Houston is the 4th largest populated city in the USA making it a top destination to visit. The city is spread over 637 square miles and is located within an hour’s drive from Galveston Bay. While it’s not the prettiest Texas city to visit, the concrete jungle offers much to do within its inner and outer loops. From La Porte to Stafford and in between, here are 12 must dos in Houston.
Truthfully, I’m still tackling my Houston bucket list despite living in Houston on and off for years. Houston’s sheer size and recognition as a top place to work and live means that new events, exhibits, and pop-ups keep the city fresh for locals and travelers. With that said, I’m always in pursuit of new things to do to keep the fam freshly entertained, but some things are simply Houston staples.
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Table of Contents
12 Must Dos In Houston Tx
It all starts with the Houston Rodeo. It’s not part of the core 12 because it’s an event that only occurs at the end of February through late March. Quite honestly, March is the perfect time of year to visit Houston and the Houston Rodeo makes it even more so. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out. Just be sure that when you make the Houston Rodeo trip, you include these other Houston must dos too.
1 – The Cisterns
The Cisterns, built in 1926, used to hold Houston’s public drinking water for decades until it sprang a leak. It’s a must do in Houston because the 87,500 square foot hold has 25-foot tall concrete pillars organized in a row pattern, resulting in fascinating illusions and acoustics.
Now that the Cistern is decommissioned, it’s home to different art displays, light shows, and even an occasional solo performance.
The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern is open for tours, includes a mini-light show by the tour operator and even an opportunity to scream your head off. The echo is pretty cool.
The Cisterns are a fabulous way to start your day before hitting the trails at Buffalo Bayou Park. Make sure to grab a free Buffalo Bayou Guide on your way out.
Cisterns Tour is a great starting point before exploring Buffalo Bayou Park
2 – Buffalo Bayou Park & Trail
While many beautiful parks are worth visiting in Houston, Buffalo Bayou Park offers the most unobstructed views of Houston’s downtown skyline. Buffalo Bayou Park extends from Shepherd Drive to the Port of Houston Turning Basin. Activities range from a simple walk, run, or cycle to even a paddle along the waterway.
Between the several nature areas, tributes, and parks along the Buffalo Bayou, you can spot other points of interest such as the 1925 brick smokestacks (not pretty but of historical importance) on the east end to an impressive bat colony at Waugh Bat Bridge on the west. Just be sure to time a Waugh Bat Bridge visit at sunset to catch these 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats taking flight. A must do in Houston!
Buffalo Bayou Park trails offer the best views of Downtown Houston
3 – Houston Murals
A visit to Houston wouldn’t be complete without a selfie or two in front of one of Houston’s many murals. You can hire a private tour guide to visit the most Gram-worthy murals around the city which is highly recommended for the trickier ones to find. Or if you are limited on time, go straight to Graffiti Park.
“From HTOWN WITH LOVE” is a must do in Houston, along with my personal favorite @WhatLiftsYou.
Use this Houston Murals map to plan your visit.
Take a selfie in front of this must do Houston mural in Graffiti Park
4 – Color Factory Houston
This immersive art museum in Upper Kirby isn’t your typical art museum. While there are plenty of impressive art installations in the Museum District to visit, which if you have the time you absolutely should, you don’t need an art, history, or science degree to totally understand it.
The Color Factory appeals to anyone looking to experience art in a non-traditional way. You navigate your way through the factory by tasting, drawing, feeling, hearing, and smelling – it’s pretty awesome. And exhibits are updated seasonally so that no 2 visits are ever the same.
What’s extra nice about the Color Factory is the map provided that indicates other free art installations located in various parts of the city. And you get a little gift on the way out, too!
The Color Factory is only available in Houston, New York, and Chicago.
Alternatively, Seismique offers a similar immersive art experience that’s only available in Houston. If you want exclusive, add Seismique as a must do in Houston.
If traditional museums are more your thing, The Menil Collection and Houston Museum of Natural Science are the very best in Houston.
