Houston Texas

We wanted to go to Houston in 2016, but could not fit it into our Southern Road trip so we went this year. So glad we made it to Houston! We both love this city!

Houston is the sixth largest city in North America, and fourth largest in the USA, with a population of about 2.3 million. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is a very diverse urban metropolis with excellent fine dining, world class museums and shopping, many interesting bars and great Blues, Jazz and Rock music.

Of course, being near the Gulf it gets very hot and humid in the summer. We went in early July and found it tolerable compared to New Orleans in September, but you can’t really walk around for long. And they do have hurricanes so factor in weather conditions before you go.

The city of Houston was founded by land speculators in 1836, and is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas’ independence from Mexico. After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center in the 19th century.

Today, Houston has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, healthcare and oilfield equipment. It houses the world’s largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions, has the second most Fortune 500 companies (after NYC), its Port ranks first in international shipping in US, and it is home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control is located. Remember the famous line from the film Apollo 13 “Houston we have a problem”? They still sell t-shirts with it. But Houston does not have a problem. Houston is doing very well. It has a great vibe, nice people, plenty to do, and surprisingly, it is not that expensive. I could definitely live in this city.

The key neighborhoods for tourists are the areas close to Downtown, including Downtown.

• Montrose is my first choice for areas to stay in. It is a creative neighborhood with indie galleries, shops, eclectic foodie restaurants and live music. It also has gay bars and an LGBT community.
• Midtown has a wide variety of restaurants and bars on, or near Gray Street, and is popular with millennials.
• Downtown Main Street (between Capitol and Franklin streets) has many excellent bars and is quite vibrant in the evening. It is home to the Theatre District, Opera, Ballet and Symphony. The have a light rail system that goes along Main street and other key areas.
• The Museum District is a nice area to walk around and has an abundance of museums.
• West University / Rice Village is home to Rice University and offers nice cafes, restaurants and good shopping (notably Rice Village Shopping Center).
• River Oaks is the Beverly Hills of Houston with its own version of Rodeo Drive recently opened.
• Houston Heights is a charming neighborhood with homes dating back to the 19th century and has many boutiques and restaurants.
• Galleria / Uptown has one the largest shopping malls in the country and largest in Texas at three million-square-feet. Also, the European inspired shopping villa on Uptown Park Blvd has high end boutiques and cafes, and is a nice area to stroll around in.

Things to do

• Museum of Fine Art Houston houses many of the great European painters, Americana and other exhibits, and is one of the largest art museums in the country. It is, without a doubt, world class.

• The Museum District is home to many first rate museums, all within close proximity.
• Houston Zoo is one of the top zoos in the country. It is a 55-acre zoological park located within Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, United States. The zoo houses over 6,000 animals from 900 species. It is the second most visited zoo in the United States.
• Johnson Space Center is a must see, but check if there is rain in the forecast because that will impact some of the exhibits. Go early to avoid the larger lines and buy your ticket in advance.

• The Downtown Aquarium is rumoured to be an interesting place to visit. Part attraction, part restaurant, the 500,000-gallon Downtown Aquarium complex is multi-functional destination boasting a Ferris wheel, an aquatic carousel, Shark Voyage, a White Tiger exhibit and a restaurant. The spectacular wall-to-wall aquarium view complements the surf-and-turf menu.
• Bats at Waugh Bridge in Montrose Here you will find the bats hanging tight until they spiral out from the bridge’s crevices on warm nights around sunset. Head to the viewing platform and you may just catch a bat show.

Music & Bars

• Continental Club & Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge are side by side on Main St. and are great bars for live music.
• The Big Easy Blues bar is a well respected Blues venue in Rice Village. Live Blues can be heard six nights a week with Sunday nights reserved for Zydeco.
• Shakespeare Pub is a bare-bones watering hole with live blues, zydeco or folk performers playing 7 nights a week.
• The Commoner & the Boulevardier on Main St. downtown is a bar with a high-energy first floor (The Commoner), and a laid-back lounge upstairs (The Boulevardier).
• Cottonmouth Club on 108 Main St. has great cocktails and music (check dates for live music events).
• Lilly & Bloom at 110 Main St. downtown is a 2-story lounge with velvet furniture for bespoke cocktails, guest bartenders & rotating DJs.
• Little Dipper Bar with cool music and a nice vibe. Downtown on 304 Main St.
• Axelrad Beer Garden is a large outdoor venue with live music.
• The Rustic is listed as a popular place, but we didn’t like it. Caters to a younger crowd, which is fine if they are into good music, but this was more of a “look at me” place with really mediocre semi country / rock music.

