Houston, the “Space City”, is the fourth largest city in the USA and home to NASA and the Johnson Space Center. In addition, the city offers numerous attractions, such as the 17-block theater district, over 18 different museums or the diverse restaurant landscape that leaves nothing to be desired.
This abundance already gives an idea of the diversity of the city in the “Lone Star State”. Houston is an exciting mix of the Wild West, multi-cultural and the American way of life. Visitors who travel to the Space City with the third largest skyscrapers in the country for the first time can look forward to many sights – amazement, discovery and enjoyment are definitely guaranteed!
For business travelers, Houston has two large convention and meeting centers: The George R. Brown Convention Center and Reliant Park . With a connection to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Marriott Marquis Convention Center Hotel impresses with over 1000 rooms and over 9000 square meters of conference capacity. Another large conference hotel in the city is the Hilton Americas-Houston with 1,200 rooms. Check Trackaah for latest population of Houston.
Attractions
Houston offers exciting attractions to its guests all year round .
Beer Can House – A house made of cans
The beer can house – unusual art and beer can recycling of a special kind: John Milkovisch has invested in his Beer Can House for 18 long years. In 1968 the idea came up to clad the home with metal cans.
Milkovisch drank a six pack of beer every day. Even the empty cans were collected out of love for barley juice. When it occurred to him in 1968 that beer cans could be used as cladding for his house, the garage and attic were already overflowing. With the “donations” of other drinking brothers, around 50,000 pieces accumulated. The lock rings of the cans have since acted as tinkling curtains, and the lawn in front of the house is decorated with other installations.
Today the Beer Can House is a folk art gallery and is owned by the Orange Show Center for visionary art. Original photographs of the Milkovisch family tell the visitor the story of the bungalow from the 1940s and how it became what it is today: a work of art of a special kind.
Meanwhile, the Beer Can House with the silver facade on Malone Street at Memorial Park has become a landmark, cult – and according to the US news magazine Time one of the “Top 50 American Roadside Attractions” in the country.
Other highlights
- Print the suburbs with street art and art: Known for its eccentricity, the Victorian Montrose district is home to tattoo shops, second-hand shops and numerous art galleries. Numerous charming cafés such as Blacksmith, Common Road or Empire Café invite you to have breakfast.
- When love bears fruit – The Orange Show: For Jeff McKissack, it was great love – the one for citrus fruits. For one, more precisely: the orange. Love became art. In Munger Street in Houston’s East End, the former fruit transport worker created a gigantic, orange-colored fantasy world with an amphitheater, wishing well, fruit-shaped caves and bizarre sculptures from over 300 pieces of scrap. ( org )
- Soak up the sun and have fun in the water on the Kemah Boardwalk. The amusement park on the coast, 20 minutes away from Houston, offers original restaurants, trendy boutiques and, above all, roller coasters, Ferris wheel & Co. – adrenaline rush is guaranteed!
- Families get their money’s worth at Park Discovery Green downtown, which has a boat pond, children’s playground, and interactive water features.
- Hobby photographers line up at the Water Wall in Uptown.
- How do the Houstonians cope with the summer heat? The best way to find out is to go 20 feet underground. Those who can no longer stand it in the summer heat can take part in a guided tour through the interesting tunnel system of Houston . Entire shopping malls, restaurants and medical centers offer their respective services here and make you forget the summer heat. The guided tours through the underground tunnels can be booked in advance .
- Almost every US metropolis also has a special glamorous district. In Houston, it’s River Oaks with its historic and modern mansions, parks and much more.
- The best view of the city skyline from the tallest building is from the JP Morgan Chase Tower – or more precisely the Sky Lobby on the 60th floor. Another eye-catcher here is Joan Miro’s spectacular steel sculpture “ Personage With Birds ”.
- Houston on the water: The Buffalo Bayou flows through the city – the 92 kilometer long river is ideal for a canoe tour with wildlife.
- How about a little outdoors for a change? Plenty of nature with over 370 species of birds as well as reptiles, amphibians, native plants and swamps can be experienced in the Armand Bayou Nature Center – while hiking or from the water in a canoe. On guided canoe tours there are even alligators and otters in front of your nose.
- More animals are waiting at the Houston Zoo . With almost 4,500 exotic inhabitants and 800 species, it is an ideal excursion destination for young and old. Or how about hiking at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center in Memorial Park?
