Location: Houston
Top Things to do in Houston
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Top 10 Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Houston, Texas (TX)
Houston hums with an energy and independent spirit all its own. A leading cultural and culinary destination in the South, the city is home to over 11,000 restaurants featuring cuisine from more than 70 countries. The thriving arts scene includes resident opera, ballet, symphony and theater companies. The Museum District houses 19 museums, all within walking distance. Be sure to visit Space Center Houston, where you can visit NASA’s Historic Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.
Restaurants in Houston
1. Houston Symphony
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 201 reviews
Reviewed By yvonneg137 - Houston, United States
The seats are comfortable and the sound excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed our evening with Nat King Cole tribute. Easy to park too.
2. The Music Box Theater
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 460 reviews
The Music Box Theater provides audiences a unique mix of live popular music and original comedy in a relaxes club environment. There are songs you know sung by people you should know and there is something for everyone. Appropriate for all ages.
Reviewed By JeffD430 - Houston, United States
A must do for locals and visitors. Energetic and talented singers who make the evening fly by in an intimate setting. Take some friends along. And meet others in the audience.
3. Lone Star Flight Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 89 reviews
Housed in a large aircraft hangar, this world-class aviation museum features restored aircraft and historic photographs.
Reviewed By Chrisinkingwood2 - Houston, United States
We took advantage of the Smithsonial Free Museum Day tickets where you can get free admission for 2 to many museums around the country. I took my 14 year old grandson, I figured he might have an interest and wanted him to know that air battles just don't happen in all those video games he plays! We got there about 10:30 and stayed for 3 hours. The displays are fantastic, so many old planes and jets restored as they were when they were brand new. The panels with photographs and stories were very interesting and they also have several interactive displays that kids can do to learn about the effects of wind and the physics of flight while having fun. At one point we watched them wheel out the big bomber and it took off with guests who had purchased tickets for a flight around the Ellington Field area. My grandson got to try flying in the flight simulators which was really fun, sadly he found out it isn't as easy as a video game and crash landed!
4. Lakewood Church
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 27 reviews
Reviewed By our56 - Melbourne, Australia
Have spoken about visiting here probably for the past decade but was never able to get to Houston. This time made Houston a stopover on our way to Cuba via Panama just to visit Lakewood Church. The wait was perfect as we couldn't of timed it better being here on the Easter weekend allowing us to attend the Easter Sunday service. Always looked great on TV but to experiencing this place in real life was just incredible. The building inside was spectecular without taking away what it's purpose was. The service was better than we could of anticipated. The whole service was all about the occasion and the atmosphere generated by everything meshed together truly to make it extra special. On the conclusion we spent some time in the gift store and found it well priced but with many items we had not seen elsewhere. The staff and members of the church were very welcoming and made us feel very comfortable being there.
5. The Houston Museum of Natural Science
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,002 reviews
This outstanding science museum has a spectacular collection of mineral specimens, a dinosaur skeleton, space-station models, a planetarium, IMAX theater and a six-story butterfly center in which these beautiful creatures land delicately on outstretched arms.
Reviewed By Agarrino
Another mandatory visit while in Houston, is the Natural History Museum. You will need a complete day (or even more) to really check everything on display, since there are 4 floors full of interesting items: Full body dinosaurs skeletons, phosils of all sort, trilobites, scientist working in labs opened to visitors, an impressive collection of cristal minerals and jewels, sculptures and a great collection of ancient Egypt items, including three real mummys. Also great the butterfly interior garden.
6. The Galleria
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,187 reviews
More than 26 million visitors each year seek the dynamic & fine shopping environment uniquely offered by The Galleria, Texas’ largest shopping center and fourth largest domain nationally. International guests and Houstonians blend seamlessly in the center while on shopping excursions or entertaining guests at one of the signature eateries. Spanning 2.4 million square feet of space, housing 400 fine stores and restaurants, two high-rise hotels, and three office towers, The Galleria is Houston’s most popular retail and tourist destination, meeting every style and taste.
Reviewed By 160harveyh
This is the epicenter of shopping, walking and people watching in Houston. From great shopping, high end art galleries to ice skating, the Galleria is a great place to see and visit. Due to its popularity, the parking lots fill up quickly, especially in the holiday season. Get there as early as you can and preferably right before it opens to get a good parking spot. The Metro bus# 82 goes east and west by the Galleria and connects to many other bus lines around Houston. This is a must see and visit place in Houston and I highly recommend it,
7. National Museum of Funeral History
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 526 reviews
This museum, owned by a funeral company, houses the largest collection of funereal artifacts in the U.S., traces the history of funeral services, displays historic hearses and provides memorabilia from funerals of the famous, such as Dwight Eisenhower, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley.
