Top 20 Things to Do in Houston

Houston, also known as Bayou City or Space City, is situated in the southeast of Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It was founded in 1836 and is named after Sam Houston, who was a key leader in Texas’ independence from Mexico. Today, the city is the fourth most populous city in the United States and is home to a wide range of attractions that draw visitors from all over the world.

From its green spaces like Hermann Park and Buffalo Bayou Park providing visitors a relaxing break from the rush of the city, the Space Center, which is the official visitors center of NASA Johnson Space Center and the reason for Houston’s name as Space City, to its world-class Museum District, which is home to amazing museums like The Menil Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, and Holocaust Museum, its cultural attractions like Chinatown, and shopping malls like The Galleria, the city of Houston is like a treasure of gems waiting to be mined.

Worried about how to spend your time in Houston? Don’t worry, we have got you covered. Below is the list of the best Houston things to do. Whether you are a nature enthusiast, an art and music lover, a history buff, or a wildlife fan, this list has it all. Keep reading and explore more!

The Space Center Houston serves as the official visitors center of NASA Johnson Space Center and is also known as Space City. It was opened in 1992 and features major exhibitions like the Astronaut Gallery, the Starship Gallery featuring flying spacecraft, the International Space Station Gallery, Rocket Park with a real Saturn V rocket, Mission Mars, and Independence Plaza, home to the shuttle replica Independence. Visitors can also see moon rocks, spacesuits, past capsules, and various other exhibitions showcasing astronaut training, the history of mission controls, and upcoming advancements in space exploration.

Buffalo Bayou Park is situated along the 2.3-mile section of Buffalo Bayou between Shepherd Drive and Sabine Street near downtown Houston. It is a 160-acre property that allows visitors to unwind in gardens and picnic spots, kayak on the bayou, and bike or stroll along the picturesque routes. It is also home to Johnny Steele Dog Park, a 30,000-square-foot Lee and Joe Jamail Skate Park for skating, and the Barbara Fish Daniel Nature Play Area, which features rocks, logs, and waterfalls. Moreover, visitors can also explore the Cistern, which is an underground former reservoir that is a public art space and hosts tours.

The Museum of Fine Arts is situated in Houston’s Museum District and is one of the biggest art museums in the United States. It is home to a collection of nearly 80,000 pieces of artwork ranging from ancient relics to modern art and spanning 5,000 years. The highlights at the museum include Italian Renaissance painting, African and pre-Columbian gold, French Impressionism, contemporary Latin American works, and American art. The campus features several buildings, including the Kinder Building for modern art, the Cullen Sculpture Garden, two historic house museums including Rienzi and Bayou Bend Collection, an art school, and year-round rotating exhibitions, films, festivals, and lectures.

The Menil Collection was established by John and Dominique de Menil and serves as a free museum with more than 25,000 pieces ranging from prehistoric to modern art. The 30-acre campus features a main building, Cy Twombly Gallery, Dan Flavin installation, Menil Drawing Institute, Fresco Building, and several green spaces. The collections in the museum feature Byzantine, Surrealist, medieval, Pacific, African, and modern art and include pieces by Picasso, Rothko, Warhol, Magritte, and Twombly. The museum places a strong emphasis on simple and label-free displays that let visitors directly interact with rotating exhibitions, prints, drawings, rare books, and sculptures.

Chinatown in Houston is a six-square-mile international district that is home to the second-largest Indochinese population in the United States. It was founded in 1983 and features several Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Middle Eastern, and Thai stores, markets, and cultural institutions. It is also home to a wide range of restaurants, including Ocean Palace serving dim sum, Don’s Sandwiches serving banh mi, MDK Noodle offering hand-cut noodles, Tiger Den famous for its ramen, and Cajun Kitchen known for its Viet Cajun crawfish. Make your way towards Harwin Drive to enjoy bargain shopping, while bubble tea lovers can walk through the streets dotted with King Fu Tea and Juice Box stores.

Bayou Bend Collections and Gardens is a 14-acre house and museum that is situated in River Oaks, Houston, as part of the Museum of Fine Arts. The 1920s mansion was once the residence of the philanthropist Ima Hogg; however, it is now home to 28 period rooms, including the Murphy Room, Drawing Room, Pine Room, and Grecian-style Chilmann Suite. These rooms feature one of the best collections of American decorative arts and paintings from 1620 to 1876. Outside the mansion, visitors can also explore themed gardens like Diana, Butterfly, Euterpe, and White Gardens, and stroll through wooded pathways. You can also visit the Lora Jean Kilroy Visitors Center nearby, which has exhibitions, a library, and public terraces.

