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Houston |
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Houston
Welcome to Houston, gateway to the great indoors. Summers are long, hot, and soupy here, which is probably why most Houston activities are enjoyed inside, often after dark. Shopping is practically an organized sport. What surprises many visitors, though, is the range of cultural attractions found in this part of Texas.
Activities and Attractions:
Houston sprawls, but it does have some lovely, well defined neighborhoods. Many visitors find themselves in Uptown, home of the enormous Galleria shopping mall. Its 320 shops include many of the usual upscale suspects such as Gucci, Armani, and Lord & Taylor.
Downtown is where you’ll find the city’s theater district and a lot of other evening entertainment as well, including the symphony, an opera house, and the ballet. One curious attraction of the neighborhood is the underground city, six miles of tunnels lined with subterranean shops and restaurants. You can access the tunnels from City Hall and many downtown hotels.
Adjacent to Downtown is the South Main neighborhood. It’s the home of Rice University as well as Houston’s museum district. Must-see collections include the world-class Museum of Fine Arts, the Children’s Museum of Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The Houston Zoological Gardens are here, as well.
The museum district, incidentally, continues into the Montrose neighborhood, a colorful quarter full of artsy shops and galleries with a lot of character. In Montrose, you’ll find the Menil Collections, which include 15,000 pieces ranging from paintings to sculpture and even rare books.
Insider Tip:
Frying-pan flat, and covering an area approaching that of a small New England state, Houston isn’t the easiest city to navigate. Locals rely on not just one map, but a binder of well organized, detailed maps called a Key Map, sold in pharmacies and convenience stores.
-Exclusively for Perfect Escapes by Nicole Clausing |
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