- A special kind of cowboy feeling: The George Ranch Historical Park has over 100 years of Texan history to discover. Here visitors look over the shoulder of the cowboys at work on a typical ranch – and feel like Jesse James, the Sundance Kid or Wild Bill Hickok.
- Every year travelers find the world’s largest rodeo in Houston : the ” Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo ” attracts more than two million visitors from all over the world every spring.
- An unforgettable spectacle in the evening is the dance of around 250,000 bats. The perfect vantage point: the Waugh Drive Bridge on Buffalo Bayou between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive.
- David Adickes’ Giant Statues:What do the Fab Four, former US President George Bush and the city’s namesake Sam Houston have in common? They have not only gone down in world history: All and many other prominent personalities were immortalized as oversized sculptures by the American sculptor David Adickes. You can admire the works of art in the studio on Nance Street in Downtown Houston.
- Home Run in Houston: Southeast of Houston, in League City, six replicas of various famous stadiums of the American Baseball Association have been created in the Big League Dreams Sports Complex. What it feels like to score a home run in Fenway Park of the Boston Red Sox, beat a triple at the New York Yankees’ stadium, or leave Wrigley Field in Chicago as the winner – all this is just 30 minutes away from Houston – whether as a Pitcher, catcher or baseman.
- A touch of India in Houston: at first glance it seems as if the Taj Mahal has been transferred to the Greater Houston region: the Hindu temple BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Houston in the suburb of Stafford – an architectural masterpiece. More than 33,000 pieces were carved from Italian marble and Turkish limestone by skilled artisans and assembled in 16 months. Daily tours lead through the unique house of prayer, encounter and Indian art.
The wide range of options for shopping, art, entertainment, food, theaters, museums and events is also impressive.
Arts and Culture
In addition to rodeo and space history, Houston is world famous for its renowned theater and museum scene. The metropolis has an exceptionally large range of art and culture. There is superlative art within the Houston Theater District . Worth seeing: the Houston Grand Opera and the Alley Theater.
The Houston Museum District alone comprises 16 museums. Those interested in culture can encounter Andy Warhol’s works or various other exhibitions. Highlights include the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and the Museum of Fine Arts.
- The anchor of the museum district south of downtown is the ” Museum of Fine Arts”. Works by Monet and van Gogh, for example, are exhibited here.
- The city’s oldest theater – the River Oaks Theater- is located in the posh River Oaks district .
- The Houston Museum of Fine Arts is home to the Menil Collection – one of the most important private art collections in the world.
- Families take note: astonished children’s eyes are guaranteed in the Houston Museum of Natural Science and in the Children’s Museum of Houston , which are among the most visited museums in the USA! The first-class Children’s Museum of Houston is recommended for those traveling with children, the attractions allow the youngest travelers to become inventors in a playful way. This highlight was voted America’s best children’s museum by the American magazine Parents.
- The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is also worth a visit.
- Free opera and theater performances are available at the Houston Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park. During a picnic, visitors can follow the sounds and performances on the open-air stage. The multicultural performances include gospel concerts, performances by the Houston Symphony Orchestra and many other events by local theater, dance and music groups. In addition to the Miller Outdoor Theater, the green area of Hermann Park also invites you to visit the Houston Zoo, the Japanese Garden or the Hermann Park Golf Course.
Houston Ballet
Classic to neoclassical: this is the repertoire of the renowned Houston Ballet . It was founded in 1955 as a dance academy and since its first performance in 1969 has become the fourth largest ballet group in the USA. Today the ensemble consists of 55 dancers.
The ballet’s unique performances are not only celebrated in Houston’s Wortham Theater Center or across the United States, but are also regularly recognized internationally. In recent years, guest performances have been given at Sadler’s Wells in London, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris .
Since 1970, the Houston Ballet has been accompanied by the Houston Ballet Orchestra in domestic performances .
Location Houston
At first glance, the Texan metropolis is not necessarily a Mecca for big blockbusters à la Hollywood – but what hardly anyone knows: A whole series of international box office hits were filmed in Houston . The world-famous movies include Transformers (2011), Tree of Life (2011) as well as Pearl Harbor (2001) and Armageddon (1998). The award-winning drama “Houston” (2013) by young director Bastian Günther was also shot here. The spotlight is on the Hyatt Regency Houston, Downtown, the historic San Jacinto Monument on the Houston Ship Channel and the highway scenery.
