For those of you coming for the Final Four, I hope you have a safe flight before your hour drive from that abysmally far airport on the northside (if you haven't booked and can afford it, fly into Hobby).

If you're looking for something to do and want to do more than what you can do in other locales, go to Kemah, Galveston and Lake Charles is 2 hours away in Louisiana. There's also the Fred Hartman Bridge to drive over in La Porte/Baytown:



From there you can see a bunch a plants and the San Jacinto Monument.

So welcome to Houston, I hope your stay is pleasureable and not boring.

You just gave them the shittiest options. You won't ever be my tour guide. Seriously, a tour of refineries and chemical plants?

(03-29-2016 03:36 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  You just gave them the shittiest options. You won't ever be my tour guide. Seriously, a tour of refineries and chemical plants?

Actually, the tour aboard the tug Sam Houston along the ship channel is very interesting. Of course, you have to book it about 6 months in advance.

(03-29-2016 03:36 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  You just gave them the shittiest options. You won't ever be my tour guide. Seriously, a tour of refineries and chemical plants?

SMH, all I was saying is that the plants are in the view from the Fred Hartman Bridge. And besides, especially with you being from DFW, I was offering some alternate suggestions to stuff people already have where they live. Most people suggest stuff like going to the Galleria, who doesn't have a big shopping mall where they live or in another close-by major city? Who doesn't have major chain restaurants? And all of those are so spread out, it'll take all day trying to do them all.

(03-29-2016 04:09 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(03-29-2016 03:36 PM)Pony94 Wrote:  You just gave them the shittiest options. You won't ever be my tour guide. Seriously, a tour of refineries and chemical plants?

SMH, all I was saying is that the plants are in the view from the Fred Hartman Bridge. And besides, especially with you being from DFW, I was offering some alternate suggestions to stuff people already have where they live. Most people suggest stuff like going to the Galleria, who doesn't have a big shopping mall where they live or in another close-by major city? Who doesn't have major chain restaurants? And all of those are so spread out, it'll take all day trying to do them all.

Well you could have suggested the Orange Show, the beer can house (I presume it hasn't been sold and torn down in the last couple of years), downtown tunnel tour, Valhalla or kayaking down Buffalo Bayou (there used to be a race called the reeking regatta) if you wanted to suggest something offbeat. Or the Menil, Museum of Fine Arts, Natural Science Museum or NASA for the museum people. And there are plenty of non-chain restaurants and between Midtown, Montrose, West U/upper Kirby and the Galleria area, you can hit the vast majority of the good ones.

Houston sort of sucks.

(03-29-2016 10:16 PM)bullet Wrote:  Well you could have suggested the Orange Show, the beer can house (I presume it hasn't been sold and torn down in the last couple of years), downtown tunnel tour, Valhalla or kayaking down Buffalo Bayou (there used to be a race called the reeking regatta) if you wanted to suggest something offbeat. Or the Menil, Museum of Fine Arts, Natural Science Museum or NASA for the museum people. And there are plenty of non-chain restaurants and between Midtown, Montrose, West U/upper Kirby and the Galleria area, you can hit the vast majority of the good ones.

And hopefully you see the problem is that much of that stuff is spread from here to there and further over there then finally back across the other side of town. IDK about you but as a tourist I not only like to be within walking/training distance of my hotel or my order business but I like it when it's not spread out all over the place. I like to plan my day by not having to worry about getting stuck in traffic or getting lost.

Almost makes you wonder why they chose Houston as the host city. Regardless, I'd spend, say, Sunday in Galveston, exploring the sights and stuff like the farmer's market near the Strand as opposed to traveling to every inch of Houston trying to find something to do. Houston just sucks as a tourist town, sad to say but I still love it.

(03-29-2016 10:44 PM)jrj84105 Wrote:  Houston sort of sucks.

There's some really cool places in Houston but as I just laid out, it's spread out every freaking where. I really wish they had tried to take advantage of some of the synergy the city had back in the 60's and created some tourist attractions/traps. It didn't have to be a tourist wasteland. A place like San Antonio is far better Downtown and I'm really not talking about that little Spanish chapel or the creek walk.

(03-29-2016 10:44 PM)jrj84105 Wrote:  Houston sort of sucks.

Houston also smells. Ah, yes, petro-chemicals!!!

