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    see the best of houston

    Where to take out-of-towners in Houston: Best bets in the Bayou City

    Holly Beretto
    Dec 14, 2021 | 2:42 pm

    When out-of-town guests arrive, it’s a perfect time to show off the Bayou City. Yet, with so much to do and see here in the Greater H-Town area, where to start?

     

    With that in mind, we’ve rounded up an expansive list to some of Houston’s best cultural and entertainment offerings, from museums to parks, and so much more. These landmarks are sure to turn your guests into Newstonians.

     

    In addition to these hot spots, check out our picks for holiday lights, holiday plays and theater, and art events.
     
     Attractions

     

     Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern 
    One of the city’s premier attractions, the Cistern gives visitors a glimpse of Houston’s former drinking water reservoir. Built in 1926 and decommissioned in 2007, it’s now an architectural space with art installations and a magnificent example of Houston’s past. Private tours are available to book, and public tours take place daily.

     

     Discovery Green 
    One of Houston’s downtown gems, this 12-acre park is a great place to stroll and take in the public art installations, check out a concert, kayak on Kinder Lake or visit one of the park’s restaurants. There’s a dog run, a playground, a putting green and ample space to picnic and relax.
     
     Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
    Tucked next to Memorial Park, the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center is home to plants and animals. Visitors will find wildflowers, shrubs, butterflies and other insects along the winding trails. Take a self-guided hike and marvel at the natural beauty that exists right within our busy city.
     
     Houston Botanic Garden 
    Engage the senses at this beautiful natural space featuring plants from around the globe. Walk the winding path through the garden, encountering everything from wetland habitats to a fragrant pine grove to prairie environments. The garden beckons visitors with a lane lined with live oaks, helping to heighten the transition from Houston’s hustle and bustle to the lush quiet of this spot.
     
     Houston Zoo
    More than 6,000 species call these 55 acres in Hermann Park home, and it’s a terrific place to explore and learn about wildlife and wildlife conservation. The daily Keeper Talks schedule is updated each morning and allow guests an up-close look at giraffe feeding, the sea lions and giant river otters, among other Zoo residents. Those who want a more VIP experience can opt for an Animal Encounter, getting some face time with orangutans, gorillas, Galapagos tortoise, sloths and more.
     
     Space Center Houston 
    It's easy to spend a full day at this space exploration and learning center. From kid-friendly, hands-on exhibits to the NASA tram tour, there are more than 400 things to see and do. Dedicated to chronicling the U.S.’s space exploration journey, visitors will find everything from moon rocks to space suits to the control room that helped put man on the moon. There are several permanent exhibits, including rockets and a space shuttle replica, and rotating ones.

     

     Family Friendly Ideas

     

     Children’s Museum Houston 
    This “playground for your mind” is a great place to engage young people, from tots to tweens. Hands-on exhibits allow kids to see how things work, create their own inventions and let their imaginations run wild. Whether kids are into math or art or anything in between, they’ll find something that’s sure to spark their interest.
     
     Kemah Boardwalk 
    Head south to this family entertainment complex that features rides, shopping and dining. Cruise out into Galveston Bay aboard the Boardwalk Beast, or ride the Boardwalk Bullet rollercoaster. Feed the stingrays and check out the arcade games. It’s easy to spend a day here – and still want to come back for more!
     
     Main Street Theater’s Theater for Youth
    With its lineup of shows designed specifically for young people, Main Street Theater’s Theater for Youth programming is perfect for kids and parents alike. Several stories are based on popular children’s books, and the fully staged productions are among the country’s finest.
     
     Moody Gardens
    Spend a day. Spend the weekend. But certainly make time for this Galveston favorite that has plenty for the whole family. There’s an aquarium, a rainforest, a museum, 3D and 4D theaters, not to mention season offerings throughout the year. Stay-and-play packages are offered by the adjacent hotel.
     
     Old Macdonald’s Farm
    With a petting zoo, pony and train rides, a swimming pool, and playgrounds, this spot in Humble offers lots for kids to do and see. Guests are welcome to pack a picnic or snacks, and will also find a concession stand. In the fall, the farm offers a pumpkin patch from mid-September to the beginning of November, while a Winter Wonderland highlights November through the second week of January.
     
     Museums

     

     Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens 
    Located in the former mansion of Miss Ima Hogg, this collection of furnishings and decorative arts provides a glimpse into Houston’s past. The gardens are meticulously maintained and guests can stroll its 14 acres. Across the year, the museum offers special events including concerts and talks.

     

     Holocaust Museum Houston
    Recently renovated, this museum's exhibitions showcase the dangers of prejudice and hatred in society. Among the collection is a 1940s Danish fishing boat, similar to the ones that carried Jews to safety during World War II, and a 1942 German railcar. The museum's sobering message carries with it tremendous hope for a better world.

     

     Houston Museum of Natural Science
    Located in Hermann Park and popular with all ages, this museum showcases everything from dinosaurs to artifacts from Egypt. The Cockrell Butterfly Center allows guests to stroll through the living environment, and the planetarium offers astronomical selections and movies. There’s also an IMAX theater, with an ever-changing selection of shows.