Shopping
- Shoppers will love the high-quality shops in Highland Village.
- Designer bargains at sensational prices are available in the Houston Premium Outletsand in the Tanger Outlets . More than 100 top brands are represented here and attract visitors with unique offers.
- Shop until you drop: Don’t miss a visit to the Houston Galleriain Uptown. 400 shops and restaurants await in the largest shopping center in Texas – brands from A to Z for every budget are included.
- But Houston also has a lot to offer for special, very individual tastes: in numerous unique designer boutiques,from classic-chic to trendy and hip, fashion enthusiasts will find their own personal favorite.
- A Houston souvenir should definitely not be missing on the gift table: the stylish cowboy boots. Particularly trendy examples of the coveted boots are available from Tejas Boots. Here the Texan footwear is still made by hand and from the finest materials.
Sports in Houston
Sport, sportier, Houston! The USA are a people who love sports. The US metropolis of Houston is no exception. The atmosphere during the events alone is worth the trip, starting with the legendary “Kiss-Cam” and top-class music entertainment.
The tips for sports enthusiasts in the USA:
- Baseball fans get their money’s worth at the Houston Astros . The home of the major league baseball team is Minute Maid Park.
- If you like basketball, you shouldn’t miss the Houston Rockets. The games take place in the Toyota Center, which is also the backdrop for concerts.
- American football is popular with the Houston Texans , who play their home games in the National Football League (NFL) at NRG Stadium.
The sports stadiums are conveniently and inexpensively accessible from all points in the city via the Metro Rail.
Golf in Houston
In Houston, golf enthusiasts can look forward to an Eldorado of their favorite sport. On over 165 golf courses in Space City and the region, golf enthusiasts will find fun, sporting challenges and the opportunity to work on their handicap.
The whole country in one fell swoop
Demanding golfers should play on the ” TOUR 18 ” course. The golf course in Humble, northeast of Houston, replicates 18 of the most famous American championship holes. In addition to famous fairways from Ohio, California, Nevada and New York, experienced golfers can try their hand at hole eleven – a replica of hole six on the Disney Magnolia golf course in Orlando, Florida. The original course also complicates the game of golf with 108 sand bunkers – the most famous obstacle in the form of a Mickey Mouse head is recreated at hole eleven in Houston.
For relaxing golf vacations in idyllic surroundings, Houston travelers will also find attractive travel packages in the city’s golf resorts. The varied facilities offer exactly the right thing for every taste and every price limit.
The Golf Club of Houston (formerly Redstone Golf Club) hosted the Houston Open from 2003 to 2019. Around 150 golf professionals compete for the prize money in the PGA tournament.
Houston Bayport Cruise Terminal
The Houston Bayport Cruise Terminal in Pasadena at the gates of Houston offers more than 1,000 car parking spaces, hotels and restaurants and an attractive connection to several airports. It is approximately 30 miles from downtown Houston, 20 miles from Houston William P. Hobby Airport, and 45 miles from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Colorful, tropical seas of flowers, rushing waterfalls, endless, snow-white sandy beaches: USA travelers to Houston can look forward to all of this and much more. Because from the modern Houston Bayport Cruise Terminal, the cruise ships of two of the world’s leading shipping companies set course for the Western Caribbean and Mexico.
In addition to Princess Cruises, the cruise line Norwegian Cruise Lines also docks and leaves Houston. Full speed ahead through the Gulf of Mexico to the dream destinations of Mexico, Belize and Honduras. This makes the US metropolis the ideal starting point for a varied dream vacation – cultural strolls and Wild West myths are followed by limitless cruise adventures with a Caribbean feeling in their luggage.
By the way: For shipping enthusiasts, the Port of Houston offers a free, 90-minute boat tour through the entire port of the city.
Getting there
Since 2012, travelers have been able to fly from Frankfurt am Main to Space City on the Lufthansa Airbus A380. Other flight connections are offered by Air France, Delta, KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways and United Airlines.
Surroundings
Houston is the ideal base from which to explore the vast beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast . If you fancy sand and surfing, simply head to Galveston Island . Sylvan Beach Park and Galveston Island State Park are ideal for swimming and sunbathing on beautiful beaches.