Color Factory Houston is simply the most fun (& colorful) of all
5 – Hermann Park
While Buffalo Bayou Park offers the best unobstructed views of downtown, Hermann Park is the most picturesque. The 445-acre park is a one-stop shop for nature, monuments, gardens, history, golfing, art, and more – all while being conveniently near Houston’s top-notch museums and the Houston Zoo.
Hermann Park offers top sightseeing points in Houston, including Miller Outdoor Theatre, Sam Houston Monument, Mecom Fountain, a Japanese Garden, Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool, and Pioneer Memorial obelisk. That’s just to name a few!
If you’re looking for something a bit more active, there are plenty of trails at Hermann Park. Consider Bill Coats Bridge which offers access to a 35-mile trail system. Or for a shaded 2-mile picturesque walk, try Marvin Taylor Trail.
If the weather isn’t cooperating, pop into Houston’s Museum of Natural Science, The Health Museum, or The Children’s Museum of Houston (the kids will love you for it!).
It can take days to experience all that Hermann Park has to offer. Use Hermann Park’s interactive map to plan the things you want to do most.
100+ year old oak trees honor Houston WW1 soldiers at Hermann Park
6 – James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace
Located at the heart of Rice University’s campus you’ll find James Turrell’s Skyspace projecting above a grassy knoll. While the visual structure itself creates outer space curiosities, it’s the acoustics that make this an important asset to Rice’s music students. The structure was engineered to serve both musical performances and laboratory research for Shepherd School of Music students.
But, aside from the structure’s musical importance, it’s the light display feature that completes the “Twilight Epiphany” name. The Skyspace has an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling and through the gap of the 72 square-foot roof at sunset and sunrise. The stunning light sequence lasts for about 40 minutes, making this free attraction something to not miss in Houston.
Check Moody Center For the Arts for the best times to visit and where to park.
Watch a light show or visit during a Rice Campus walking tour
7 – Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park
The 2.77-acre Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park contains a 64-foot tall semi-circle fountain surrounded by tall live oaks and beautiful green space. The Waterwall was inspired by the nearby 64-story Williams Tower, formerly the Transco Tower, but the vibe is more Roman Theatre.
The architects’ mission was to create a “horseshoe of rushing water” and they did just that. The towering fountain re-circulates 11,000 gallons of water per minute in a cascading curtain-like fashion.
Not seeing the Waterwall as a Houstonian begs to question if you’re a Houstonian at all. It’s that impressive.
The Waterwall’s natural spray makes this the best thing to do in Houston in summer but a must see any time of year.
This urban waterfall is located in Uptown behind Houston’s mega upscale mall, the Galleria. The best way to get to Waterwall Park is to park for free at Galleria Red Garage. It’s only a few minutes walk from there. Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park is open between 10 and 9pm.
This Waterwall is unlike any other – don’t miss it while in HTX!
8 – San Jacinto Monument
The San Jacinto Monument tops the list of Houston must dos because it not only marks the 18-minute battle that altered Texas forever, but it’s the world’s tallest war memorial. Yes! In fact, the Monument stands a proud 570 feet tall which is 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument. A 34-foot Lone Star sits atop the column.
The Monument was finished in 1939 and honors those who served in the Battle of San Jacinto for Texas’s independence from Mexico. Although the elevator to the observation deck is closed, walk around the battlefield grounds which earned its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
San Jacinto used to be the home of USS Texas but as of August 2022 this last remaining World War battleship relocated to Galveston for repairs. The Battleship Texas ship’s new home has yet to be announced. Maybe San Jacinto again? Nevertheless, a visit to this Texas State Monument is worth visiting on its own.
The Monument and Battlefield are free to explore outside, while the San Jacinto Museum costs a small fee. Of all the things to do in Houston visiting this Monument is one of my favorite memories with my mom and dad.
San Jacinto Monument is a National Historic Landmark
9 – Space Center Houston
Visiting Space Center Houston seems like an obvious Houston bucket list activity but for non-space enthusiasts, it might be less of a consideration.
