Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HOUSTON
POP 2.14 MILLION
Think laid-back, pickup truck and boot-scootin' town meets high-powered, high-cultured
and high-heeled metropolis. During the day, chill out in your flip-flops, take in museums
and shopping, and hit happy hour on a leaf-shaded deck. At night, revel in culinary or cul-
tural bliss - the foodie scene and theater district are both nationally renowned. Sure, oil-
and-gas wealth underlies a lot of the city's endeavors, but you'd never know it from the
lack of pretension. What's not to like about a place where a weeks-long rodeo and barbecue
cook-off is the favorite reason for stepping out? Here starched jeans are
de rigeur
in all but
the very fanciest of restaurants.
Houston may rank behind Chicago as the nation's fourth most populated city, but it cov-
ers a greater area than all of New Jersey. Diverse residential neighborhoods and enclaves of
restaurants and shops spread far and wide. You'll miss out if you limit yourself to Down-
town. The leafy Museum District is the city's cultural center; Upper Kirby and River Oaks
have upscale shopping and dining; Montrose contains cute bungalows, quirky shops and
eateries; Midtown has up-and-coming condos and some good restaurants; Washington Ave
is nightlife central and the Heights has historic homes and boutiques. Don't forget that a
couple of the town's main attractions - NASA's Space Center Houston in Clear Lake, and
Galveston Island - are outside the city limits, requiring a 45-minute drive down I-45.
