Discover the lesser-known museum city of Houston, Texas, USA

When people ask which U.S. cities have the highest concentration of museums and cultural centers, Houston doesn’t usually come to mind. Known primarily for its oil and gas industry (though NASA’s spectacular Lyndon B Johnson Space Center comes in a close second), few would consider it a major cultural and arts hub. Still, visitors won’t be short of options in a city that’s home to more than 150 institutions, including some of the world-renowned museums that are among the largest and most visited in North America.

Houston’s cultural epicenter is the Museum District, a 1.4-square-mile downtown neighborhood that includes 19 museums and institutions within walking distance of each other. Eleven of them offer free admission year-round, while others offer free admission on select days of the week.

This neighborhood has a park-like feel, which is unusual for an American metropolis. It’s easy to get around on foot or by bike, and it’s well-served by the METRO rail system. In between museum and gallery visits, you can also stroll to Hermann Park for its peaceful Japanese garden, which offers a welcome respite from the city’s particularly muggy climate.

Beyond the Museum District, but still in the city center, is the museum village known as The Heritage Society. Located in Sam Houston Park, it spans ten historic buildings dating from 1823 to 1905 and offers a rich program of tours and events. A little further from the city center, in River Oaks, the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens houses one of the most important collections of American decorative arts from 1620 to 1870 and functions as a satellite of the city’s world-renowned Museum of Fine Arts.

The performing arts are particularly well supported here. Remarkably, Houston is one of the few American cities to have resident theater, ballet, classical music, and opera companies. Its 17-block Theater District is the second largest theater in Texas after New York’s Broadway in terms of available seating. As the cultural center of Texas, Houston rivals major East Coast cities for international touring events and exhibitions. Better yet, it may be much easier to get a ticket here than in its more well-known cultural counterparts.