The Holocaust Museum Houston allows visitors to learn about the Holocaust, other acts of genocide, and the dangers of prejudice and hatred. The museum features three levels. The first floor is home to the Human Rights Gallery, a Danish rescue boat, a WWII train, the Holocaust Gallery with survivor testimony, and interactive stories of the young diarists. The second level features the Moral Choices Hall, the Butterfly Loft Monuments, the Herzstein Theater for performances, and the Samuel Bak Gallery. Lastly, the third floor features the Boniuk Library, which is home to over 10,000 volumes and 285 oral testimonials for study and contemplation.

Discovery Green is a famous 12-acre park in downtown Houston that welcomes visitors to explore, play, and unwind. Visit the Kinder Lake, where you can sail model boats, or make your way towards the Gateway Fountain offering playful splashes to visitors of all ages. Children can visit the John P. McGovern Playground and Mist Tree, while adults can enjoy bocce, horseshoes, and croquet. You can also admire the public art, have a picnic in the wide gardens, or enjoy live music, theater, and dancing at the Anheuser-Busch Stage. Visitors can also dine by the lake at The Grove or Lake House and shop at seasonal markets to complete the experience.

The Cockrell Butterfly Center is situated in the Houston Museum of Natural Science and is home to a three-story glass rainforest with a 50-foot waterfall and 1,500 to 2,000 butterflies from 60 species. Visitors can walk through the rainforest, see butterflies land and feed, and participate in flight school to release a butterfly. It is also home to the Hall of Entomology, which features insects like praying mantises and hissing cockroaches, as well as several interactive displays on arthropod anatomy. Visit the center’s community science garden and the Native Showcase Garden, which teaches pollinator-friendly gardening, providing visitors with a great educational experience.

When looking for the best free things to do in Houston, visiting Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park serves as a great option. It is a 7.5-acre venue that hosts free performances from March through November. The theater was established in 1923 and features films, ballets, Shakespeare, classical music, jazz, ethnic dance, and movies. It has 1,705 interior seats, 20 wheelchair spots, and an 80,000-square-foot sloping lawn for an additional 4,500 people. During the summer, Miller Outdoor Theatre collaborates with the Houston Symphony and hosts a summer symphony night series. The stage has full theatrical equipment, lighting, and an orchestra pit.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science was established more than a century ago in the Museum District and is home to a wide range of immersive halls. The highlights of the museum include the interactive Weiss Energy and Welch Chemistry Halls, the Texas Wildlife Hall that features lifelike dioramas, the Ancient Egypt Hall, home to 5,000-year-old relics, and the Morian Hall of Paleontology, which features over 450 fossils spanning 3.5 billion years. Moreover, visitors can also see the famous Foucault Pendulum here, which shows how the Earth rotates, as well as minerals, jewels, mollusks, and African wildlife displays. It is also home to the Butterfly Center and Planetarium, where families, kids, and curious minds will enjoy.

The Houston Zoo is a 55-acre facility that is situated in Hermann Park near the Texas Medical Center. It is home to more than 6,000 animals from 900 species and features animals like gorillas, patas monkeys, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, sea lions, and sloths. Some of the well-known exhibits at the zoo include the African Forest, Texas Wetland, Bug House, Galápagos Island, and McNair Asian Elephant Habitat. Visitors can also feed the giraffes, meet the goats, ride on the wildlife carousel, or go on behind-the-scenes tours, which demonstrate how zookeepers take care of the animals. The zoo also promotes wildlife conservation in more than 20 nations, making it one of the best Houston attractions to visit.

The Galleria is situated in the Uptown district of Houston and is the largest mall in Houston, spanning three million square feet. It is home to more than 400 stores, including well-known brands like H&M and Gap, as well as luxury labels like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, and Prada. It also features a wide range of famous eateries, including The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s, Del Frisco’s Grille, and Maggiano’s Little Italy, as well as laid-back options like Shake Shack. Moreover, the mall also features an ice rink, a post office, and two Westin hotels, combining dining, shopping, and entertainment under one roof.

