Stafford Centre Houston Race Park Buffalo Bayou Park Memorial Park

Stafford Centre. Located 15 miles from downtown Houston, the Stafford Centre is an elegant 90,000 sq. ft. meeting, convention and entertainment complex that hosts corporate events, meetings, dance competitions, theater productions, festivals, consumer shows, weddings, galas, outdoor events, and world-renowned theater performances. The Centre features a 1,100 seat performing arts theater, 25,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and expo space, a 20,000 square foot ballroom, and 28 acres of outdoor festival green space. Visit www.staffordcentre.com

Bayou Place. Located in downtown Houston, Bayou Place is home to eclectic restaurants, pubs, live music, billiards, multiple theaters and art house films. The Houston Verizon Wireless Theater stages a variety of live concerts and the eight-screen Angelika Theater presents the latest in art, foreign and independent films. Tempt your tastebuds in restaurants like Sake Lounge, Hard Rock Café or Mingalone's, or just hang out at BAR Houston, Have a Nice Day Cafe' or Slick Willies. Visit www.bayouplace.com

Houston Downtown Aquarium. A spectacular, six-acre aquatic entertainment, dining and meeting complex, the Aquarium boasts 500,000 gallons of visible underwater tanks with 200 species of marine life, rides and amusements. On Shark Voyage, you can travel via train into an acrylic tunnel with live sharks swimming overhead. Ride the 100-foot Diving Bell Ferris wheel for an incredible view of the city, or the aquatic carousel if you'd rather be grounded. See educational exhibits of themed underwater environments like the Rainforest. Quell your hunger at the Marina Matinee café or Aquarium restaurant, or quench your thirst at the Dive Lounge. Visit www.downtownaquarium.com

Downtown Entertainment District. The heart and soul of the city, the Downtown Entertainment District is the center of Houston’s fun and culture. Downtown Houston is a safe, walkable neighborhood featuring more than 70 bars, high-energy dance clubs, live music, lounges, restaurants and cafés in Houston’s historic center - only a few blocks from the city’s world-famous Theater and Sports/Convention districts. Visit www.deda.org

Houston Theater District. Houston’s downtown Theater District spans 17 blocks and has 12,948 seats. Houston is one of the few U.S. cities with permanent professional ballet, opera, symphony, and theater companies.  Houston's performing arts community features the Houston Ballet and the Houston Symphony. The Theater District is home to five performing arts venues, four internationally-recognized performing arts presenters, and numerous restaurants and clubs where you can listen to live music or enjoy a leisurely dinner after the show. Visit www.houstontheaterdistrict.org  [Top]

Sam Houston Race Park. Sam Houston Race Park presents live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing on a 7/8-mile turf track and on a one-mile, oval dirt track touted to be one of the best surfaces in the nation. Watch from a 200,000-square-foot grandstand, a 30,000-square-foot pavilion or one of several luxury suites with trackside views. The park also features formal dining facilities and food concessions. Visit www.shrp.com

Gulf Greyhound Park. The world’s largest greyhound racing facility, Gulf Greyhound Park features live greyhound racing, year-round simulcast dog and horse racing, and the Terrace Clubhouse Restaurant. Visit www.gulfgreyhound.com

Galleria Mall. With more than 375 retail stores and restaurants, the Galleria has established itself as the fourth largest mall in the nation and #1 shopping tourist destination in Houston with famous retailers from Neiman Marcus to Tiffany & Co. Enjoy one of the many restaurants and sports bars in the Uptown Houston District, or take a spin around The Galleria's indoor ice rink for an energy release.

Space Center Houston. At Space Center Houston, you can experience space from its dramatic history and exciting present to its compelling future. Space Center Houston is the only place on Earth that gives you an out-of-this-world journey through human adventures into space. Space Center Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA's manned space flight program. SCH is the only place in the world where you can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA. Understand the past, experience the present, and be a part of the future of the America’s space program. Visit www.spacecenter.org  [Top]

Buffalo Bayou Park. Walk, hike, or stroll along the new paved hike and bike trail that follows the banks of Buffalo Bayou in downtown. Run miles of trail as you enjoy vistas of the downtown skyline and access the vibrant streets and attractions. The focal point of Houston’s rebirth, Buffalo Bayou Park - decorated with sculptures, artworks and water features - takes you right into the Theater District. Beginning June 2006, the illumination of blue and white lights will brighten the bridges, trails and water of Bayou Park with a blue color scheme changing with the phases of the moon.


Minute Maid Park. Visit the Houston Astros' wonderful new ballpark in downtown Houston. The ballpark is Houston's first retractable-roofed stadium, protecting fans and athletes from Houston's humid weather like its predecessor, the Astrodome, but allowing fans to enjoy outdoor baseball and spectacular views of the Hosuton skyline. A vintage, full-size locomotive runs along 800 feet of track on the left field wall to celebrate homers. Walking tours of Minute Maid Park are available. Visit www.ballparks.com/baseball/national/bpkaus.htm


Houston Zoological Gardens. Located within Hermann Park, this 50-acre zoo is home to more than 3,100 exotic animals representing more than 500 species, a gorilla habitat, rare albino reptiles, a cat facility, a large aquarium, and vampire bats. The Brown Education Center, open daily from 10am to 6pm, allows visitors to interact with the animals. Visit www.houstonzoo.org

Hermann Park. Hermann Park is Houston's most historically significant public green space. Over the years, the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and one of the finest public golf courses in the country have added to the Park's importance as a recreational destination. Visit http://www.hermannpark.org  [Top]

Memorial Park. A beautiful park along Buffalo Bayou west of downtown Houston, shaded with tall pine trees, Memorial Park offers an extensive jogging and walking path, tennis courts and plenty of greenspace. Memorial Park has one of the best public golf courses in Houston.
Art Car Parade Held annually in May, Houston has the oldest and largest Art Car Parade in the nation. What started in 1988 with 40 decorated vehicles and a few onlookers has evolved into a national phenomenon. Houston's annual parade draws more than 250 art cars and more than 250,000 spectators for a wild and wheeled weekend. Visit www.artcars.com.

Six Flags SplashTown. Get soaked at SplashTown USA, Texas' favorite tropical paradise for water-loving thrill-seekers. On hot summer days, the whole family will enjoy dozens of splashy water adventures and acres of incredible rides, slides, chutes and floats.

Armand Bayou Nature Center. Reconnect with nature at this astonishingly beautiful part of the Texas Gulf Coast. Learn about our plant and animal inhabitants, bird-watch, hike on the Nature Center's trails or view live animal displays of snakes, spiders, hawks and bison. Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) preserves the wetlands prairie, forest and marsh habitats surrounding Armand Bayou. Experience the beauty of Armand Bayou on the Bayou Ranger, an electric pontoon boat, or in a guided canoe tour. Visit www.abnc.org

George Ranch Historical Park. Located in Richmond, Texas, the George Ranch Historical Park holds Texas's "big" stories, from cattle and cotton to oil, from the Texas revolution to World War II. Originally settled in 1824 as part of Austin's Colony by Nancy and Henry Jones, four generations of Jones’ descendants have continued to manage and love this land. Today, the George Ranch is a 23,000-acre working ranch. Visit http://www.georgeranch.org/

Brays Bayou. A 10-mile hike and bike trail runs along the banks of Brays Bayou from Hermann Park through the Medical Center, where it goes under South Main Street then heads southwest almost all the way to Beltway 8.  [Top]