There’s so much to see and do in this vast bustling metropolis that dominates the south of Texas. The outlying districts extend south to the beaches of Galveston Bay and right up to the lakes and forests to the north. If you hire a car in Houston you’ll find there are surprising distances involved, even if you stay within the city itself. But the great news is that there’s a very effective and well-maintained road system. There are almost 600 miles of freeways and expressways within the city to help you get around easily.

The roads are arranged in a logical network, with arterial routes spread out from Houston’s centre with a series of beltway ring-roads looping around the city at various distances from the centre. The inner ring road is Interstate 610, which forms a very useful ten-mile circuit of the downtown area.

Like most of the roads in Texas, the highways are generally smooth and straight. Traffic is generally well behaved and driving here is relaxed. Other important local interstates include the I-45 that runs from Houston to Dallas and I-10 from Houston to El Paso via San Antonio. Rush hour jams are eased by clever projects like the high-occupancy vehicle lanes. If you’re carrying passengers you can use these special lanes to beat the traffic. If you’re not, be careful – these routes are monitored by cameras and solo drivers can be heavily fined.

It’s as big and bold as the State that it stands in and, in fact, prosperous Houston has grown quickly to become the biggest city in Texas and one of the biggest cities in the US. You’ll find the vast community now has some world-class attractions and is surrounded by a wide variety of wonderful scenery too.

This is Houston…

The number one attraction for most Houston visitors is the Johnson Space Centre. This is the original ‘This is Houston’ location from all those memorable communications with astronauts from over the years. Today, that same space exploration Mission Control has an incredible visitor centre with the world’s greatest collection of lunar vehicles and artefacts from the American space program. Among serious scientific and historic displays, you can also experience what it’s like to have a shower aboard the space station, ride a lunar rover, and be strapped in for a simulated rocket launch.

City of culture

You’ll find some serious high quality culture in Houston these days. There is a long list of acclaimed museums to visit covering every subject from antiques to cars. For an inspiring dose of high quality art, look out for the Museum of Fine Arts in the heart of the Museum District. There are more than 60,000 pieces of art from around the world on display here. Meanwhile, the Menil Collection is an enormous private museum of more than 15,000 paintings, prints and sculptures amassed by an art-loving Texan couple. It’s one of America’s largest private art collections and is housed in intriguing modern buildings on a leafy 30-acre campus.

Have a fun time

It’s not all science and art though, Houston offers plenty of fun too. The Downtown Aquarium is a family friendly aquatic zoo with special pools where visitors can touch the fish, whilst over in the Museum District you’ll find the Children’s Museum, where the emphasis is on interactive fun and learning through play. Down on Trinity Bay you’ll find the Kemah Boardwalk amusement park, a waterfront play zone with retro rides including a wooden roller coaster and two-storey carousel.

Outside the city

You’ll find the state has 600 miles of beaches, islands and wilderness along the Gulf of Mexico to the south and east of Houston, including seaside resorts like Galveston which is around 50 miles from the centre of Houston.

Inland, you’ll have a chance to experience some of the atmosphere of the old Wild West at The George Ranch. You can visit old authentic homesteads from various western eras, see the way the cowboys and settlers lived.