A traveler's guide to Houston
Treat Houston as a food city with museums attached. The distances are part of the place. Do not fight them with a walking itinerary.
Houston does not pretend to be walkable, and it does not need to. It is one of the country's great eating cities, with a museum district that can fill a day and neighborhoods that cook in a dozen languages. Rent the car. Use it for restaurants, not for a skyline tour.
When to go
November through April is when you can be outside. Summer humidity is a character in the story. Hurricane season deserves a flexible booking. Winter is mild and the right time for the museum district.
Neighborhoods
The Museum District for art. Montrose and Rice Village for wandering. EaDo and the East End for a night. The Heights for houses and dinner. Downtown is improving and still not the whole point.
Eating
Tex-Mex, Vietnamese, Gulf seafood, and barbecue from a place that sells out. The diversity is the reputation, and it is true. Eat where the parking lot is full of regulars.
If you only remember this
- You want a car.
- Air conditioning is the local weather plan.
- Book the one famous barbecue before noon.
- Flooding is local news. Check the radar if the sky goes dark.