the place to be in '19
Houston declared one of the world's best places to visit in 2019
Bhutan. Brazil. Costa Rica. Hong Kong. Houston? Why, yes, the Bayou City deserves a place among such a coveted list of travel destinations, according to Bloomberg. The news service recently named more than 20 must-visit cities and countries around the globe to its Where to Go in 2019 list.
The travel to-do checklist centers on savvy spots in favor of tourist traps. “That means sailing through Brazil’s jaguar-filled (and newly luxurious) Pantanal while everyone else heads down the Amazon, and skipping overdeveloped Bali in favor of Bodrum, where a five-star-resort renaissance is under way,” says the report.
In compiling the Where to Go list, correspondents and editors focused on “skyrocketing cultural cachet, major hotel openings, and new restaurants worth traveling for,” according to Bloomberg.
Adding to our bragging rights, the trend-spotting professionals found Houston just as worthy as exotic locales such as India, Kuala Lumpur, and Kenya. (Space City is one of only three U.S. cities to make the list, joining Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Savannah, Georgia.)
“Houston is ready for liftoff,” says Bloomberg. The story notes the upcoming 50th anniversary of the moon landing and how the Johnson Space Center is restoring everything inside the original Mission Control — down to the consoles and the trash cans — to look exactly as it did in July 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission.
The piece also mentions the massive, $450 million expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (specifically, the roof garden, amphitheater, and public plaza), as well as the Holocaust Museum doubling its size this year.
As any regular reader of CultureMap knows, Houston is teeming with food courts; the piece highlights the four sprawling food halls, notably the 9,000-square-foot Bravery Chef Hall. Visitors are encouraged to book a room at the recently renovated Four Seasons, Tilman’s Post Oak, the InterContinental, and the local Thompson.
Travelers to Houston are advised to head here in spring and fall. “Go in March, and you’ll catch the azaleas in bloom (and maybe even get tickets to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo),” the report notes.
And tourists are told to avoid our fair city in July, August, and September, as said months are “hot and humid — and carry the risk of hurricanes.”
Hurricanes? Did no one mention our eagle-sized mosquitoes to the Bloomberg staff?
