Location: Houston
Top Things to do in Houston
Things to do in Houston, Texas (TX): The Best Gardens
Houston hums with an energy and independent spirit all its own. A leading cultural and culinary destination in the South, the city is home to over 11,000 restaurants featuring cuisine from more than 70 countries. The thriving arts scene includes resident opera, ballet, symphony and theater companies. The Museum District houses 19 museums, all within walking distance. Be sure to visit Space Center Houston, where you can visit NASA’s Historic Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.
Restaurants in Houston
1. Eleanor Tinsley Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By houstontravelingfool - Houston, United States
What a lovely park to walk through while being quarantined during the pandemic. Was packed on the weekends so we went back during the week and it was fairly empty so we felt very comfortable walking around. The views of downtown Houston were beautiful. They had a wonderful sand pit for volleyball, bikes you could rent, lovely artwork spread throughout the property and a wonderful walking path along Buffalo Bayou. All in all, a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors.
2. Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 447 reviews
Bayou Bend is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's house museum for American decorative arts and paintings. Displayed in the former home of Houston civic leader and philanthropist Ima Hogg (1882-1975), the collection is one of the finest showcases of American furnishings, silver, ceramics, and paintings in the world. The house is situated on 14 acres of organically maintained gardens in Houston's historic River Oaks neighborhood.
Reviewed By larryd1941
Comparing the Bayou Bend American furniture rooms to DuPont's Winterthur Museum is unfair, as they both have excellent collections of American furnihings but Bayou Bend has a less comprehensive view of 18th and 19th century furnishings than Winterthur. It is still high on my list of National "must see" Museums. Its grounds are enchanting and the Museum feels more like a visit to a wealthy friend's home (a la Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillwood in Washington, DC) than to a major Museum of American furniture (Winterthur in Delaware)
3. Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 95 reviews
Reviewed By beachboywantabe - Corpus Christi, United States
Cloud Column (sculpture by Anish Kapoor of Chicago’s Cloud Gate fame) is not really part of the Cullen Sculpture Garden, but since it adjoins the Garden, for practical purposes it is. The Sculpture Garden has been a favorite Arts District stop of mine for years, and the only place other than France or The Rodin Museum In Philly where 3 Rodin Sculptures can be seen at one location! Cloud Column by itself is worthy of a visit. I love the MFAH description of the sculpture that mentions some people refer to it as “El Frijole”: “The play between the convex and concave surfaces establishes a dual reality, as the elongated core of the sculpture presents the world upside down, bringing the heavens down to earth.”
4. McGovern Centennial Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 166 reviews
Reviewed By lynnmD6309XP - Houston, United States
We went to a "Celebration of Life" in the Cherie Flores Pavilion for a friend who had recently passed away. The Pavilion is located in the McGovern Centennial Gardens. It is a beautiful venue as it looks over the gardens via a large glass window. The pavilion had ample room to accommodate lots of chairs, a number of tables with rounds of 8-10, and tables to accommodate a buffet style eating arrangement. A perfect place for a tribute for our friend who loved the Hermann Park area and these gardens. I liked it so much so that I am thinking of holding my husband's retirement party there. We also want to go back and just explore the gardens and water features when the weather is cooler.
5. Lucky Land Houston
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 20 reviews
Reviewed By TerzahH - Houston, United States
this is a 2-acre site next to a very well attended Hispanic flea market and the contrast is quite amazing. Here you can leisurely walk through and learn about Chinese culture. There is a food stand and a place to buy sodas, and several small pavilions selling tourist items. I went at noon on a Sunday in August with my sister and daughter. The admission was very reasonable and we spent about 2 hours looking at the site. Bring your camera and comfortable shoes. The terra-cotta figurines were in the center of the display, but there were many other interesting sites, including a miniature city, a buddha exhibit, a panda exhibit and a Koy pond. It was hot, but the owners provided cloth umbrellas to those in attendance, which I thought was very thoughtful. In addition to the beautiful exhibits, the remarkable thing was the kindness and concern of the people working there for the guests. One person helped us feed the koy; another led us to the soda/water pavilion when we got hot. It was really a fun and entertaining experience where I learned something and had a good time all at once. Would recommend to those with kids since there are many exhibits where the kids can play on the statues.
6. Hermann Park's Japanese Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 24 reviews
Reviewed By N3367FTstephaniea - Houston, United States
pretty place to relax and just have a very calming walk. Located in the Memorial Park near all the other attractions like the zoo, miller park and so many other beautiful parks is just the perfect place to visit with the family and have a good day.
7. Levy Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By houstontravelingfool - Houston, United States
LOVE this little park tucked away in a Greenway-area neighborhood! It’s always brimming with people but, at the same time, it’s easy to social distance during this pandemic. We go just to walk our steps but love its vibrancy. Very kid friendly. They have carts set up for a little lending library, arts and crafts and games plus wonderful wide open spaces for kids to be kids - running, jumping and flying kites. Lots of tables and chairs set up inviting groups to just sit and enjoy. They also have a wonderful community garden that is flourishing. Another popular feature is the dog park, always filled with happy dogs playing with other dogs. Joyful to watch. Free street parking available surrounding the park. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
8. Houston Botanic Garden
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