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Things to do in Houston

lillatroll
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My nephew will be traveling to Houston for work from Sweden. He will have a few days to do tourist things. His interests are Music, food and I think he likes cocktails.

Any recommendations of things he should see or or places he might like would be much appreciated.Any areas he should avoid or things he should be wary about? He is 27, grew up on a small island and is not exactly streetwise. Thanks in advance
 
Waltesefalcon
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The San Jacinto monument is worth seeing if you're a history buff, it is the site of the Battle of San Jacinto which was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.
The same goes for the Galveston Naval Museum, it's just down the road from Houston. They have a WWII era Destroyer escort, and a WWII Gato class submarine.
In Houston itself is a zoo that I have heard good things about, but I've not gone any time I have been down that way.
 
ErichPryde
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The Houston Museum of Natural Science has a great bone hall- not quite as good as the American Museum of Natural History (NY) or the Chicago Field Museum, but absolutely worth seeing if he is into Natural Sciences. There is also a great mineral and shell collection to see there. HMNS is right next to the zoo and smack dab in the middle of Hermann park, which is also a great place to walk around. There are lots of pretty gardens in the area.

I strongly recommend Corkscrew Barbecue in Spring, TX (North Houston). It is pretty highly rated on the list of Texas barbecue locations and when I lived in Spring I regularly took people there.

Lastly (for the moment) I'll make a totally off the wall recommendation that he might not otherwise hear: Central Market (a gourmet grocery store) on Westheimer has a sandwich shop inside of it that makes some of the absolute best goddamn sandwiches that you can get in Houston, period.

There are lots of really good places to eat though, can't go wrong just pulling up a list of most recommended places.

Gotta second NASA. And not too far from there is a Thai place called Stellar Thai that I recommend, I remember it being pretty solid.
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Evitzee
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I've lived/visited large cities all over the world and find Houston one of the least likable. Weather, traffic, terrain....just blah. One recommendation I would give is to drive down to Clear Lake and visit the Johnson Space Center. Book ahead for the Mission Control tour, it's a historical place now fully refurbished to how it looked in July 1969, right down to vintage Coke cans and overflowing ashtrays. Worth the effort.

If he likes alcohol visit Spec's on Smith Street downtown, a mega selection of alcohol, wine, beer and gourmet foods, he will be entertained. Plenty of free parking. Food wise, James Coney Island, it's a must everytime I'm in Houston. A visit to The Galleria on Westheimer is fun to browse around, a truly high end mall, plenty of eating opportunities there at all levels.
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STANDY
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Go to a BassPro shop….thats a day for me 👍👍


IMG_8492.jpeg

The Pearland location of Bass Pro Shops is just over 150,000 square feet. For reference, that’s bigger than three football fields combined, a.k.a. outdoor fanatics’ shopping heaven. Look your best with names like RedHead, UnderArmour and Bob Timberlake, and browse the best names in fishing, hunting, water sports and so much more. There’s even a 30,000 gallon aquarium onsite where you can watch the pros demo the latest merchandise and fishing techniques.
 
Evitzee
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STANDY STANDY
Go to a BassPro shop….thats a day for me 👍👍


IMG_8492.jpeg

The Pearland location of Bass Pro Shops is just over 150,000 square feet. For reference, that’s bigger than three football fields combined, a.k.a. outdoor fanatics’ shopping heaven. Look your best with names like RedHead, UnderArmour and Bob Timberlake, and browse the best names in fishing, hunting, water sports and so much more. There’s even a 30,000 gallon aquarium onsite where you can watch the pros demo the latest merchandise and fishing techniques.
That's now the 'mini' size, the Bass Pro Shop in the Memphis Pyramid is 535,000 square feet. The original in Springfield, MO tops out at 500,000 square feet.
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Meme-Dweller
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NASA is out of the way and an inconvenience for most visitors. Bass Pro Shops is just the size of your average Walmart but with a fish tank. Just go to The Galleria mall, try on some Omegas, then go get some Texas BBQ.
 
ErichPryde
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Meme-Dweller Meme-Dweller
NASA is out of the way and an inconvenience for most visitors. Bass Pro Shops is just the size of your average Walmart but with a fish tank. Just go to The Galleria mall, try on some Omegas, then go get some Texas BBQ.

Pretty much everything in Houston is out of the way, it's a big city with miserable traffic. The 45 and 10 can get easily backed up during any time of day but especially during rush hour and a wreck is the norm, typically upside down and in the left lane. Don't even get me started on the 610 loop.

The nice thing is, the size means that there are some very cool places to visit and eat at. Depending upon where someone stays it's easy to make a list of recommendations that aren't too far from one another.
 
dscoogs
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Don't know what kind of food he likes and where he will be staying, but this is not a bad place to start: - https://www.visithoustontexas.com/restaurants-and-bars/ - after all, there are over 10K restaurants in Houston.

If he likes Vietnamese/Chinese buffet, he needs to visit this place:
Kim Son - Bellaire
10603 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, Texas 77072
 
lillatroll
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Well, looking at his feeds on Instagram, he has visited a Goodwill shop, that looks to be about the size of the island he comes from and a petrol station that looks to be about the size of the island he comes from.
I think he will visit the space centre as he is an engineer. I already gave him an omega watch, but he prefers to wear his 10 dollar Casio. I suppose it will save me a fortune in watches.

He has a hire car, because he needs to get to the factory where he will fix some machines, so transport is not an issue)

Thanks for all the tips, I have forwarded them to him.
 
Syrte
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Another vote: Johnson Space Center not to be missed- along with Mission control of course.
Also must see the space museum nearby where the actual Apollo capsule and lunar module are held. It’s not the same thing.

I often tell people that if they ever have a chance, they should stop in Houston once in their life just to see that.

I hear there’s an outstanding modern art museum.
 
lillatroll
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Well he has just sent me pictures of a speedmaster attached to a spacesuit glove, so I guess he went to the space centre. Maybe there is hope for him yet
 
Dsloan
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If they're into fine art, there are some great collections downtown! The Rothko chapel, the Menil, etc.

And, above all, Houston is a great city for food! I miss having access to Banh Mi 24/7.
 
Syrte
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Dsloan Dsloan
I miss having access to Banh Mi 24/7.

Do they make it with French baguette also in Houston? That would be an unexpected by product of French colonialism.
 
Dsloan
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Syrte Syrte
Do they make it with French baguette also in Houston? That would be an unexpected by product of French colonialism.

Yes! And there's a lot of fun fusion between Cajun food and Vietnamese food in the area through over to Louisiana.

I think I'm paraphrasing Anthony Bourdain, but colonialism is horrible for people and great for food. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to reheat some of my wife's Filipino spaghetti for lunch 😀
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