Downtown -- Once a ghost town in the evenings and on weekends, downtown Houston is now the place to be. Restaurants and bars are opening (and in some cases closing) in quick succession. Hotels have multiplied, too. Much of the revitalization is taking place on the northwest side of downtown, in and around Old Market Square and the theater district, where Houston's symphony orchestra, ballet, opera, and principal theater company all reside. To the east, within walking distance, are the George Brown Convention Center; the baseball park, Minute Maid Field (formerly Enron Field); and the Toyota Center basketball arena. Also fueling downtown's revitalization is a light rail that runs up and down Main Street and connects to the Museum District and the Medical Center. Beneath downtown is a network of pedestrian tunnels lined by shops and restaurants, forming an underground city. As is typical of Houston, almost all of these tunnels are private, not public, developments. South of downtown is Midtown, an area in transition, with town houses and shops gradually replacing vacant lots and small office buildings. Vietnamese shopkeepers and restaurateurs have settled into the western side, especially along Milam Street, where you can find an array of excellent Vietnamese restaurants with reasonable prices.
East End -- Before Houston was established on the banks of Buffalo Bayou, the town of Harrisburg already existed 2 miles downstream. As Houston grew eastward, it incorporated Harrisburg, leaving behind little of the old town. A small commercial Chinatown lies a couple of blocks east of the convention center; beyond that, the area is residential. The inner East End is an up-and-coming neighborhood of mixed ethnicity. As you move farther east, the residences mix with small-scale manufacturing, auto mechanic and body shops, and service industries for the ship channel. In the far southern part is NASA's Space Center Houston; Kemah, Houston's version of Fisherman's Wharf; and Galveston Island. Most hotels located in this area are along the Gulf Freeway. The main reason for staying here is that hotel rates, for the most part, are economical, and the location between downtown, Hobby Airport, and the above-mentioned attractions makes the East End convenient.
South Main -- South of downtown and midtown is the Museum District and Hermann Park. This lovely part of town has lots of green space. Most of the museums are within a few blocks of one another. Here also are the Houston Zoological Gardens and the Rice University campus. On the south side of the park begins the Texas Medical Center. A bit farther south is a complex of buildings holding Reliant Stadium and the old Astrodome. This part of town has many hotels to suit all budgets. The location is convenient, and the city's light rail connects this area with downtown.
Montrose & the Heights -- Directly west of downtown is the Montrose area, a hip, artsy, and colorful part of town known for its clubs, galleries, and shops. The Museum District extends into this neighborhood to include the famous Menil Collection and its satellite galleries, a must-see for any visitor interested in the arts. Upscale in certain sections, downscale in others, the Montrose contains a broad cross section of Houston society. It's also the de facto center of Houston's large and active gay community. North of the Montrose area, across Buffalo Bayou, is the Heights. It was conceived and built as an independent, planned residential community in the 1890s and remained so until 1918, when it was annexed by Houston. One curious fact about the Heights is that the original articles of incorporation required it to be "dry" (no sale of alcohol) -- and this has stood in place ever since. Consequently, only a few good restaurants are here. But there's great shopping, especially for antiques and folk art. With downtown to the east, the Museum District to the south, and Kirby to the west, the Montrose area and the Heights are well located.
Kirby District & Greenway Plaza -- The area bordering Kirby Drive from River Oaks to University Place offers the most restaurants of any district in Houston. Near Kirby Drive's midway point, where it crosses the Southwest Freeway, is the Greenway Plaza, an integrated development of office buildings, movie theaters, shops, and a sports arena, which has been made over into a well-known megachurch called Lakewood. Farther south is Rice Village, a retail development consisting of 16 square blocks of smart shops and restaurants. It is phenomenally popular with Houstonians and visitors and attracts all kinds of shoppers and diners.
Uptown -- Farther west, all the way to Loop 610, is where Uptown begins. It is still informally called the Galleria area, after the large indoor shopping mall, entertainment, and hotel complex. But the district's business owners had to devise another name for it because the developer of the Galleria protected its name so jealously that it became problematic to use the word in any commercial context. Thus, we have "Uptown." Shops, restaurants, and other businesses front Westheimer and Post Oak Boulevard.
North Houston -- All the neighborhoods described above, except for the Heights, are south of I-10, which bisects Houston into northern and southern halves. North Houston is largely a mix of working- and middle-class neighborhoods and commercial centers and, with the exception of the Heights, has little to offer visitors. Over the years, developers tried to establish upscale communities here, but an inherent quality of suburbanism is that you can always build farther out, and, with each successive subdivision, the inner suburbs lose a little more of their luster. Ultimately, the developers took this to its logical extreme, skipping over vast tracts of land to build so far north that the city will never touch them. Thus, Woodlands and Kingwood, two upscale residential developments, are so far out that one can't consider them part of Houston.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
