With such an impressive city just waiting to be explored, you’ll be wanting to jump in a hire car and set off as soon as you can. You’ll find that Houston Intercontinental Airport occupies a large site around a 30 minute drive north of the downtown area.

The road connections are excellent, so if you pick up a hire car from our office at Houston Airport you’ll be able to join the local road network immediately. Two major interstate highways pass either side of the airport, the I-69 and the I-45, and there’s a direct link road to the Hardy Toll Road Expressway that can take you right to the inner beltway ring road or into the centre of Houston.

Common throughout routes across the USA, you'll find that roads in and round Houston may charge you a toll fee to use – for example, Hardy Toll Road Expressway. Before setting off in your hire car, it may be worth checking the toll charges and have an idea of how much you should be expected to pay. You can find out full details about the fees online here.

Houston’s road system mainly follows an easy grid pattern but you’ll find that there are three beltway ring roads circling the centre. From the ring road, you'll be able to access the main interstate highways, heading off in all directions.

The Route 290 highway also provides a route to Austin, while the I-45 north will take you to Dallas if you’re planning on experiencing more of what Texas has to offer.

Note that many major roads feature special lanes for high-occupancy vehicles allowing minivans and car pool systems to flow during peak times. Don’t be tempted to use these though, they are monitored by cameras and the fines for improper use can be steep.

As you start driving around the exciting centre of Houston in your hire car, you’ll soon realise how big this city actually is. The urban area extends for 600 square miles and a hire car can help you get around and see as much as possible. The city is big enough to include districts that feel like their own small towns and there are areas that seem very residential or very commercial. You’ll probably spot that the north half of the city has more trees as it used to be forested. The southern areas tend to be hotter and drier.

Exploring northern Houston

When you drive from the airport, you’ll find yourself in north Houston. It’s mainly a residential area but there are family attractions close by, like the Wet ‘n’ Wild Splash Town Waterpark and Old Macdonald’s Farm petting zoo. And right next to the airport is one of the strangest attractions in Texas: the National Museum of Funeral History - it sounds ghoulish but becomes very popular around Halloween, thanks to events and exhibits put on during October. The Lake Houston area, a short drive to the east, is the perfect place for a relaxing afternoon. A scenic reservoir formed by damming a river, you’ll find boating, forest trails and fishing around the shores.

The main attraction

The biggest draw for visitors in the city is the famous NASA HQ, now renamed the Johnson Space Centre. It’s on the south-east side of the city, so you’d reach it from the airport via routes 8 and 45. The visitor centre is the bit you’ll want to see. It was put together with help from Disney so expect lots of fun as well as a stunning collection of real space vehicles and equipment. Highlights include an Apollo command module, the lunar rover that was driven on the moon and a Saturn V rocket.

The best of Space City

The city’s vast area includes everything from one of the world’s biggest antique shows to some of the most diverse restaurants. It’s also the most ethnically diverse city in the US, which means you can find fantastic restaurants serving food from almost every country in the world – Uchi and Killen's Barbecue are two of the finest. One of the best green spaces to explore is the park around the Buffalo Bayou, a slow moving river that winds between the city’s skyscrapers down towards Galveston Bay.

And if you fancy a dose of culture while you’re here, head for the Museum District, a 1.5-mile strip containing around 20 museums and galleries, including collections covering subjects as diverse as natural history and cars. And the final museum you shouldn’t miss is actually floating in the Houston Ship Canal. The USS Texas was a battleship in World War Two, and today you are allowed to explore her decks.