Fortunately, the Final Four is in Houston in early April. So it avoids the 7-month stretch of 95-degree weather and 95% humidity by 1-2 weeks.

Check google maps on your phone prior to any drive around Houston. There are three separate beltways around the city, very easy to take a different route that will save you hours of time stuck in traffic waiting for a wreck to get cleared.

Unsecured loads. I see this all the time. Watch out for privately owned trailers and pick-up trucks not properly secured. Things I've seen flying out the back of these things going down the freeway: paint cans, glass windows, lawn mowers, lazy boy chairs, mattresses.

If your car gets stolen, it might be found on the side of some freeway on fire. The crooks around here like to burn those things to remove evidence. Doesn't work all that well as the police can still get most of the evidence the crooks leave in the car even after it is torched.

I'm not sure if I agree with what C2 is saying.. If I were a tourist coming to Houston, I'd stay within the Southwest quadrant of the 610 loop. In this area, you get Rice Village, Upper Kirby, Montrose, and the Main St Corridor. Lots of great museums, Hermann Park, Rice University, River Oaks, etc.. Not to mention the majority of the city's best dining.

Sure, you miss NASA, which is cool. But you miss UH, which is a plus

I'm just comparing Houston to other cities. Indy as a city is a bore but their convention/sporting event setup is incredible, even a model setup I might add. Except for the Indy Motor Speedway, most everything worth seeing is within walking distance of your hotel and the stadium/arena and that's mostly without you having to take one step outside thanks to sky bridges. San Antonio is also very good with the notable exception of the [insert corporate name] Center not being Downtown.

As I said, as a tourist, you really don't want to have to go out of your way to see something unless it's a can't miss, which is why for Houston I recommend staying a day or so somewhere else from ground zero (i.e. NRG).

(03-29-2016 10:44 PM)jrj84105 Wrote:  Houston sort of sucks.

Yes, it does.

Houston sucks as a tourist destination but it's a great place to live and raise a family. Believe me when I say you'd rather live here than in Las Vegas or New Orleans.

hot and humid 90% of the year

bumper to bumper traffic...at 3 AM (even Austin isn't that bad)

Houston is a place you endure because its one of the best places to make money in.

(03-30-2016 12:47 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I'm not sure if I agree with what C2 is saying.. If I were a tourist coming to Houston, I'd stay within the Southwest quadrant of the 610 loop. In this area, you get Rice Village, Upper Kirby, Montrose, and the Main St Corridor. Lots of great museums, Hermann Park, Rice University, River Oaks, etc.. Not to mention the majority of the city's best dining.

Sure, you miss NASA, which is cool. But you miss UH, which is a plus

Really. The vast majority of what I mentioned was from Memorial Park to Hermann Park. Now the Orange Show does take you over near UH. But even that isn't too far. If you aren't doing NASA, Kemah and Galveston, its all pretty much in the southwest corner of the loop.

Rice has a beautiful campus. One time a Rice grad friend gave my wife and I a tour of the buildings. It was pretty interesting. She showed us the "talking" science building, among other things.

(03-30-2016 10:02 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  hot and humid 90% of the year

bumper to bumper traffic...at 3 AM (even Austin isn't that bad)

Houston is a place you endure because its one of the best places to make money in.

Hot and humid 4 months of the year. Nice weather the rest of the time. Traffic isn't that bad off peak. And believe me, after living in Atlanta, I have sworn off complaining about Houston traffic ever again. And with my last few visits to Austin, I'm not sure Austin isn't worse.

And there is plenty for tourists to do, most of it within a 6X4 mile rectangle from Downtown to the Texas Medical Center and over to the Galleria. You could just stick along the Main St. rail line, walking over to restaurants in Montrose or the Rice Village.

Houston is a great place.

(03-30-2016 02:42 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  I'm just comparing Houston to other cities. Indy as a city is a bore but their convention/sporting event setup is incredible, even a model setup I might add. Except for the Indy Motor Speedway, most everything worth seeing is within walking distance of your hotel and the stadium/arena and that's mostly without you having to take one step outside thanks to sky bridges. San Antonio is also very good with the notable exception of the [insert corporate name] Center not being Downtown.

As I said, as a tourist, you really don't want to have to go out of your way to see something unless it's a can't miss, which is why for Houston I recommend staying a day or so somewhere else from ground zero (i.e. NRG).

