Houston
Overview
Texas' largest city, Houston is a sprawling metropolis of museums, giant shopping malls and Mexican-style restaurants. Get ready for blast-off at the hands-on Space Center Houston and celebrate Texan independence from Mexico at the sky-piercing San Jacinto Monument. Then go surfing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Background
South-east of Houston you'll find Galveston Bay, a Gulf of Mexico seaport and key oil transportation hub. If you follow the Buffalo Bayou river west from the bay you'll reach Downtown Houston. The city was founded in 1836 along the Buffalo Bayou and named after the general who won Texas' independence from Mexico. Visit Houston's renowned performing arts venues in Downtown or head southwest for the Museum District. You'll find the Space Center Houston in the city's south-east.
First-time visit
Appreciate Texan free spirit at the 570-foot-high San Jacinto Monument column on the site where General Sam Houston defeated the Mexican army and won independence for Texas. Work your way from this 19th-century site to the futuristic Space Center Houston for interactive anti-gravity and spacewalking simulators. Save up for a Texan-style shopping spree in The Galleria shopping mall in Uptown Houston. In the evening, relax over a cold beer, spicy Mexican enchilada wraps or fresh seafood in Downtown Houston.
Return visit
Enjoy outdoors Houston on a trip to Hermann Park, where you can go fishing, play golf on its 18-hole course or see lions and tigers at Houston Zoo. Watch plays at the free Miller Outdoor Theatre. You can listen to world-class classical music and opera at Downtown's white marble Jesse H Jones Hall for the Performing Arts and the bold, colourful Wortham Center. Or catch some waves with a surfing daytrip to the barrier islands along the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston.
airports
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Essentials
George Bush Intercontinental Airport transports more than 42 million passengers a year. Although the airport is large, the five terminals are linked by fast and efficient services, so whichever terminal you are flying from you can still enjoy the facilities in the other terminals.
Airport Facts
- Airport code
- IAH
- Airport website
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport website
- Airport tel
- +1 281 230 3100
- No. of terminals
- Five.
- Distance from city centre
- 23 miles (37km) north of Downtown Houston.
- Transport between terminals
- A free underground Inter Terminal Train links all terminals as well as the airport hotel. There is also an above ground Automated People Mover that links terminals B, C, D and E.
- Airport parking
- There are car parks at all five terminals, including short-stay and long-stay, business and valet parking with more than 23,000 parking spaces. In addition there are a number of off-airport car parks with complimentary shuttles to the airport.
- Time zone
- GMT-6 (-5 in summertime)
Top events
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