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Houston soars in Forbes’ top 10 best cities for summer travel

We're as surprised as you are.

Looks like people from all over the country will be flocking to Houston this summer — at least according to a new report by Forbes Advisor.

The report listed the best and worst cities for summer travel and Dallas fared surprisingly well, coming in as the No. 10 best summer travel destination in the nation.

The study, published June 1, compared 43 of the most populous U.S. cities across 16 metrics in three major categories: City experience, air travel experience, and driving experience.

Houston earned an overall score of 36.57 out of a total 100 possible points. That puts the Bayou City between No. 9 Chicago (36.04 points) and No. 11 Baltimore (36.86 points) in the rankings. Jacksonville, Florida earned a perfect (and dreadful) score of 100 points to solidify itself as the No. 1 worst vacation destination for summer travel.

This is how Forbes breaks down Houston's' ranking across the three key dimensions:

18.16 – City experience score
44.73 – Air travel experience score
43.84 – Driving experience score

"Visitors to Houston enjoy the lowest median hotel price during the summer ($122.33 per night) and the city’s two major airports reimburse the second highest percentage of summer property loss and damage claims in full (52.4 percent on average)," the report said.

Bad news for Big D

Sadly, our neighbors to the north didn't fare as well. Dallas came in as the No. 13 worst summer travel destination in the nation with an overall score of 57.20 points.

Major factors that brought down Dallas' scores include the city's extreme weather (AKA, the unforgiving Texas heat) combined with a higher-than-normal number of damage claims at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport, according to the report.

"Dallas’ two major airports have the sixth highest number of property loss and damage claims during the summer (1.3 per 100,000 domestic passengers)," the report said. "The city also has the seventh highest number of extreme temperature days in the summer (76 on average)."

San Antonio (No. 20) and Austin (No. 24) also fared better than Dallas in the overall rankings, showing that Central Texas is a far better place to be during the summer when it comes to statewide vacations.

Texas travelers may want to consider going out of state to places like Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was ranked the No. 1 best summer travel destination in the U.S.

The top 10 best U.S. summer travel destinations are:

No. 1 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
No. 2 – Long Beach, California
No. 3 – Washington, D.C.
No. 4 – Seattle, Washington
No. 5 – Omaha, Nebraska
No. 6 – San Diego, California
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Columbus, Ohio
No. 9 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 10 – Houston, Texas

Forbes Advisor determined each city's ranking based on travel experience data from Expedia, Tripadvisor, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, AAA, The U.S. Census Bureau, and more. Metrics included a city's crime rate; median hotel prices during the summer season; the percentage of delayed, canceled, or diverted flights during the summer; among others.

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

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REVIVING THE ALAMO

Texas landmark the Alamo reclaims historic cannon from private ownership

Photo by Gower Brown/ Unsplash

A 90-pound cannon used in the Battle of the Alamo is returning to its San Antonio home.

It turns out the Alamo's original 1836 cannons are good for more than just defense — they also make a sturdy birdbath. After serving as a garden ornament for Samuel Maverick’s descendants, an authentic piece of San Antonio history is finally returning home to the revered mission.

According to an Alamo announcement, the swivel cannon weighs 90 pounds and is approximately three feet long. The relic was originally found in 1852 when Maverick built a home near the northwest corner of the battle’s site.

The lawyer and land baron was saved from death when he was urged by William Barret Travis to ride to the Texas Declaration of Independence convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos to send reinforcements. Returning to the Alamo’s grounds, he found a cache of cannons buried where the Hotel Gibbs sits today.

From there, the cannon wound up at the Maverick family’s Sunshine Ranch on the Northwest Side, where it was eventually incorporated into the garden DIY project. In 1955, the cannon was removed from the ranch, and the current location remained a mystery until the Alamo received a call from a Maverick relative in Corpus Christi.

Alamo cannon This Alamo artifact gives an idea of what the cannon will look like once restoration is complete.Photo courtesy of the Alamo.

“The relative graciously donated the cannon to the Alamo,” wrote a rep from the mission. “Alamo Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham and Head Conservator Pam Jary Rosser drove down the very next day to take this piece of history home to the Alamo.”

Although the artillery is mostly intact, it is missing its trunnions (the pivot-point protrusions on the sides of the barrel) and cascabel (the knob and neck assembly at the rear of historic muzzle-loading cannons). The parts were removed by the Mexican army to make the cannon inoperable.

Once preservation is complete, this cannon and the Alamo Collection’s other battle cannons will make their way to the upcoming Visitor Center and Museum, where they will be joined by rocker Phil Collins' collection of Alamo artifacts. The Alamo is in the midst of a $550 million preservation project, which includes conserving the Alamo Church, Long Barrack, and the mission’s original footprint. The museum is on track to debut in late 2027.

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