The Kemah Boardwalk is situated along Galveston Bay and Clear Lake and is approximately 30 miles from Houston. It is a 60-acre amusement park that features exhilarating rides such as roller coasters, the Aviator, Boardwalk Tower, and the high-speed Boardwalk Beast boat ride, as well as midway and arcade games. It is also home to a 65-foot Ferris wheel and a 36-foot carousel that features stunning views of the surrounding landscape. Kemah Boardwalk is also home to various dining establishments, including Landry’s Seafood, Saltgrass Steakhouse, Pizza Oven, and Joe’s Crab Shack, providing a full family experience.

The Downtown Aquarium in Houston is a 500,000-gallon complex that features several displays, rides, and a dining area. It is home to displays like Louisiana Swamp, which features alligators; a shipwreck home to coral reefs and octopus; Sunken Temple, famous for its 20-foot python; a rainforest exhibit that features poison dart frogs and piranhas; Discovery Rig, where you can see stingrays and baby sharks; and White Tiger of the Maharaja’s Temple, which is home to four unique white tigers. Lastly, visitors can also ride the Ferris wheel, aquatic carousel, or explore the tunnels of sharks on the Shark Voyage Train. It also has a dining place that serves surf and turf with aquarium views.

The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park is situated close to The Galleria and features a magnificent 64-foot U-shaped fountain that was constructed in post-modernist style by Philip Johnson and John Burgee in 1985. After every three hours and 27 minutes, 78,500 gallons of recycled water flows down from the fountain’s wall, creating a thundering and foggy scene for visitors. The park spans three acres and is shaded by more than 180 magnificent live oaks, providing spaces for romantic walks, picnics, and Frisbee games. The park is free to enter, and the parking is located nearby at the Williams Tower.

The murals in Houston cover its boutiques, restaurants, studios, and parking lots and range in complexity from simple and colorful to monochromatic while conveying messages ranging from political to universal. Highlights of downtown Houston murals include the “Abstract Happy Beach Wall” on St. Emmanuel and Leeland Streets, the “Houston Is Inspired” mural at Preston and Travis, and the “Houston Graffiti Building” at Chartres and Bell. The Montrose neighborhood is known for its “Biscuit Paint Wall,” while you can visit the enormous five-story “Preservons La Creation” mural in Midtown. Make sure to be mindful of your surroundings and arrive early to enjoy the art without crowds.

The National Museum of Funeral History was opened in 1992 and serves as the only museum in America that is dedicated to the history of funeral services. The 35,000-square-foot complex is home to twelve permanent displays, including vintage hearses, embalming instruments, unique coffins, and ancient Egyptian funerary customs. Highlights include papal funeral exhibits made in collaboration with the Vatican, Abraham Lincoln’s death mask, George Washington’s original funeral bill, and presidential funeral artifacts. A few exhibits also explore African American funeral customs from New Orleans, providing visitors with a distinctive understanding of funeral customs from around the world.

The Houston Botanic Garden was established in 2020 on a former golf course near the Sims Bayou and covers an area of 132 acres. It is home to a wide range of themed gardens, including Global, Culinary, Coastal Prairie, and Stormwater Wetlands, where you can explore numerous plants from tropical, subtropical, edible, and medicinal varieties. It also features interactive areas like Woodland Glade, Community Garden, and Susan Garver Family Discovery Garden, where you can engage in hands-on activities like boardwalk maze and scavenger hunt. You can also explore walking routes, take in wildlife, birds, and butterflies, and participate in educational events for an enhanced experience.

POST Houston is a multi-story center for dining, shopping, entertainment, and arts in Houston and is housed in the historic Barbara Jordan Post Office. Visitors can explore distinctive stores, changing art exhibitions, as well as several dining establishments like Soy Pinoy, Salt & Time Butcher Shop, Blendin Coffee, and Flowers & Cream. It is also home to the 713 Music Hall, where 5,000 people can enjoy concerts and musical performances. Visitors can also check out the five-acre rooftop park, which features a one-acre vegetable garden, live DJs, pop-ups, and views of the city skyline. Its restored modern façade and elevated plaza location add to its architectural charm.

Exploring the best Houston attractions? Stay at Sterling Inn & Suites Houston for easy access to the city’s top things to do, comfortable rooms, and a convenient location.