four-hour tour, consider a full day.
- The Houston Museum of Natural Science has excellent permanent exhibits (including good dinosaurs, a planetarium, and a Foucault pendulum) and often has outstanding travelling exhibits. The star attraction is the rainforest environment in the Butterfly Collection, with hundreds of butterflies eating, flying, or resting (sometimes on you).
- The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), near the science museum, has an admirable permanent collection, including a sculpture garden, and also hosts outstanding travelling exhibits. It’s worth visiting just for the architecture, a mixture of early 20th century traditional and outstanding modern, including two additions by Mies van der Rohe.
- Now part of the MFAH, Bayou Bend is a wonderful museum house set in 14 acres of lovely garden. It showcases the American antiques, some as old as the 1600s, collected by Miss Ima Hogg. (Yes, it’s pronounced “I’m a hog.” The tour explains how her father, Governor Jim Hogg, did that to her — and also that she did not have a sister called Ura; that’s just a Texas tall tale.)
- East Texas has similar terrain to Louisiana, and Houston has several bayous, watercourses that are quite deep and narrow, except during heavy rains. At places like Bayou Bend, they are a lovely part of the natural environment. In downtown Houston, they have sloping concrete banks to reduce flooding, but they are still sometimes home to wildlife such as shore birds like herons or even the occasional alligator.
- The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo takes place in late February and early March. But there are also other rodeo and livestock-related events throughout the year.
- Galveston, an hour’s drive from Houston, is a small beach resort town. In addition to the beaches, its attractions include the Victorian buildings in the historic district.
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