Houston the 4th largest city in the United States is home to America’s space program and the most culturally diverse city. Jorge Franz, Senior Vice President of Tourism, Visit Houston and William Harris, President & CEO, Space Center Houston were in New Delhi, India, recently to showcase the destination amongst the Indian travel fraternity.
The style-savvy residents of the country’s fourth-largest city and third-largest county (Harris) know that there’s no place quite like Houston.
With more than 2.2 million residents, the city attracts visitors and transplants with a wonderful mix of world-class arts, booming business, pro sports and award-winning cuisine.
As the rest of the country discovers what locals have known all along, Houston is finally enjoying the recognition it deserves. Just last year, the city landed on several “best of” lists, as roundup of America’s Favorite Cities and the Hotwire.com index of most affordable U.S. vacation destinations.
See for yourself, here in Houston, where much of daily life happens outdoors, thanks to mild, year-round temperatures. Take time to explore the eclectic, culture-filled neighborhoods, gallery spaces and attractions, which offer diverse flavors that can only be found here.
Take the food, for example. Countless cutting-edge chefs have made a home in Houston, where diners eat out more than residents of any other city. Here, you’ll find James Beard Award winners and internationally renowned chefs serving up innovative cuisine that frequently catches the attention of foodies in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Saveur.
But the stylish dining scene is only a slice of Houston’s epicurean offerings—a fact that the city’s culinary masterminds intend to prove with the Houston Culinary Tours. Each of the intimate, 16-person, chef-led tours aim at showing the underbelly of the city’s food scene—one taco truck and ethnic market at a time.
Venture Downtown during your stay and discover a thriving professional arts scene, with professional resident companies in ballet, opera, symphony and theater; only four other U.S. cities can say the same. And the nearby Museum District stakes its claim as the country’s fourth-largest, with 18 cultural powerhouses set within blocks of one another.
Houston has its own version of Central Park, too, offering nearly 1,500 acres of green space in the heart of the city. Just inside “the loop,” Memorial Park is home to a public golf course, swimming pool, tennis courts, trails and more. Downtown, Discovery Green park is outfitted with WiFi, a farmers market, dog runs, fine dining and ice-skating during the winter—just one more of the 650-plus urban green spaces filling the city.
Not surprisingly, businesses also recognize the allure of Houston’s offerings. Twenty-five companies on the Fortune 500 list call the Energy Capital of the World home. Aeronautic research is unsurpassed at NASA headquarters—the facility responsible for putting the first man on the moon—and Texas Medical Center remains the largest in the world with 47 highly lauded research and treatment institutions.
Houston actually is home to some of Texas’ most popular attractions. The Johnson Space Center was at the center of the space race during the 1960s and is still active in space exploration. Of course, the San Jacinto Monument marks the very spot where Texas won it’s independence from Mexico and is a must-see for history buffs. Adjacent to the San Jacinto Monument is the Battleship Texas, which fought to maintain America’s freedom during WWII.
The Houston Zoo has long been a favorite stop for Houston area residents and visitors alike. More recently, the Downtown Aquarium has also drawn a lot of attention from visitors. Houston also boasts an impressive array of museums, including the Buffalo Soldier Museum, the Holocaust Museum, Museum of Natural Science, Museum of Fine Arts, and many, many more.
Sports fans also have plenty to cheer about while in Houston, regardless of the season. The University of Houston and Rice University each field a full complement of men’s and women’s NCAA Div. I athletic teams. And, Reliant Stadium is home to the Houston Bowl, a DI college football bowl game. On the pro level, the NBA Rockets, NFL Texans, and MLB Astros all call Houston home.
Houston is also a popular stop for shoppers. From the upscale Galleria in the heart of the city to the sprawling Katy Mills Mall on the outskirts of town, Houston is home to thousands of retailers.
When it comes to dining, Houston offers some of the best – and most diverse – restaurants in the nation. From seafood to steaks, Tex-Mex to Indian, Houston has an eatery with virtually any and every style of food.
Throughout the year, Houston also hosts a number of festivals and events. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is by far the biggest of these annual events and draws hundreds of thousands each year. However, Houston is also home to the largest hot air balloon festival in Texas (Ballunar Liftoff in Clear Lake), the Houston International Festival, Houston Hot Sauce Festival, and many, many more.
Space Center Houston, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center, is Houston’s No. 1 attraction for international visitors and the first Smithsonian Affiliate in the greater Houston area informed William Harris, President & CEO, Space Center Houston.
He invited Indian travellers to discover the exciting future and remarkable past of America’s human spaceflight program set among the largest collection of space artifacts in the southwestern United States. There is always something new to see and do, he added. With more than 400 space artifacts including flown spacecraft, the largest collection of moon rocks on public display and at multiple major seasonal exhibits a year, Space Center Houston offers an array of exciting attractions for people of all ages.
Explore the red planet during your next visit in our new Mission Mars exhibit. Experience a virtual Martian sunset, climb into a simulated Orion capsule and feel the texture of rock cliffs inspired by the red planet in our brand-new interactive exhibit. Discover what it takes to travel to Mars, what hardware will get us to the fourth planet in our solar system and how humans may live on the red planet in the next few decades.
A must-see is the international landmark Independence Plaza presented by Boeing. It is the only shuttle replica mounted on a shuttle carrier aircraft, and the only place where visitors can enter both vehicles. The eight-story, multiple-exhibit complex gives visitors a rare glimpse into the historic shuttle era and the NASA breakthroughs and technological advances gained from the Space Shuttle Program which impacted future exploration.
Don’t miss Space Center Houston’s most popular attraction, the NASA Tram Tour. This is your chance to go on site at NASA Johnson Space Center and get a behind-the-scenes look at human space exploration. Explore Rocket Park, where one of only three of the remaining actual Saturn V rockets is displayed. Visit Historic Mission Control from which NASA led Gemini and Apollo missions, including the first lunar landing. Discover the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility where NASA astronauts train and where scientists are developing the next generation of space exploration vehicles.The nonprofit Space Center Houston draws more than 200,000 teachers and students from around the world annually to take part in its extraordinary learning opportunities. Students train underwater like an astronaut and discover space science through immersive, hands-on activities in year-round educational programs like Space Center University.
Highlights of the Space Centre –
Go inside the multiple exhibit complex Independence Plaza, featuring the original shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905 with the high-fidelity shuttle replica Independence mounted on top.
Touch one of the few moon rocks on earth available to the public inside the Lunar Vault.
Stand close to multiple flown spacecraft, including Gemini V, Faith 7 and Apollo 17.
See history in the making aboard the NASA tram tour. The tram tour takes visitors to see the state-of-the-art working facilities where astronauts prepare and train for missions.
Walk inside the massive Skylab Trainer, where astronauts first trained for life in space.
Explore a comprehensive spacesuit collection, including astronaut Pete Conrad’s spacesuit, worn on the moon.
So, whether it is business or pleasure that brings you to Houston, finding plenty to do won’t be a problem. In fact, you’ll probably find you don’t have nearly enough time to squeeze in everything.
Come. Live like a local for a few days and discover why Houston’s mix of international appeal and Southern charm have captured the imagination of taste makers the world over.
