Texas · United States
Where to stay in Houston
Houston is a city in Texas, United States, home to about 2,305,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- HOU17 km · William P. Hobby Airport
- Currency
- USDUnited States dollar
- Time zone
- America/Chicago
- Language
- Carolinian, Chamorro, Hawaiian
About
About Houston
Houston ( HEW-stən) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census.
Houston has a character that, while very "Texan," is also a great melting pot of many cultures and socio-economic groups. You'll find well-to-do suburban mansions, LA-style shopping strips, Latin-American neighborhoods, towering skyscrapers, historic African-American neighborhoods fighting off gentrification, massive refinery complexes, large Asian communities, and pockets of artist communities. From October to May, the weather is relatively pleasant, and many restaurants and bars take advantage of it with plenty of outdoor seating and beautiful lighting.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Houston
See
Travelers planning to visit multiple attractions may benefit from the Houston CityPASS, which grants admission to 6 Houston attractions within 9 days of first use for a much reduced rate and includes expedited entry in some cases. The included attractions are: Space Center Houston; Downtown Aquarium; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Houston Zoo; Option Ticket One with choice of either Museum of Fine Arts or the Children's Museum of Houston and Option Ticket Two with choice of either George Ranch Historical Park or the Health Museum.
- Astrodome
Do
- Wildcat Golf Club
- Houston Country club
- River Oaks Country Club
- Redstone
- Houston CaribFest
- Art Car Parade
- Houston Motocross
- Houston Cougars
- Rice Owls
- Texas Southern Tigers
- Houston Christian Huskies
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Houston to stay in
Until 1915 the city was subdivided into "wards" and they tended to have distinct populations; the names survived in neighborhoods centered around similar areas. Since 1915 continual sprawl has created new districts and neighborhoods, some with distinct characters.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Houston
50 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata; the 40 best known are shown, by the number of Wikipedia editions that cover them. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| The Sam Houston Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts | 1924 | 2.2 km |
| Humble Oil Building Humble Oil, Marriott International | 1.8 km | |
| The Rice (Houston) | 1.9 km | |
| Club Quarters Hotel | 2.0 km | |
| Bender Hotel | 1.9 km | |
| Hotel Icon | 2.1 km | |
| Houston Marriott Marquis Marriott International | 2016 | 2.6 km |
| Lamar Hotel | 1.7 km | |
| Palace Hotel | 2.6 km | |
| The Houstonian Hotel | 1980 | 7.3 km |
| Blossom Hotel Houston Medical Center | 7.2 km | |
| C. Baldwin, Curio Collection by Hilton | 1.3 km | |
| Crowne Plaza Hotel Houston River Oaks | 5.1 km | |
| Crowne Plaza Houston Galleria Area | 8.2 km | |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Houston by the Galleria | 8.7 km | |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Houston Greenway Plaza | 6.0 km | |
| Embassy Suites Houston - Downtown | 2.4 km | |
| Four Seasons Hotel Houston | 2.2 km | |
| Hilton Americas - Houston | 2.5 km | |
| Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria | 7.6 km | |
| Hilton University of Houston | 6.3 km | |
| Hotel Granduca Houston | 7.3 km | |
| Hotel ICON, Autograph Collection | 2.2 km | |
| Hotel Zaza Houston Museum District | 4.3 km | |
| Houston Marriott Medical Center/Museum District | 6.1 km | |
| Houston Marriott West Loop by The Galleria | 7.3 km | |
| Hyatt Regency Houston | 1.5 km | |
| Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria | 8.6 km | |
| InterContinental Medical Center | 6.5 km | |
| JW Marriott Houston by the Galleria | 8.4 km | |
| JW Marriott Houston Downtown | 1.9 km | |
| La Colombe d'Or Hotel | 2.5 km | |
| Le Méridien Houston Downtown | 2.1 km | |
| Magnolia Hotel Houston, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel | 2.1 km | |
| Medical Towers | 6.2 km | |
| Moxy Houston Downtown | 2.1 km | |
| Omni Houston Hotel | 7.4 km | |
| OYO Hotel & Apartments Houston Galleria OYO Rooms | 8.6 km | |
| OYO Hotel Houston I-69 & I-610 OYO Rooms | 9.3 km | |
| OYO Townhouse Houston Brookhollow OYO Rooms | 12.9 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Houston
Houston has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; October is the wettest, with about 131 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Houston: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), about 17 km from the city centre in a straight line; George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH, 25 km) and Easterwood Field (CLL, 132 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Houston is served by two major commercial airports and two smaller regional airports (QHO) (IATA code for all Houston area airports).
Getting around
Houston's major highways make getting around the city fairly easy. (See list of freeways under the "Get in" section.) Obstacles, however, can make driving in Houston a less than pleasant experience. One is construction, which seems to be ever-present, and the other is traffic. Evening rush hour in Houston begins as early as 4PM and can last more than 2 hours. Morning rush hour is between 7 and 9AM. During rush hour, traffic on the highways can come to a halt.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
HOU · William P. Hobby Airport
IAH · George Bush Intercontinental Airport
CLL · Easterwood Field
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Houston
Eat
Houston has outstanding dining options, and is widely considered the most restaurant-oriented city in the United States, with a thriving community of ethnic restaurants, superb Tex-Mex, classic Texas steakhouses and Gulf Coast seafood, as well as chain restaurants. Houston's fine dining scene has exploded, with Downtown, Montrose, Midtown, and the Heights (including the Washington Corridor) as the epicenter of what's hot-and-happening now.
Stay safe
While not as infamous as Detroit, Baltimore, or Memphis, the crime rate in Houston is high and the city has a reputation among Texans as a dangerous city. Houston is the largest hub for human trafficking into the United States and is also a major hub for drug and weapons trafficking. Certain areas of Houston are more dangerous than others, including the area within Loop 610 on the east side and some areas in Southwest Houston near Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway). As a general rule, the areas of or portions of Spring Branch, Alief, Fondren Southwest, Sharpstown, Hiram Clarke, and Gulfton should be avoided during the night.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Houston: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Houston?
Houston has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 34 °C; October is the wettest, with about 131 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Houston?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), about 17 km from the city centre in a straight line; George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH, 25 km) and Easterwood Field (CLL, 132 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Houston?
United States dollar (USD).
Nearby
Destinations near Houston
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.