World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Houston  - Key Attractions
Key Attractions

Space Center Houston
The Space Center Houston is a privately operated attraction that acts as the official visitor's centre of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Exhibits include the Gemini and Apollo capsules, other space flight hardware and astronaut memorabilia. Visitors can enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center, hands-on space simulators, IMAX films and even watch astronauts train for upcoming shuttle missions.

1601 NASA Road 1
Tel: (281) 244 2100.
E-mail: schinfo@spacecenter.org
Website: www.spacecenter.org
Transport: Metrobus 246 Bay Area NASA or 247 Fuqua NASA.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900 (summer); Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1000-1900 (winter).
Admission: US$13.95 (concessions available).

Contemporary Arts Museum

The Contemporary Arts Museum, established in 1948 and housed in an award-winning contemporary all-metal structure, has several rotating exhibitions each year. It displays new and recent works of the last 40 years by regional, national and international contemporary artists. A forthcoming exhibition will include the words of the avant-garde artist, Yoko Ono.
5215 Montrose Boulevard, Museum District
Tel: (713) 284 8250.
Website: www.camh.org
Transport: Metrobus 34 Montrose or 65 Bissonnet.
Opening hours: Tues and Wed 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100, Fri and Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Museum of Fine Arts

The Museum of Fine Arts has an impressive collection of over 40,000 pieces of art, including antiquities and Renaissance art through to Impressionism and early Modernism. It also has fine African sculptures, textiles and costumes. The striking Beck Building, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, was opened in March 2000, doubling the size of the museum and allowing more of the ever-growing collection to be displayed. The building has a roof studded with skylights, which gives ideal lighting conditions in which to view the paintings. Highlights include the Straus Collection of Renaissance and eighteenth century paintings and the Beck Collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, including Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse and Gauguin.

1001 Bissonnet Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 639 7300.
E-mail: hirsch@mfah.org
Website: www.mfah.org
Transport: Metrobus 34 Montrose or 65 Bissonnet.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed and Sat 1000-1900, Thurs and Fri 1000-2100, Sun 1215-1900.
Admission: US$5 (concessions available); free entry on Thurs.

Menil Collection

The Menil Collection is the home of the works of art collected by John and Dominique de Menil, a prominent, wealthy Houston family, on their travels. The private collection includes antiquities, Byzantine art, tribal art and twentieth-century works, such as Cubism, Minimalism, Surrealism and Pop Art. There is also a permanent collection of astronomical instruments and ceremonial masks, which fascinated the Surrealists.

1515 Sul Ross Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 525 9400. Fax: 525 9444.
E-mail: info@menil.org
Website: www.menil.org
Transport: Metrobus 78 Alabama.
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1100-1900.
Admission: Free.

Holocaust Museum Houston

The Holocaust Museum Houston serves as a memorial to the millions who were imprisoned and died in Nazi death camps in World War II. The museum contains a permanent exhibit hall, regularly changing exhibitions, a memorial area and sculpture garden. A permanent exhibition, 'Bearing Witness - A Community Remembers', reveals the atrocities of the Holocaust through the words and memorabilia of local survivors. The museum features a 30-minute film, 'Voices', which is a montage of oral histories by Holocaust survivors from the Houston area.

5401 Caroline Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 942 8000.
E-mail: tours@hmh.org
Website: www.hmh.org
Transport: Metrobus 2 Bellaire or 4 Beechnut.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat and Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

This museum contains an impressive collection of natural exhibits. Highlights include the Cockrell Centre, filled with butterflies and tropical plants and featuring a 12m (40ft) waterfall, a rainforest environment, a planetarium and a permanent exhibition of dinosaur skeletons. There is also an IMAX theatre.

1 Hermann Circle Drive, Museum District
Tel: (713) 639 4629.
Website: www.hmns.org
Transport: Metrobus 2 Bellaire or 4 Beechnut.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1800 (until 2000 Tues in summer), Sun 1100-1800.
Admission: US$5 (exhibits); US$4 (planetarium); US$4 (Cockrell centre); US$6.50 (IMAX). Free after 1400 on Tues.

Houston Zoo

A very popular visitor attraction in Houston, the Houston Zoo is home to over 700 species of animals, reptiles and amphibians and covers 22 hectares (55 acres). The zoo was established in Hermann Park in 1922 - with a handful of animals - and has grown steadily since the federal government gave the city zoo a bison named 'Earl' in 1920. It is now an important centre for conservation and research. Most days, there are opportunities to view the feeding of certain animals, such as vampire bats, and also to see demonstrations by sea lions. The Wortham World of Primates is a lush 0.88-hectare (2.2-acre) rainforest and the natural habitat for 13 species of monkeys and apes. Other popular attractions are the big cats, including white tigers, leopards and jaguars.

Hermann Park, Museum District
Tel: (713) 284 1354.
E-mail: sholben@houstonzoo.rg
Website: www.houstonzoo.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital Texas Medical Center.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission: US$2.50 (concessions available).

Children's Museum of Houston

A wonderful experience for those aged from four months to 14 years, the Children's Museum of Houston has a variety of hands-on exhibits in the fields of science, history, culture and arts. The 'Think Tank' is a problem-solving exhibit using mirror magic and optical illusions. Activities concerning the environment feature tree rubbing and insect collecting.

1500 Binz Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 522 1138.
E-mail: mzannone@cmhouston.org
Website: www.cmhouston.org
Transport: Metrobus 2 Bellaire or 4 Beechnut.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: US$4 (concessions available).

Sam Houston Historical Park

The eight-hectare (19-acre) Sam Houston Historical Park contains a collection of restored historic buildings, including houses, a church and a reconstructed row of shops. The buildings have been collected together on this site, to go with the 1847 Kellum-Noble House, the oldest house in Houston. A recent addition to the collection is the 1870 two-storey house belonging to Jack Yates, the first to be built by a freed slave. Guided tours are available, run by the Harris County Heritage Society. These historic buildings set against the sleek city skyscrapers make for a great photo opportunity.

1100 Bagby Street
Tel: (713) 655 1912.
E-mail: jcab@heritagesociety.org
Website: www.heritagesociety.org
Transport: Metrobus 40 Pecore or 50 Heights.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1300-1600.
Admission: Free; US$6 (guided tours).

Museum of Health & Medical Science

A rather fascinating museum, the Museum of Health & Medical Science, gives an exciting tour of the human body with huge sculptures of human organs, including a brain and a rib cage. There are also plenty of hands-on and interactive exhibits that explore how the body works and how to stay healthy.

1515 Hermann Drive, Museum District
Tel: (713) 521 1515.
Website: www.mhms.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital Texas Medical Center.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: US$4; free for families on Thurs 1600-1900.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
GENERAL
City Overview
City Statistics
Cost of Living
 
GETTING THERE
Air
Road
Rail
 
GETTING AROUND
Getting Around
 
BUSINESS
Business
 
SIGHTSEEING
Sightseeing
Key Attractions
Further Distractions
Tours of the City
Excursions
 
ENTERTAINMENT
Nightlife
Sport
Shopping
Culture
Special Events
Food and Drink