My family and I will be traveling to Houston for a Rockets game and some exploring. I wanted to get some locals perspective on things you would strongly recommend to do. I am also excited to try all of the food that I have read about. What are some of your favorite places to eat that are not going to absolutely break the bank. I am actually a big fan of off the beaten path places to eat. Any other tips would be welcomed. Thanks!
Ongoing stigma is that this city is more designed for living... less designed for tourists... but always curious to see if that continues to hold true. Wide-spread ride share app usage has made the lack of organized/structured/reliable public transportation somewhat mitigated.... but people still extremely impressed (or perturbed) with how much space this city encompasses.
Not sure if you all like nature, but Armand Bayou Nature Center is one of my favorite places to go. You might see gators from the boardwalk by the pond back behind the entrance center, and are sure to see plenty of herons, bullfrogs, or snakes, butterflies, spiders, and dragonflies, around the pond area. They also have trails to explore, and a nice little exhibit center for kids to see snakes and other creatures. It's not far from downtown, and is one of the largest urban wilderness preserves in the United States. ABNC contains 2500 acres of the natural wetlands forest, prairie and marsh habitats once abundant in the Houston and Galveston area. ABNC is home to over 370 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. https://www.abnc.org/
The museums are fun. The Science museum has Dinosaur Discoveries: A Holographic Adventure In the Houston Science Museum's Holotheater. They also have Sharks! The Meg, The Monsters & The Myths’ includes general admission access to all Permanent HMNS Exhibit Halls. They also have a butterfly center. https://www.hmns.org/ The Children's museum is also really cool for kids from toddlers to older kids. They have lots of different cool areas for the kids to explore and play. The website shows all the different things they have for kids. https://www.cmhouston.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmbhouston
Will you be staying inside the 610 Loop or more towards a certain direction on the compass? Which cultures & foods are you interested in and which are you not so interested in?
Crawfish Shack is no joke. Would stay in Crosby just for that. Then go grab a michelada at the Mexican refresqueria across the street.
travel to the university of houston and visit the hakeem olajuwon museum. then for lunch go across the street to frenchys for some homemade soul food. then drop your family to one of the other museum while you visit treasures and go hunting for booty.
Still one of my favorite museums on planet earth, right there in the heart of H-tine. https://www.menil.org/ The Rothko chapel, just adjacent, is also amazing. Lots of good food in the museum district, last I checked, but it's been a couple of years.
Yall sound like tourist as well lol heres Some places to check out The conservatory food hall The Post ( food hall / shopping. Has awesome view of city from top of building) Huyhn Vietnamese restaurant Mai’s Vietnamese restaurant Ninfas on navigation (Mexican restaurant) Aladdin’s Mediterranean The Pit room (bbq) Truth bbq Pinkertons bbq BB’s cafe. ( Tex/New Orleans ) Rice box Underground food hall Ocean palace dim sum ( these below are budget friendly) Teotihuacan (mex restaurant) Champ burger ( local spot , low budget) Hubcap grill Taqueria aguas calientes La morenita (taco truck) China garden If you hear during weekend. Gotta go to Tia Pancha flea market. Also known as sunny flea market. Kinda sketchy lol but has awesome food. And last but not least. Gotta try whataburger lol Places to go / things to do. Discovery green park Museum district NASA space center Local breweries ( st Arnold’s , 8th wonder, equal parts ) And you deff deff need to check out Buc-ee’s !! If you don’t know about it. It’s a must. Lol having brain farts so that’s all I can think of right now
If you're looking for some off the beaten path things to do that are VERY uniquely Houston: Buffalo Bayou Cisterns Project Row Houses The Orange Show/Smither Park Art Car Museum (before it closes next month) Hermann Park
We are staying in the area between Hyde park and Midtown. I did rent a car but did not want to do a ton of driving, so I tried to stay as close to the museum district and the arena as I could. I am open to pretty much any kind of ethnic food, I am really into Indian food though.
Currently we are planning on hitting the NASA museum and Menil, since it is very close to the house we are staying at. As for food, I will be putting the Whataburger up to the test vs In n Out, they seem to have beef. . . . What really depresses me is that we have a limited number of meals for all the great food. I know we have to have Tex/Mex and BBQ. I will require a Indian place and a brewery. If there is another type of food that is a must in Houston I am totally open to it. Overall this is a great list and is way better than those sites telling you the "top 10 things to see in Houston" Love the off the beaten path stuff!
