After my previous quick trips to Houston, Texas and my latest Labor Day weekend visit, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what Houston has to offer. I’ll admit, growing up in Dallas and now in my 10th year in Austin, I didn’t think of Houston very highly. I didn’t know the city very well. My feelings changed by the end of the trip and as we were leaving, I couldn’t stop saying, “I really like Houston. I want to come back here.”
Houston is a fun city to visit! Our Houston trip revolved around art, food, and friends. The Kusama exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts was the main reason for traveling to Houston, but we saw a bunch of historic sights too. We met up with friends who lived in/near Houston and watched football and went dancing. We packed as much as we could in two and a half days, and there are definitely more spots for our another trip!
Here are some suggestions for things to do in Houston.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership Cistern
This 30-minute tour underground to see the cistern was interesting and eerie. We learned all about the cistern’s history and admired its reflective darkness. If you want to visit, check their website for reservations. They only allow a certain number of people on each tour and you need to arrive on time.
NASA Johnson Space Center
This place is for all the space enthusiasts! See artifacts, visiting exhibits, and more. Learn all about space history.
Beer Can House
File this under weird but cool. Began in 1968, the Beer Can House transformed over 18 years with new additions of beer cans in all forms. There are an estimated 50,000 cans attached to this house!
Waterwall Park
Take a quick stop at the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park for a look-see and photo-op. The 64-foot fountain circulates 11,000 gallons of water each minute!
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
We made it to Houston right before the visiting “Kusama: At the End of the Universe” exhibit would leave. I didn’t know much about Kusama before the exhibit, only that she was a Japanese artist. From the quotes posted around the exhibits and her art, I learned her inspiration in love and her thoughts on the afterlife. It was a captivating and magical exhibit and I want to see her other exhibits in Los Angeles and Tokyo!
Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity
Love is Calling by Kusama
We also toured the other exhibits in the museum. James Turrell’s The Light Inside Tunnel was one of my favorite experiences, as well as the visiting ‘Statements: African American Art from the Museum’s Collection’ and ‘The Age of Kusama: Pop Art and Minimalism’ exhibits.
The Menil Collection
This always-free art museum has permanent and special exhibits. Their mission to make art accessible brings varying and interesting exhibits to the museum.
Contemporary Art Museum Houston
This contemporary art museum showcases two galleries and eight to ten different exhibits per year.
James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace
We also visited James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace on the Rice University campus. The Skyspace is a 40-minute sequence and is best seen at sunrise or sunset. The structure is massive and the lights at sunset were dreamy. There are two levels inside the structure where you can sit and admire the lights. The middle of the roof has a square cut out of it, so you can see the colors blend into the sky. We made free reservations on the website for sunset, and reservations are required for sunset only.
Rothko Chapel
We stopped by the chapel but the obelisk structure had been removed for restoration. The inside of the chapel is for meditation if you prefer to partake.
Murals
You can find murals around Austin. Many of the ones we saw were in the Montrose neighborhood. Here’s a handy Houston mural guide by Where + Wear + Well.
Biscuit Paint Wall
This colorful mural has been a popular stop for visitors and locals alike.
Nightlife
We weren’t too familiar with the nightlife and couldn’t find solid information, so we decided to go dancing at Barbarella, a place we like in Austin with a location in Houston. It was a fun time but very loud!
Sports
Houston is the home of many major league sports teams. See the:
- Houston Rockets (NBA) at Toyota Center
- Houston Astros (MLB) at Minute Maid Park
- Houston Texans (NFL) at NRG Stadium
- Houston Dynamo (MLS) and Houston Dash (NWSL) at BBVA Compass
Want to read more about Houston? Check out my Houston Travel Guide and Best Restaurants in Houston.
Have you been to Houston? What activities and sights would you recommend?
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