     

     Lone Star Flight Museum
    Celebrate the Texas’ proud history with the great blue yonder in a pristine, $38 million, state-of the-art facility at Houston’s Ellington Airport. The museum houses dozens of historic, can’t miss aircraft; vessels here at the 130,000-square-foot destination range from a 1940 Anderson Greenwood AG-14 to a Predator craft which is remotely flown. Meanwhile, enthusiasts can check out the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame and myriad, dynamic exhibits. Kids of all ages will love the flight simulators. For an added gift, book a flight in one of the historic planes, a treat for pilots, fans, and anyone who loves to take to the skies.

     

     The Menil Collection 
    Always free, this incredible collection of artwork from around the globe is popular with Houstonians and out-of-towners alike. Nearly 10,000 artworks were gathered by founders John and Dominique de Menil, and its size has nearly doubled since 1997, now boasting 17,000 pieces. Guests can view sculptures and paintings, drawings and other art, with an emphasis on the contemporary.
     
     Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 
    Home to one of the largest collections of art in the country, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has paintings, sculpture, photography, and objects d’art from around the globe and across history. Its Museum District complex houses both permanent and changing exhibits, ensuring each visit to the museum is unique. The MFAH Shop is the perfect place to find unique and eclectic gifts, while Le Jardinier, the museum’s signature restaurant, is a great spot for dinner after a day of exhibit viewing.
     
     Rienzi
    This collection of European decorative arts is housed in the former home of philanthropists Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, and was designed by prominent Houston architect John Staub. Look for paintings, furnishings, porcelain, and miniatures throughout this exquisite space. The intimate experience requires that tickets be purchased in advance, and it’s a must-see for art lovers.
     
     Uniquely Houston

     

     Art Car Museum
    One of Houston's most-loved events is the annual Art Car Parade. This museum houses several of the cars that have rolled down the parade route. It's engaging as it is entertaining, it will give visitors a new way to think about what's considered art, and how creativity can run wild.

     

     The Houston Farmers Market
    Located in the east side of The Heights, this is Houston’s oldest and only daily market. More than 40 local vendors currently offer produce, spices, herbs, chilies, exotic fruits and vegetables, coffee, tea, seeds, and plants. Take your guests shopping in a market oasis nestled in a urban setting.

     

     National Funeral Museum
    Unfurling across more than 30,000 square feet, this museum touts itself as the largest educational center for funerary customs in the country. On display are antique hearses, exhibits on embalming and presidential funerals, an epic Day of the Dead display, and caskets from around the world.

     

     The Orange Show Monument
    This East End attraction is an epic maze of folk art. Constructed of concrete, brick, steel and found objects including gears, tiles, wagon wheels, mannequins, tractor seats and statuettes, it's the sort of place that has to be experienced more than explained. All of it was constructed by a former postal worker, Jefferson Davis McKissack, who built it between 1956 and 1979. Tours are given every 30 minutes.

     

     POST Houston
    Boasting 16-acres and 550,000 square feet, this new downtown facility serves up a diverse selection of offerings in the sprawling, first-floor food hall. A focal point (and Instagram favorite) are three bottom-to-top stairwells that unite the design. The roof opens to stunning and scenic views of the downtown skyline, with lush greens offering spots to lounge, the arts atrium, fountains, a covered pavilion, and the verdant, 210,000-square-foot rooftop park and urban farm.

     

     Project Row Houses
    The shotgun houses and structure that make up PRH are designed to foster community engagement and a deeper understanding of the arts. An ever-changing series of installations and exhibits makes each visit unique and offers plenty of reason to return.

    Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden.

    Lightscape Houston Botanic Garden
      
    Photo courtesy of Houston Botanic Garden
    Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden.
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    news/city-life
    series/weekend-event-planner-houston

    Flood News

    More rain brings further flood risk as Texas death toll tops 100

    Associated Press
    Jul 7, 2025 | 9:36 am
    Death Toll Rises After Flash Floods In Texas Hill Country
    Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
    Death toll rises after flash floods In Texas Hill Country

    With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in Central Texas on July 7 even as crews searched urgently for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed at least 100 people, including children at summer camps. Officials said the death toll was sure to rise.

    Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late July 4.

    Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her.

    “Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed, and they all rode it out together,” Brown said.

    A few miles away, rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage.

    Gov. Greg Abbott said 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

    In the Hill Country area, home to several summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials.

    The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.

    Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning. One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell. A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks.

    One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage.

    Searching the disaster zone
    Nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river. With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak.

    Volunteers and some families of the missing came to the disaster zone and searched despite being asked not to do so.
    Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made.

    President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday: “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way.”

    “It’s a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible,” he told reporters.

    Prayers from the Vatican
    Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared July 6 a day of prayer for the state.

    In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. The first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, saying, “I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.”

    Desperate refuge and trees and attics
    Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics, praying the water wouldn’t reach them.

    At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road.

    Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing after their cabin was swept away. Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe, but the girls’ grandparents were unaccounted for.

    Warnings came before the disaster
    On Thursday the National Weather Service advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger.

    Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.

    Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said authorities are committed to a full review of the emergency response.

    Trump, asked whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that was something “we can talk about later, but right now we are busy working.” He has said he wants to overhaul if not completely eliminate FEMA and sharply criticized its performance.

    Trump also was asked whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending cuts.

    “I would think not. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people there, and they didn’t see it,” the president said.

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