Restaurants

Barbeque

Houston's a good restaurant town. The specialties are seafood, Cajun, Mexican and barbecue. You need to go to Goode Company Barbecue while you're here. There's more than one location. Try the pecan pie. Second choice for barbecue would be Brisket House (Pappa's barbecue) or Luther's.

Kemah Boardwalk

Go to Kemah for fresh seafood as you watch the boats go in and out. More Info...

 

Ethnic Restaurants

There are also a lot of ethnic restaurants. On the west side of town along Bellaire is a Chinatown, with all kinds of oriental food. There's a smaller Chinatown near downtown, and a Little Vietnam on the southwest side of downtown. Scattered around town are Indian, Mid-east, German, French, African, South-American, Italian etc.

Shows

Houston's a good theater town. Try a play at the Alley, TUTS, Stages, Ensemble, Main Street, etc. The UH School of Theater has professional-calibre shows for the price of a movie. Dinner and magic shows at Magic Island. Various Comedy Clubs (try Comedy Sportz for great improv). Radio Music Theater does great comedy sketches.

The Miller Outdoor Theater has something showing 3-4 nights a week, from May through October. Various types of music, Shakespeare, full-scale musicals, symphony, etc. It's always free.

Sports

Professional Sports
Houston has professional baseball, arena football, men's and women's basketball and hockey(minor league) teams.
Golf and tennis year-round all over town. There's one golf course where each hole is a re-creation of a famous hole from golf courses all over the world.
Other Activities include Gulf Greyhound Park, the world's largest parimutuel dog racing complex, Houston Raceway Park, dragstrip with racing several nights a week The Sam Houston Race Track, local horse racing.
Bike and jogging trails at Memorial and Hermann Parks and along Buffalo and Braeswood Bayous.
Equestrian Center for horses and Velocidrome for bicyling.
Water skiing, surfing and wind-surfing along the coast.

Shopping

Rice Village, lots of shops and restaurants. You *must* go to the Variety Fair 5 & 10 Flea markets, indoors & out. Trading Fair on the South 610 Loop, and Houston Flea Market 59 at Westpark
The Galleria complex with 200 stores, 3 levels with an ice skating rink. Neiman Marcus, Gumps, Tiffanys, etc.

There are big outlet centers in Conroe and La Marque. Old Town Spring, north of Houston, has dozens of small shops selling antiques and crafts. Spec's Liquor downtown has the cheapest liquor in town. There's a huge selection of Antique stores on lower Westheimer and around River Oaks.
Book stores Half Price, Brazos Book Store, Brown's Science Books, the Alabama Book Stop, Barnes and Noble, Borders. Lower Westheimer. Day for shopping, night for food and entertainment. Antiques, resale shops, tattoos.

Spaces & Places

Hermann Park

-- you can do the Natural History museum, the garden center, the zoo, etc. The zoo has the new primate exhibit. There's a miniature train, golf, picnic areas. In the evening, there's often something showing at Miller Theater. More Info...

Allen's Landing

Allen's Landing -- downtown, where the Allen brothers, early real-estate developers, first landed their boats and founded Houston. Nothing there to see, but it's been nicely landscaped lately. The Bayou Belle cruises leave from here. More Info...

San Jacinto Monument

San Jacinto Monument commemorates the battle where Texas won its freedom from Mexico. The monument looks like the Washington monument but it's taller. There's a museum in the base, and an elevator up to an observation deck at the top. More Info...

Battleship Texas

Battleship Texas is docked near the San Jacinto Monument. The Texas fought in both World Wars, and has recently been extensively repaired. You can wander all over the ship, above and below deck. More Info...

Industrial tours of Imperial Sugar (in Sugar Land) and Budweiser beer (I-10 at the 610 Loop).

Williams Tower

Williams Tower water wall and observation deck. The water wall is a man-made waterfall next to the Tower, spectacular from up close. More Info...

Downtown

The downtown Chase Tower has an observation deck. The tunnel system under downtown Houston has over 4 miles of connected tunnels, with stores and retaurants. It's only open on workdays during business hours. Check out the big downtown art as you drive or walk through. More Info...

Ice Houses

Ice houses -- what Houston used to have before liquor-by-the-drink was legalized. Cold beer and an open-air place to sit and socialize. Maybe a pool table and/or jukebox. The West Alabama icehouse is good for tourists.

Rice University -- check out the architecture, or see a film at the media center or a recital at Stude Hall. Industrial tours of Imperial Sugar (in Sugar Land) and Budweiser beer (I-10 at the 610 Loop). Go up to the temple on the architecture building at the University of Houston. Take a tour of The Houston Medical Center. Just drive through River Oaks and look at the mansions. North and South Boulevards near Rice has big houses and oak alleys. Also, take a look at the Hindu Temple in Pearland.

There's a free ship channel tour boat (though you need to make reservations well in advance). Or you can go down on Sunday and drive around the docks; take the Ship Channel exit off the East (610) Loop, follow the signs to the guard station, and they'll give you a map and directions.