Car Hire Houston - Mini guide to Houston

Known best for the NASA line ‘Houston we have a problem…’, this Texas city is one of the great oil state’s biggest and wealthiest. It is also home to one of NASA’s chief communications centres. Situated 50 miles northwest of the Gulf of Mexico, it is the fourth-largest city in the US. The sprawling metropolitan area has much to offer, including great museums, beautiful parks, a hip young urban population and a variety of excellent excursions. Most areas of interest are within a few miles of downtown.

The Museum District is sandwiched between Hermann Park and Hwy 59 southwest of downtown. The Museum of Fine Arts (1900) is the oldest art museum in Texas, featuring a large collection of American Modernists, Texan Postmodernists and French Impressionists. The Contemporary Arts Museum presents 10 or more temporary shows a year and the Holocaust Museum is an excellent though sobering memorial.

At Hermann Park, Houston Zoological Gardens features gorillas, tropical birds, lions, bats and an adjoining aquarium. The Museum of Natural Science is great for kids. Inside, the Cockrell Butterfly Center is a large three-story dome where you can wander about among thousands of live butterflies.

There's great cycling along Houston's many park trails, and the area's flat topography makes for easy pedaling. The open-air Alkek Velodrome facility is in Cullen Park, 20 miles west of downtown.