Reviewed By lauramooki - Bogota, Colombia
This is an absolute must-do in Houston. Fascinating and well put together displays with lots of excellent information. They also have a wonderful haunted house in October and lovely gift shop. The staff are so nice and the day we went (Halloween) there was a volunteer who was so knowledgeable and really genuinely enriched our visit.
8. The Menil Collection
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 936 reviews
A legacy of the philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, the Menil Collection opened in 1987. The museum presents regular rotations of artworks from its growing permanent collection, organizes special exhibitions and programs throughout the year, publishes scholarly books, and conducts research. The Menil Collection’s main museum building anchors a parklike 30-acre campus, which also includes the Cy Twombly Gallery, a site-specific Dan Flavin installation, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel—now a venue for long-term installations by contemporary artists—and outdoor sculpture.
Reviewed By FoodieinNOHO - California, United States
The eclectic collection of art is AMAZING!! Including early to mid-twentieth century works of Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, among others. I DIDN'T make it to the other side of the museum. My main interest was the Aboriginal Art exhibit Also included in the museum's permanent collection are antiquities and works of Byzantine, Medieval and tribal art. I really enjoyed the space of the tribal collection. It is a must to see the art aspect of Houston....I took my adult daughter here for the first time and it did not disappoint. The art, paintings, and sculptures were very interesting. There is also a nice little park across from the gallery. Parking is FREE!!!! French expat Dominique de Menil, heiress to the Schlumberger fortune, came to Houston after World War II and began amassing an impressive mid-century art collection. Dominique befriended and collected many of the biggies: Ernst, Magrite, Johns, Rauschenberg, Warhol, and others. This intimate museum within a quaint residential section of Montrose/Museum District showcases. A museum in the middle of a residential neighborhood is a surprising delight. The René Magritte, "The Meaning of Night" is so thought provoking. His unique surrealist work moved me in such an surprising way!!
9. Alley Theatre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 265 reviews
The Alley Theatre, one of America’s leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company led by Interim Artistic Director James Black and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. Home to a Resident Company of actors, the Alley creates a wide-ranging repertoire and innovative productions of classics, neglected modern plays, and premieres. Alley All New, the initiative to commission and develop new work year round, features the Alley All New Festival each season presenting workshops and readings of new plays and musicals in process. A recipient of the Special Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Alley has brought productions to Broadway, 40 American cities including New York’s Lincoln Center and internationally to Berlin, Paris, and St. Petersburg throughout its 70 year history.
Reviewed By adelethevegan - Katy, United States
I am always very pleased with every show at the Alley. There’s a parking garage so you don’t have to walk far, despite it being downtown. The actors are so skilled, truly and amazing experience to be a part of!
10. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,700 reviews
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is the largest cultural institution in the southwest region of the United States. The Museum’s encyclopedic collections of nearly 70,000 objects cover world cultures dating from antiquity to the present and include in-depth holdings of American art, European paintings, Pre-Columbian and African gold, decorative arts and design, photography, prints and drawings, 20th- and 21st-century painting and sculpture, and Latin American art.
Reviewed By bornthatway_traveler - Bloomington, United States
I extremely recommend the MOFAH to all visitors to Houston; you won’t be disappointed! The diversity and educational value of the hundreds and hundreds of works here is admirable and among the best in the US. Portraits and paintings fill dozens of gallery rooms on the second floor, many of them huge and immersive, like the art swallows you and invites you into their scene. Being a personal fan of Impressionism, I enjoyed the vast collection of this genre in the museum. Works of all types represent nearly all world regions and timelines in history (e.g. Egyptian carvings and tombs and Asian sculptures). Everyone of all interests is bound to discover something fascinating here. When you visit, be sure to pass through the underground light tunnel to access the museum’s second facility across the street, in which you’ll find intricate Italian glass carvings, Spanish and colonial-era art artifacts, and a substantial exhibition celebrating Black culture. I particularly enjoyed the Black culture exhibition, curated magnificently with several eye-opening portraits and culturally-rich lifestyle scenes. In the Spanish/colonial-era space, I loved viewing the ancient maps explorers used to navigate the oceans in the early history of “modern” America. I could go on and on praising the Museum of Fine Arts—I really loved my time here. I’ll devote the conclusion of my review to important informational pointers: - Admission is a reasonable $19 per adult, available on-site. I’m forgetting children’s admission prices and others. - In order to safely remain open in light of COVID-19, all visitors will have their temperature checked prior to entering the museum. Face masks and social distancing are required. The temperature screening process is very straightforward and quick, and I found myself within the gallery areas in no time. - Wheelchair accessibility is clearly up to ADA regulations, with elevators giving access to every part of the facility. - The on-site cafe remains closed due to COVID-19, as of June 2020. Just take note of this and make sure you satisfy your appetite before your visit! - I applaud the museum for providing many Spanish-language translations/subtitles alongside English captions of artworks. Very cool. I’ll be returning next visit to Houston! Thanks for the world-class experience!
