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Houston Maps & Attractions Guide
Houston maps & Attractions - Things to do
in Houston
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Houston
Attractions - Things to do
1. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
1601 NASA Road 1
www.spacecenter.org |
What is it? The visitor's Space Center is attached to the
headquarters of America's manned space programme, Nasa's 'Mission
Control' that directs the space shuttle project and guided the
pioneering astronauts. The Space Center, Houston's most popular
tourist attraction, is located at Clear Lake, 20 miles (32km)
southeast of downtown, off the Gulf freeway I-45. There are
numerous wonders to behold at this facility, which both entertains
and educates, from a mock-up of a space shuttle to an Imax theatre
and hundreds of hands-on exhibits. Tram tours run every half hour
taking in the highlights, including Rocket Park where retired
spacecraft come to rest, Mission Control and even astronauts in
training.
Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 10am to 7pm (June), 9am to 7pm
(July), 10am to 5pm (August); weekends 10am to 7pm. Winter hours
are 10am to 5pm, closing at 6pm on weekends
Phone:(281) 244 2100 |
2. Museum District
www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org |
What is it? Set within a scenic part of central Houston
is the city's Museum District, featuring 11 varied and interesting
institutions and numerous restaurants set among some lovely green
spaces like Hermann Park. One of the highlights in the area is the
Byzantine Fresco Chapel on the corner of Branard and Yupon Streets
containing 13th century frescoes from Cyprus. There is also a
children's museum, contemporary arts museum and the Houston
Holocaust Museum. One of the most interesting museums in the
district is the Museum of Health and Medical Science, which
features a walk-through re-creation of the human body. The Menil
Museum has a collection of contemporary, surrealistic and 20th
century art in an interesting building at Sul Ross. In Hermann Park
is the comprehensive Museum of Natural Science and Planetarium, the
Houston Zoo and a Japanese Garden.
Hours of Operation: Various
Phone:(713) 437 5200 (Greater Houston Convention and Visitors
Bureau) |
3. The Orange Show
2402 Munger Street
www.orangeshow.org |
What is it? For a touch of the bizarre call at the Orange
Show to see how obsession can become art. A former postman spent 26
years of his life assembling a collection of weird and wonderful
objects and meshing them together into a labyrinth of passages and
staircases, almost all of it orange. The result is a quirky
curiosity, which is billed as 'folk art'.
Hours of Operation: Wednesday to Friday 9am to 1pm; Saturday and Sunday
12pm to 5pm (31 May to 6 September). Saturday and Sunday only 12pm
to 5pm (20 March to 31 May and 6 September to
mid-December)
Phone:(713) 926 6368 |
4. Sam Houston Historical Park
1100 Bagby Street
www.heritagesociety.org |
What is it? The Sam Houston Historical Park near the
city's visitor centre in Bagby Street provides visitors with a
large as life look at Houston history. The 19-acre park features
seven of the city's oldest buildings that have been restored and
relocated here. The oldest building is a small 1826 cabin that
originally stood at Clear Lake, while one of the more recent is the
17-room home built in 1905 for oil field pioneer Henry T.
Staiti.
Hours of Operation: Museum hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am-4pm, Sundays
1pm-4pm. Historic House tours: Tuesday to Friday 10am, 11.30am, 1pm
and 2.30pm; Saturdays 10am-3pm on the hour; Sundays 1pm-3pm on the
hour
Phone:(713) 655 1912 |
5. Bayou Bend
1Westcott Street
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What is it? The magnificent muted pink mansion in the
marshy elbow of Buffalo Bayou in Houston's River Oaks area was the
home of Miss Ima Hogg, a woman much loved in the community until
her death in 1975, at the age of 93. Miss Hogg left her home and
the gracious gardens that surround it as a legacy for the city. The
house contains a remarkable collection of Americana and is regarded
as a cultural treasure, with several thousand objects displayed in
28 period room settings in the mansion. Miss Hogg designed the
gardens as outdoor living rooms, fed by bayou waters, and today
they continue to provide a peaceful oasis in the heart of the
metropolis planted with indigenous species as well as exotics like
azaleas, camellias and magnolias.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday 1pm to 5pm.
Guided tours are available, but advance reservations are
necessary
Phone:(713) 639 7750 |
6. National Museum of Funeral History
www.nmfh.org |
What is it? At Barren Springs near Houston's
International Airport is the unusual private museum run by a major
funeral company in the United States, dedicated to funeral
memorabilia. Customs, rituals and traditions associated with burial
from ancient Egypt to the present day are covered in this
interesting institution. Highlights of the collection are restored
horse-drawn and vintage automobile hearses, and a unique 1916
Packard funeral bus. The museum also features a gallery devoted to
the funerals of the famous, containing memorabilia from the
funerals of Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy and Rudolph
Valentino.
Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm; Saturday and Sunday
12pm to 4pm
Phone:(281) 876 3063 |
7. Galveston
www.galvestoncvb.com |
What is it? Galveston is a barrier island in the Gulf of
Mexico, located 50 miles (80km) southeast of Houston and connected
to the mainland by bridge. The island city is Texas' most popular
seaside resort, drawing holidaymakers all year round for its
historic attractions, beaches and resort hotels. Prior to 1900
Galveston was a strategic and busy port city, but a hurricane that
virtually destroyed the city and killed thousands of islanders put
paid to its commercial prospects. Since then the emphasis has been
placed on tourism and the island is now safe, having been protected
with a strong seawall. The island offers 32 miles (51km) of beach
and all the modern recreation and leisure facilities to make it a
sought after resort.
Hours of Operation:
Phone:(888) 425 4753 (Galveston Island Visitor Information
Hotline) |
Houston Holidays guide
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Transport -Visitors to Houston are well advised to
hire a car, which is relatively inexpensive and provides the
quickest and most convenient way to navigate the spread-out city.
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