Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau 901 Bagby Houston, TX 77002 (713) 437-5200 Population 1630553 Time Zone Central Latitude/Longitude 29.76° /-95.36° Today's Forecast HIGH: 56 LOW: 38

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Attractions

Known as Space City, Bayou City, and Energy Capital of the World, Houston gives visitors everything from haute couture to honky-tonks. Greater Houston sprawls over eight counties and more than 8,000 square miles, more than twice the area of the entire state of Rhode Island. The city itself, which covers just under 900 square miles, exudes energy and big ideas.

Houston's Museum of Fine Arts ranks among the major galleries of the United States. Rienzi is the museum's center for European decorative arts, while its Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens displays American decorative arts at the former estate of philanthropist Ima Hogg. More art is on view at the Menil Collection (with its extraordinary Rothko and Byzantine Fresco chapels) and at the Contemporary Arts Museum.

At Hermann Park, across from the campus of Rice University, visit the Houston Zoo and the Museum of Natural Science, which features the Burke-Baker Planetarium, Cockrell Butterfly Center, and Wortham IMAX Theater. The Miller Outdoor Theatre, site of summer festivals and evening concerts, and the Japanese Gardens are also popular features of the park. Nearby, you'll find the Children's Museum of Houston, the McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, and the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Other worthwhile stops include the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, the Houston Fire Museum, the Houston Railroad Museum, the Downtown Aquarium, and the historic buildings preserved at Sam Houston Park.

And don't overlook the truly off-beat that Houston has to offer: the Art Car Museum, Beer Can House, and Pigdom, all of which helped inspire the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art.

Several notable destinations make up the city's impressive Theatre District. Wortham Theater Center houses the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet. The Houston Symphony presents its concerts at Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is the place to see Broadway touring productions and Theater Under the Stars. And, the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre offers two stages for the stellar dramas produced by its repertory company.

Sports are bigger than ever in Houston. The Texans of the NFL play at Reliant Stadium in Reliant Park. Minute Maid Park serves as home field for the Houston Astros baseball team. The NBA's Houston Rockets and the WNBA's Houston Comets are at the Toyota Center, where the Aeros of the American Hockey League also play. The Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer play at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.

South of the city, Space Center Houston, the official visitors center for the NASA-Johnson Space Center, will transport you into outer space via virtual simulations, live coverage of ongoing missions, demonstrations, and multi-sensory films. Eastwards, San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site gives a look back to the founding moments of the Texas Republic.

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