Houston Travelers Recommend

With two days to spend in Texas’ largest city, you have time to see the highlights of downtown and the Museum District, plus learn more about Texas history and the city’s ties to space exploration. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your 48 hours in Houston. 

Day 1: Essential Houston

**Morning:**Start your trip off with a sightseeing tour of the city. Zip around town on a Segway, hit the highlights with a private guide and driver, or listen to narration as you ride the hop-on hop-off bus, with stops in six neighborhoods. Most tours include visits to Hermann Park, the Museum District, Market Square, Buffalo Bayou, and Downtown Houston.

**Afternoon:**Journey back into Texas history at the Battleship Texas State Historic Site and San Jacinto Monument. The 570-foot-tall (174-meter-tall) monument marks the spot where Sam Houston defeated General Santa Anna in the Texas Revolution. Take the elevator to the top for views of the Houston shipping channel, and board the USS Texas, a battleship that served in both World War I and World War II.

**Night:**Treat your tastebuds to a Houston specialty, whether it be Texas barbecue, Tex-Mex, or Viet-Cajun crawfish. If you’re not sure where to start, join a guided food tour through one of the city’s eclectic neighborhoods.

Day 2: Cultural Exploration

**Morning:**Get an early start for a trip to one of Houston’s most famous attractions, Space Center Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Visitors take a tram tour through the facilities, view Mission Control, and see relics from space travel, including full-size rockets, moon rocks, and an Apollo 17 replica. 

**Afternoon:**Spend your afternoon touring some of the 19 museums in the Houston Museum District. Book your tickets ahead to maximize time, whether you visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Children’s Museum of Houston, or the Menil Collection. Alternatively, spend the afternoon soaking up the Texas sun at Kemah Boardwalk.

**Night:**Top off your Houston visit by exploring the darker side of the city’s history during a haunted pub crawl through downtown. Visit several local bars, each housed within a historically significant building, while learning sordid tales from Houston’s past.

Three days in Houston gives you enough time to explore the city’s neighborhoods, tour the facilities at NASA, treat your tastebuds to the city’s renowned food scene, and still have time for a day trip to Galveston Island. Here are some ideas for how to maximize your time during a 3-day trip to H-Town.

Day 1: Houston Essentials & Outer Space

Your first day in Houston is all about icons—iconic attractions, foods, and experiences. Start with a guided tour, which might include landmarks such as Minute Maid Park (home of the Houston Astros), Market Square, Hermann Park, the Museum District, Buffalo Bayou, and Downtown. Join a private or small-group tour to learn more about what you’re seeing from a local guide, or take advantage of the double-decker hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus to travel at your own pace. In the afternoon, head south to Space Center Houston, made famous by Apollo 13’s line “Houston, we have a problem.” Tours of the facility let visitors look in on Mission Control and see a real Saturn V rocket, among other space memorabilia. Wrap up your first day by tucking into a famous Houston food, whether it be barbecue, Tex-Mex, or Viet-Cajun seafood.

Day 2: History & Culture

Houston is rich in history and heritage, so set aside a day to explore the culture of the city. One great place to start is the Houston Museum District, a collection of 19 museums in a compact area. Book your admission tickets ahead of time and skip the line at the Museum of Fine Arts, Children’s Museum of Houston, or the Houston Museum of Natural Science. You could easily spend an entire day (or more) in the area, but if you need a break, spend the afternoon touring Houston’s hidden network of underground tunnels or visiting the historic San Jacinto Monument and Battleship Texas. Each Houston neighborhood has its own unique vibe; explore one of them—choose from downtown, the Heights, Montrose, or Sugar Land—during an evening food tour.

Day 3: Galveston

Now that you’ve explored the best Houston has to offer, take your last day to enjoy a leisurely day trip to Galveston Island. A day spent in this historic city on the Texas Gulf shore might involve touring Victorian homes, browsing shops in the Strand District, soaking up sun on the beach, or cruising the Gulf of Mexico in search of dolphins. Dine on fresh Gulf shrimp with dinner at a Galveston restaurant, or head back to Houston for a night out downtown or a meal at one of the many international restaurants in neighborhoods such as Westheimer, Bellaire, or Hillcroft. 

Houston, one of the largest and most diverse cities in the US, is a culinary and cultural capital that has it all—a modern downtown, world-class museum district, internationally renowned medical center, and an exciting up-and-coming dining scene. Here’s how to spend one day in this Texas metropolis.

Morning: City Sightseeing

Houston is big—Texas big—so get your bearings with a city sightseeing tour to some of Houston’s top attractions. Go for the value of a small-group tour or the flexibility of a private tour. If you’d rather explore on your own, climb aboard the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus to tour the city at your own pace. No matter which option you choose, you’ll get to see places such as Minute Maid Park, City Hall, Houston Astrodome, Houston Medical Center, Market Square, and Hermann Park. 

Afternoon: Museum District

Houston is home to some of the nation’s best museums, all located in a compact museum district. Explore one or two of these collections this afternoon. Learn more about the natural world at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, or travel the world through the free exhibits at the Menil Collection. Art lovers shouldn’t miss the Museum of Fine Arts, while kids love the Children’s Museum of Houston. Most are located near sprawling Hermann Park, one of the city’s most popular outdoor green spaces and a great place to get some fresh air in the heart of the city.

Night: Neighborhood Dining

Now that you’ve worked up an appetite from all that sightseeing, spend your evening eating your way through Houston’s stellar food landscape. Several neighborhoods offer food tours, including hip Heights, the downtown Warehouse District, Sugar Land, and quirky Montrose. You’ll get to sample dishes from favorite local spots serving a range of international and fusion cuisine.

Houston was recently named the most ethnically diverse city in the United States—and that diversity is reflected in its culinary melting pot, which combines Texas classics with everything from South African sandwiches to Korean braised lamb. Here are some of the city’s must-try dishes and food experiences.

Must-Try Dishes

In Houston, as in much of Texas, two food icons reign supreme: barbecue and Tex-Mex. The former typically features slow-smoked brisket with a dry rub instead of a sauce. The latter is somewhat of its own food group in H-town, encompassing everything from tacos and burritos to fajitas and enchiladas. No matter what Tex-Mex dish you’re nomming on, it’s best served with a side of gooey chile con queso. Those who believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day are in luck: breakfast tacos are sure to get your day off to the right start.

Houston’s diversity has given birth to some rather unique fusion foods, none more famous among locals than Viet-Cajun crawfish. Cajun influences combined with one of the country’s largest Vietnamese populations has yielded this succulent seafood favorite, made from boiled crawfish tossed in garlic butter and cayenne pepper as well as Southeast Asian ingredients like lemongrass, ginger, and Thai basil. It’s location on the Gulf of Mexico means seafood features prominently in the gastronomic landscape, particularly gulf shrimp, which are often served fried.

Must-Do Experiences

• Explore the diversity of Houston on a walking food tour of the downtown, Sugar Land, Montrose, or Houston Heights neighborhoods.

• Satisfy your thirst with a tour of Houston’s exploding craft beer and spirits scene through the lens of breweries and distilleries in the Woodlands, Houston Heights, Pearland, or Cypress.

• Combine a pub crawl through some of downtown Houston’s most historic buildings with stories of the city’s haunted history.