Houston's been getting grip as a really cool area to go to for a pair of years currently, and as a Houstonian, it's YOUR work to keep that reputation to life and legitimate. Sure, you can take a three-hour cable car tour of the Johnson Space Center or invest all the time checking out the city's lots of, many galleries, but we're rather sure your friend is never ever coming back if that's all you do. Rather, take 'em out to several of our finest dining establishments to display Houston's culinary expertise ... and after that go to several of our finest bars, where they'll undoubtedly fail to remember the names of our best dining establishments.
Below you'll discover the best points to do in Houston, despite if you've lived below all your life or remain in town for 5 minutes. Varying in price from "cost-free as hell" to "wish you made money today," below's the coolest stuff H-Town needs to provide.
Obtain wonderstruck at the James Turrell Skyspace
Free
Rice University
Not numerous visitor attractions are in fact worthy, yet this totally rad light and also sound setup definitely is. Discover right following to the Shepherd School of Music on the Rice University school, the acoustically crafted masterpiece is called "Twilight Epiphany" thanks to a trippy LED light sequence.
Take a barbecue to the stage
Free
Gallery District
From March through November, the al fresco Miller Outdoor Theatre puts on vibrant phase productions-- assume live jazz, ballet, as well as musical comedy-- that are definitely awesome as well as absolutely totally free. It really certainly attracts a crowd, so join that group along with a covering, some boxed a glass of wine & regional cheese, and also your super-impressed visitor of selection. In the off-season, a picnic at Downtown's city park, Discovery Green, is another wise selection.
Teach them exactly how to Topgolf
$$.
Katy (& Webster & Spring).
It's sort of like instructing them just how to dougie, but method colder. As opposed to appearing like a bonehead, you'll be smacking golf rounds at colored targets, controling life-size Connect Four, and also consuming alcohol a decent amount of beer pails. Don't let its outside-the-loop location quit you from this excellent time (there's always Uber to kindly supply transportation if you plan to alcohol).
BYOB to Chinatown.
$$.
Chinatown/Sharpstown.
A trip to Asiatown is never ever not a good concept, yet when you tack on BYOB options, points obtain a little bit additional. You'll wish to pair something hoppy with the intense curries at Mamak Malaysian, fork-tender lamb shank masala, and also Pakistani-spiced fried poultry at Himalaya, garlic-butter Vietnamese-style crawfish at Crawfish Cafe, and also warm peppercorn beef and pot-roasted fish at Mala Sichuan Bistro (which uses a superb in-house a glass of wine list in situation you entirely blank as well as forget your container, as well).
See bats at the Waugh Bridge.
Free.
Montrose.
True tale: when the Waugh Bridge was constructed, no one recognized it was the best framework to host a whole lot of Mexican free-tailed bats. Well, evidently it was, because citizens started seeing a bat colony around '99. Before Hurricane Harvey, the bridge held concerning 300,000 of the little guys, and though some really did not make it through the devastating tornado, the nest remains. Today, you'll discover the bats hanging tight up until they spiral of the bridge's holes on warm nights around sundown. Head to the viewing platform as well as you might just capture a bat program, which never ever fails to both fascinate as well as slip the hell out of visitors.
Check out a secret below ground cistern.
$.
Midtown.
The Buffalo Bayou Partnership has actually done a lot for this city, and one of the raddest of its payments was re-imagining this 1927 commercial antique right into a public area, organizing docent-led strolling scenic tours and a series of art setups (the current of which is a trippy optical experience from world-renowned musician Carlos Cruz-Diez, on sight via January 2019). With 200 concrete columns soaring 25-feet and 87,500-square-feet of open space, the cavernous framework is evocative old Roman tanks in Istanbul. Historical tours cost $5 ($ 10 for the art setup) as well as can authorize up for $5 reflection sessions on Sundays from 10 to 11am.
Rental fee a B-cycle.
$.
Several places.
Among the sweetest means to learn more about a city is by biking it, so strike up among bike sharing program B-cycle's 60 (and counting) stations to rent a bike for $3 per 30 minutes. Or go full-on Tour de Houston as well as enroll in the $9 regular monthly subscription, which will certainly open unlimited 60-minute trips for the whole month (or even more like the whole weekend break for your site visitors). Given that you'll have to check the bike in once an hour to prevent additional fees, we recommend taking a trip along the bayou and also right into Downtown and also Midtown, where you'll locate a collection of quits and an entire lot of places to "quench your thirst" in between; or head straight for Houston's tree-lined Museum District.
Pull off a brewery Triple Crown.
$-$$$.
Several areas.
Houston's brew scene is having a moment, so it stands to reason that you ought to partake as heavily in that moment as your liver will enable. Beginning at Houston's (and Texas') oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold, which opens the beer hall for totally free trips as well as a la carte food and also beverage acquisitions Monday via Saturday.
Bar get on Downtown's megablock.
$$-$$$$.
Midtown.
While Houston is recognized for its sprawl, that's not the situation Downtown, where inviting drinking establishments sit so close together we're amazed there haven't been any turf wars. See how nicely the bars play together by getting started on a DIY bar crawl, beginning TX with beverages for a reason at OKRA Charity Saloon, hopping your means to adeptly crafted drinks at Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirits Lodge and Moving Sidewalk, mezcal-laced alcoholic drinks at The Pastry War, scotch shots at Boots 'n Shoots, and returning to end the night with dance at Nightingale Room or quirkiness at notsuoH, since those are the only ways to finish the night. Oh wait no, there's also pizza Roma's or Frank's.
Houston's been obtaining grip as an actually cool area to go to for a couple of years currently, and as a Houstonian, it's YOUR job to maintain that track record alive and also legitimate. Instead, take 'em out to some of our ideal restaurants to show off Houston's cooking prowess ... and after that go to some of our ideal bars, where they'll definitely forget the names of our ideal dining establishments.
Or go full-on Tour de Houston and authorize up for the $9 month-to-month membership, which will open limitless 60-minute trips for the whole month (or more like the whole weekend break for your visitors). Since you'll have to examine the bike in once a hr to prevent added fees, we suggest taking a flight along the bayou and right into Downtown as well as Midtown, where you'll find a collection of stops and also a whole number of areas to "appease your thirst" in between; or head right for Houston's tree-lined Museum District.
Beginning at Houston's (and also Texas') oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold, which opens up the beer hall for free excursions and a la carte food and also drink acquisitions Monday through Saturday.