Do tourists complain about Orlando being spread out? Do they complain about how far apart the casinos in Vegas can be? Do you really want to walk the strip in July? Many of San Francisco's best attractions are spread out over its 46 miles. There's Uber. I used it there. You can use it in Houston to cover that 6X4 mile area. Now NASA/Kemah/Galveston are further out. But Sausalito and the Great Basin and the Wine Country aren't in downtown San Francisco either.

Houston isn't San Francisco. But there is plenty to do on a short trip.

(03-30-2016 12:47 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I'm not sure if I agree with what C2 is saying.. If I were a tourist coming to Houston, I'd stay within the Southwest quadrant of the 610 loop. In this area, you get Rice Village, Upper Kirby, Montrose, and the Main St Corridor. Lots of great museums, Hermann Park, Rice University, River Oaks, etc.. Not to mention the majority of the city's best dining.

Sure, you miss NASA, which is cool. But you miss UH, which is a plus

Agree here, and surprised by all the Houston hate. C2 was spot on about San Jacinto Monument, though. And the Battleship Texas with a meal at the Monument Inn are good while in the area. Got to love the story about the Texans hoodwinking Washington DC into a monument taller than the Washington Monument with the Texas star.

But it is all about Memorial Park to downtown to Hermann Park (upgrades to the Planetarium have been reported as incredible), the Museum District and Rice University. Enjoy a walk in Buffalo Bayou Park before heading to Discovery Green for the free music. Enjoy a meal at Irma's. Use the train to see our museums, or take in the zoo. See the Berlin Wall piece at Rice, or take in Skyspace at Sunset.

If you are in a hotel near the METRO Red Line (Medical Center/Rice, downtown, or Astrodome area), this town is even walkable now.

(03-30-2016 10:02 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  hot and humid 90% of the year

bumper to bumper traffic...at 3 AM (even Austin isn't that bad)

Houston is a place you endure because its one of the best places to make money in.

This description is stuck in the 1980s. Have you seen Buffalo Bayou Park or Discovery Green? But the first sentence exaggeration should have tipped us off. Houston is hot June-September, but I will gladly take that over Chicago November-March.

(03-30-2016 01:46 PM)ESE84 Wrote:  

(03-30-2016 12:47 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  I'm not sure if I agree with what C2 is saying.. If I were a tourist coming to Houston, I'd stay within the Southwest quadrant of the 610 loop. In this area, you get Rice Village, Upper Kirby, Montrose, and the Main St Corridor. Lots of great museums, Hermann Park, Rice University, River Oaks, etc.. Not to mention the majority of the city's best dining.

Sure, you miss NASA, which is cool. But you miss UH, which is a plus

Agree here, and surprised by all the Houston hate. C2 was spot on about San Jacinto Monument, though. And the Battleship Texas with a meal at the Monument Inn are good while in the area. Got to love the story about the Texans hoodwinking Washington DC into a monument taller than the Washington Monument with the Texas star.

But it is all about Memorial Park to downtown to Hermann Park (upgrades to the Planetarium have been reported as incredible), the Museum District and Rice University. Enjoy a walk in Buffalo Bayou Park before heading to Discovery Green for the free music. Enjoy a meal at Irma's. Use the train to see our museums, or take in the zoo. See the Berlin Wall piece at Rice, or take in Skyspace at Sunset.

If you are in a hotel near the METRO Red Line (Medical Center/Rice, downtown, or Astrodome area), this town is even walkable now.

Even without the train, if you were at the old Warwick Hotel (its changed so many times, don't remember what it is now) at Mecom Fountain where Montrose, Main St. and Fannin St. meet, the following would be walkable (when you consider how much you would walk in NYC, DC or SF):
Houston Zoo
Japanese Gardens
Museum of Natural Science
Museum of Fine Arts
Contemporary Arts Museum
Children's Museum
Buffalo Soldiers Museum
Holocaust Museum
Several Art Galleries
Texas Medical Center with its fountains
Rice University
Hermann Park
Braes Bayou Trail
Rice Village (shopping and about 30 restaurants)
Southgate and West University neighborhoods (for walking & looking at houses)
Menil Collection
Rothko Chapel
Montrose area neighborhood, restaurants and shops
Midtown area restaurants and Vietnamese town (what hasn't been priced out yet)
Ensemble Theatre
Main Street Theatre
And Downtown would be at the fringe of walkable with the theatre district, restaurants, Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou