Houston Culinary Tours

In the big honking red-blooded petroleum-powered cowboy city of Houston, newcomers are almost guaranteed to feel overwhelmed by the sheer booming scope. Come dinnertime, no matter how badly you might want a nice steak or some killer Mexican food, the impulse might be to stay in the hotel and order room service.

But wait! Here comes Houston Culinary Tours to the rescue. This new themed tourism program enlists Houston’s best chefs to share their favorite insider restaurant finds through the Houston CVB.

Houston Trip Highlights: Children's Museum of Houston

Creative play comes naturally at the top-ranked Children's Museum of Houston. Kids discover pond life and watch eco-friendly puppet shows at the EcoStation, shop at a re-created Mexican village's open-air market, and dress up and role-play at the Victorian Playhouse. There’s even a “city” run by kids, Kidtropolis, featuring a real-life, kid-sized metropolis complete with a skyline, city government, occupations, and the systems that make a city work. The museum offers free family nights on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m.

Photo credit: Children's Museum of Houston, Texas (Greater Houston CVB)

Houston Day Trips: Galveston Island

Originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes, the Texan island of Galveston, a close neighbor to metropolis Houston, was once a haven for pirates. Named in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez in 1785, the city's first permanent settlements were constructed around 1816 by pirate Louis-Michel Aury as a base of operations. The next year, Aury returned to Galveston from a defeat at the hands of the Spanish and found the city occupied by piratical rival Jean Lafitte.

Photo credit: Galveston, Texas (Lee Deforke/courtesy, Galveston Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Best of Texas: Austin, aka the "Live Music Capital of the World"

Heralded as the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin is home to the long-running PBS series Austin City Limits and the annual South by Southwest Festival. Country, blues, and rock-and-roll mix nightly in over 100 bars and restaurants from the Warehouse District to Sixth Street. Pay your respects at the Stevie Ray Vaughn Memorial or enjoy a Sunday gospel brunch in what may just be the hippest city in Texas.

Photo credit: Continental Club, Austin, Texas (Austin CVB)