Southpaw Guitars is the ultimate guitar shop for left handed guitar players. Virtually all guitars are left handed. We stopped by because Jimmy is a left handed player.

Restaurants

• Benjy’s in Rice Village has fresh farm to table dishes that can be shared. Very good.
• At Bravery Chef Hall downtown diners will find Vietnamese small plates, upscale diner fare, elevated Gulf cuisine, skewered meats, and more.
• Brenners is an award winning (Zagat and other) institution in Houston. It is a must try steakhouse nestled in a wooded retreat along the Bayou near Montrose and River Oaks. It is worth a splurge. They also have a Blues Bar.
• CoCo Crepes and Waffles is a franchise establishment with good breakfast, savoury and desert crepes. Coffee could be better, but crepes are great. There are several locations in Houston. We went to the one in Midtown.
• Hugo’s in Montrose area is a top Mexican restaurant with fine food. “Authentic Mexican cooking is a world-class cuisine that has remained virtually unchanged by the outside world,” says Executive Chef Hugo Ortega of his native cuisine. “The food is as light and fresh as a seafood cocktail prepared by fishermen on the beach; as deep and complex as the moles of Oaxaca made with an astounding number of ingredients; and as earthy as the simplest handmade corn tortilla.”
• Finn Hall located downtown is a European-inspired, art deco food hall with casual, diverse dining options, bars & a cocktail lounge.
• Front Porch is in Midtown. PubBeers, hearty pub food, pool, darts and a jukebox are the draws at this spot with a front-porch swing. We had burgers and beer which were pretty good.

• Hotel Za Za Monarch Restaurant and Terrace is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had lunch here and it was delicious. I had one of the best lobster sandwiches for a reasonable price.
• Oporto is a fine Portuguese restaurant in Midtown.
• State of Grace is a beautiful restaurant with great taped music. They have an Oyster room with excellent shrimp cocktails and, of course, oysters.

• 1751 Sea and Bar restaurant offers seasonally inspired menus featuring the highest quality seafood and meats available from the local Gulf coast and beyond.
• Taste Bar Kitchen in Midtown has sweet and savoury waffle dishes.
• Truth Barbecue is a barbecue favorite attracting lengthy lines at its sprawling location in the Heights

Where to Stay

• Marriott in Downtown Houston has the most amazing pool!
• Hotel ZaZa is somewhere I would like to stay. It is luxurious and offers a lot for the price. Located in Museum District and right on the Main Street car line so you can zip downtown and back easily. The Houston We Have a Problem suite, one of ZaZa’s so-called Concept Suites, goes all in on the theme with a moon-inspired couch and a life-size astronaut statue presiding over one corner.
• Hotel Granduca is like staying in an Italian villa. It is located uptown so a bit far from all the key venues and restaurants, but if you have a car it should not be a problem.
• Hotel Icon is located right on Main St. near all the great bars.
• Hotel Sorella is a nice boutique hotel with free parking located in North West Houston.
• Lancaster Hotel is a small boutique hotel downtown in the Theatre district. Now open after a multi-million-dollar design refinement and renovation, the landmark hotel enjoys a legacy of nearly 100 years of providing exceptional service and hospitality. This is a top choice.
• Sara’s Inn is a charming bed and breakfast located in Houston Heights that offers free parking and a delicious breakfast.
• Best Western on West Dallas St. is located in a good area close to all the key districts and has free parking. It is basic, but clean, nice staff and not expensive. Plus they have a shuttle that will give you a ride anywhere within about 2 miles. Breakfast is not very good, but you can go somewhere else for that. We stayed here because I did not want to pay for parking for 4 days (all the other hotels close to downtown charge a ridiculous amount for parking).

July 4th in Houston!

We were lucky to catch the 4th of July fireworks in Houston, which are arguably the best Independence Day fireworks in the USA. The venue was at the Eleanor Tinsley Park which has a great view of the skyline and can hold tens of thousands of eager patriots. We found a spot to lay down on the grass and were able view the fireworks directly above us. It was phenomenal! And there were several stages with live music and all kinds of activities. No one celebrates their country better than Americans.

Houston is a city we both want to go back to. There is still so much more to explore.

Side Trip

A visit to Old Town Spring, about thirty minutes north of Houston, is worth it. I highly recommend it. This town is a historic turn-of-the-century settlement featuring a variety of Victorian-style homes, galleries, cafes, and unique shops.

We ate at the Black Sheep Bistro which was excellent. Definitely go there for lunch and/or dinner. Plus they have many food trucks and Barbecues.

For more on Texas please visit our Austin and Dallas blogs.

For more photos of Houston, Dallas, Old Town Spring and Austin please go to Wonderland Photography and look for the Texas folder under Travel.