Houston's Diverse Beauty

Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., blends business, beauty and magnificent attractions, making it popular for visitors from around the world. Rich in diversity, 1.9 million Houstonians create a vibrant city with an optimistic spirit and commitment to integrating art and nature appreciation into everyday life. While you’re here, delight in the fine culture, relax in the vast urban forest of parks and recreation areas, experience a variety of outdoor festivals and admire the dramatic architecture of the modern skyline, historical structures, state-of-the-art sporting facilities and first-class shopping destinations. The Greater Houston area covers more ground than any other major city in America. No matter why you are here or what you hope to find, Houston promises to deliver a spectacular show.

Downtown Destinations

Artistic in a modern way, the stunning downtown skyline illustrates urban splendor as it should be. While early settlers contended with unrelenting swampland and mosquitoes, tenacity and invention gave rise to skyscrapers on the low-lying flat land. Buffalo Bayou irrigates the lush landscape with its winding waterways through the early center of the city. In the early 1900s, entrepreneurial Houston pioneers engineered the bayou, the Houston Ship Channel and the bustling Port of Houston to create lucrative access to international maritime transportation.

The business leaders behind the rapid growth of modern Houston recognized the need for balance in life, so the city has always nurtured a superb performing arts scene. The city proudly touts itself as one of the few U.S. cities with resident companies in all four major performing arts: drama, ballet, symphony and opera. The Theater District is the center of the performing arts scene, with its eight world-class performing arts organizations, and plays an important role in the city’s exceptional quality of life. From producing exceptional musical theater to staging Broadway and West End blockbuster musicals, there’s never a shortage of entertainment.

If you love ballet, don’t miss Houston Ballet, which performs works ranging from great classics such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker to exciting new and prestigious ballets. Houston Symphony gives access to great classical music, and is one of the state’s oldest performing arts organizations. Stellar performances are always in season at Houston Grand Opera, which boasts Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards. Houston is passionate about sustaining the magical experience of live performance, and there is a large group of fringe and community performing arts organizations.

Outdoor Locales

Make the most of the year-round temperate climate and take to the great outdoors. You’ll be surprised to find how green a metropolitan area can be. From parks to hiking trails, the beauty of nature surrounds the city. On the western edge of Memorial Park, between uptown and downtown, sample a slice of nature at the 155-acre Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. At the Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, on the north side of the city, 250 acres showcase East Texas piney woods and the region’s largest collection of native and cultivated plants. The arboretum’s walking trails meander through picturesque woodlands. Armand Bayou Nature Center near the beautiful Gulf Coast is a 2,500-acre facility that safeguards wetlands, prairie, forest and marsh habitats and exhibits snakes, spiders, hawks and bison.

Art Abounds

In Houston, art isn’t confined to museums. Many striking sculptures adorn the parks, sidewalks and plazas, showing vibrancy and creativity of the community. The vast assortment of artwork includes historical statues, fountains, abstract sculptures and memorials. This wonderful collection of public art is funded by a percentage of the city’s capital improvement budget, ensuring art for all. In Hermann Park, the Sam Houston Monument is a colossal bronze sculpture of our Texan hero and namesake resting on a granite arch. When you visit Houston Zoo, you are welcomed by a life-sized steel African elephant sculpture. Downtown stands the spectacular two-part Tony Cragg sculpture In Minds. But public art isn’t the only sign that shows this town loves creativity. The quirky Orange Show Center for Visionary Art encourages everyone to express their artistic style and vision. In addition to the popular Art Car Parade, the center preserves two of Houston’s most famous folk-art icons, The Orange Show Monument and the Beer Can House. Elsewhere, the neighborhood-based art and cultural center, Project Row Houses, connects the work of artists with the revitalization of the once-abandoned community.

Sporting Life

Just because the city loves art and culture, doesn’t exclude it from enjoying other diversions. The city continues its commitment to state-of-the-art sporting facilities for fans of all sports. Judge Roy Hofheinz made Houston famous in the 1960s when he built the world’s first air-conditioned stadium, the Astrodome, hailed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Today, Reliant Stadium, Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park continue Houston’s tradition of setting new standards of technology and comfort for sports. The city’s great teams include basketball’s Rockets (NBA) and Houston Comets (WNBA), football’s Houston Texans (NFL), baseball’s Houston Astros (MLB) and hockey’s Houston Aeros (AHL).

Shopping Hot Spots

The sport of shopping in Houston is also top notch. There are amazing upscale shops in The Galleria, enough to keep a shopaholic busy for several days. This mega mall also features an ice-skating rink, hotels, restaurants and entertainment. Other malls in and around the city tempt every style and pocket book. As well as great malls, there are several neighborhood shopping districts featuring boutiques, antique stores, vintage clothing or other specialist stores.