Houston
The fourth-largest city in the United States, sprawling with no zoning plan across the Texas coastal plain, from where NASA's mission control guided astronauts to the Moon. People come for one of the country's richest museum districts, a chapel of dark Rothko canvases, bayous turned into parks and one of the most mixed food scenes in America, from Texas barbecue to Viet-Cajun crawfish.
By PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ views on Google MapsBy PierrickLocal Guide ★8 · 14M+ Maps views
🇺🇸 🚀
Houston · Photo Erik Mclean / Pexels
Things to do in Houston in 5 days
Day 1
Learn moreMore
The official visitor centre of NASA's Johnson Space Center, with capsules, moon rocks, a shuttle replica on its Boeing 747, and tram tours to a Saturn V and the astronaut training building.
💡 Arrive at opening time and go first to Guest Services to pick up a timed boarding pass for the trams, whose places go quickly; book the Apollo mission control tour online, two weeks ahead if possible. Parking costs $10, about €9. Price: $29.95-39.95, about €26-34, per adult online depending on the date, $5 more on site.
Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
Learn moreMore
The battlefield where Sam Houston's army won Texas independence in 18 minutes in 1836, crowned by a star-topped obelisk taller than the Washington Monument, with an observation deck and museum.
💡 The park is open every day from 9am to 6pm, but the monument and museum only Wednesday to Sunday. Combine it with Space Center Houston, 30 minutes to the south. Price: site free, monument and platform $14, about €12, adults, $6, about €5, up to age 11.
Yinan Chen / Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A 65-hectare park along the bayou west of downtown, with walking and cycling paths, skyline views, the vast underground Cistern of 1926 and 300,000 bats leaving the Waugh Drive bridge at dusk.
💡 Hire a bike at the Water Works or a kayak from downtown, then stay for the bats emerging from the Waugh Drive bridge at sunset. The Cistern opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, for 30-minute guided tours: book ahead. Price: park free, Cistern tour charged.
Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
Learn moreMore
A free collection from Magritte and Max Ernst to African and Oceanic art in a Renzo Piano building, and nearby the Rothko Chapel, an octagon of fourteen dark Rothko canvases.
💡 The Menil opens Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm, and the chapel Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, with closures for events about twice a month. Sit for a few minutes in the chapel, without your phone: the place is made for it. Price: free.
Another Believer / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
Learn moreMore
One of America's largest art museums, with nearly 70,000 works across three buildings including Mies van der Rohe's glass wing, from antiquities to Impressionism and outstanding Latin American art.
💡 Come on a Thursday: the permanent collections are free and the museum stays open until 9pm. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Allow half a day for two buildings. Price: $24, about €21, for full admission for an adult, free up to age 12.
Michael Barera / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
One of America's most visited museums, with complete T. rex and triceratops skeletons in hunting scenes, a hall of giant gems and minerals, an energy hall, a planetarium and a butterfly centre.
💡 Come at opening time on a weekday, preferably a Monday, the quietest days; school groups arrive around 10am. The museum opens from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 6pm Friday to Sunday. Price: $25, about €22, aged 12 and over, $16, about €14, ages 3 to 11.
Agsftw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 5
Learn moreMore
The Museum District's great 1914 park, with a Japanese garden, a rose garden, pedal boats on McGovern Lake, a miniature train, the free Miller Outdoor Theatre and the Houston Zoo.
💡 Come at the end of the day, when the heat eases, for a pedal-boat ride and the Japanese garden, then check the Miller Outdoor Theatre programme for a free evening on the lawn. The METRORail stops at the park entrance. Price: park free, zoo and attractions charged.
Agsftw / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
Several kilometres of Vietnamese, Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean shopping centres, tea houses, bakeries and hundreds of restaurants, where Houston popularised Viet-Cajun crawfish tossed in butter, garlic and lemongrass.
💡 Come in the evening or at the weekend, by car, and go from counter to counter: phở for breakfast, dim sum at lunchtime, crawfish from January to June, when they are in season. Hong Kong City Mall serves as a landmark. Price: free, meals from $12, about €10.
Hequals2henry / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
Take this plan everywhere
Download your itinerary (Houston) as a PDF: day by day, activities, times and where to stay. Matches the length you chose.
Don't feel like organising everything? A local partner travel agent can set it all up for you (flights, hotels, activities). We pass on your preferences and they call you back. Free and with no obligation.
Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Houston.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Have you thought of…?
The little details that make all the difference once you're there.
Similar itineraries
📄 See the full guide: Houston, detailed month-by-month weather, budget, what to avoid and FAQ.