Before my first Space Center visit, I imagined seeing control room replicas, a (boring) wall-to-wall timeline of Space Center Houston history, and a few lectures that would go over my head. While there’s no shortage of story-telling at Houston’s NASA, it is an entirely immersive experience that even captivates skeptics like me.
The NASA Tram Tour is a must. If you only have time for one thing, do the Tram Tour. The Tram takes you to the actual training base and site of Mission Control. You also get to see one of the three remaining Saturn V rockets.
And if seeing a longhorn is on your Texas bucket list, Space Center Houston covers that too!
Longhorns are definitely the most unexpected thing to see outside Saturn V, but totally cool when you’re least expecting it. NASA and longhorns coexist under the Longhorn Project, an agricultural program created by JSC to give back to the community and ranch land that serves Space Center Houston.
And there’s always SpaceX.
Exhibits are top-notch but the Tram Tour is the best!
10 – BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
Located in Stafford on the southwest side of Houston is BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. This gorgeous Hindu temple is one of only 6 in North America and the largest of its kind in Texas.
The Mandir is constructed of 33,000 pieces of Italian marble and Turkish limestone hand-carved by 3,000 craftsmen in India. The pieces were then shipped to the USA where it was assembled together like a giant puzzle in Stafford, Texas by a crew of just 175 volunteers in 28 months.
Be sure to dress appropriately to visit this spiritual Mandir in Houston, and remember no photos or shoes while inside.
The Mandir is closed daily from 12-4.
Can you believe that this was shipped to Houston in 33,000 pieces?!
11 – Tijon Parfumerie
The French Caribbean-born perfumery is opening a boutique in the Heights in 2025. This boutique fragrance lab is the 4th to open in the USA, allowing Houstonians and visitors to mix and match fragrances to make their own custom scent. There will be fragrances inspired by Houston, Texas, making it unique from offerings at other boutiques.
This is the perfect rainy day thing to do (or too hot to be outside day), but you can see that even at the St Martin parfumerie, the 90-minute mix and match class was a family highlight on a perfect Caribbean day.
Yes – you get to wear white lab coats! Seriously so fun
12 – POST Houston
POST Houston used to be the old USPS headquarters located downtown. The large multi-story abandoned Barbara Jordan post office was renovated and revived in 2021. The new space is mostly about culture, food, and recreation. POST HTX offers food stalls, weekend markets, exhibits, workspaces, a music hall, and even a rooftop skylawn.
Choose from 30+ food options on the first floor and chill on the skylawn with unobstructed views of Houston’s downtown skyline before catching a vibrant show in the music hall. Such a unique option only in Houston!
Post HTX Skylawn has the best unobstructed views of downtown Houston
Map of Houston Must Dos
Use this map to organize the order of your visit to minimize time navigating back and forth across Houston.
Houston Bucket List
If you’re looking for more than the must dos and have more time, save this template for the very best things to do in Houston Tx – must dos included. Tap the Houston Do – Shop – Eat Bucket List to save to your phone or print for later.
Best things to do in Houston Tx! Tap the image to save
Final Tips On Must Dos In Houston
If you’re in the mood for pro sports, Houston offers many venues. The Astros is an excellent choice given the 2022 World Series Win. Even if there isn’t a game, you can go on a Minute Maid Park Tour or check out Houston’s minor league baseball team: Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
Combine Space Center Houston with a visit to Galveston, if seeing the Gulf Coast is on your list. You can manage to do both in 1 day trip.
Don’t blink while driving through the I-45 and 1-10 interchange. This is Mount Rush Hour where you’ll see 4 massive heads of Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. Add Statesmanship Park to Google Maps for an up-close photo.
If you’re looking to combine a visit to Houston with other top Texas destinations, Round Top is 2 hours away, Waco is 3, and Fredericksburg is 4. Or if you love Houston’s mural scene, find the original #WhatLiftsYou in Nashville.
Love this sister version of the original in Nashville!
So, whether or not you’re traveling for the rodeo or just to see what this 4th largest American city is all about, don’t miss these must dos in Houston!
