Houston in Texas is a world-class city with enough tourist attractions to keep you busy all year round. At holiday time, downtown sparkles with elaborate Christmas decorations, and locals and visitors alike take advantage of the wealth of activities. The weather is usually warm enough that you can stroll outside, but Houston is a car culture, with a sprawling city that most people traverse by car.
Cultural
Houston has many art museums, and the unique Health Museum. This family friendly museum features the Amazing Body Pavilion where you can learn about your body and how to keep it healthy. Ride a bicycle with a skeleton to see how your muscles and bones move. In December, the new exhibit Touch: The Science & Health of the Human Skin has hands-on exhibits to teach about preventing skin cancer and healing cuts.
Interactive Fun
The Houston Museum of Natural Science offers plenty to touch and learn, including an energy hall and chemistry hall. Touch an actual moon rock and NASA spacesuit in the Space Science exhibit. The indoor Butterfly Center takes you through a tropical rainforest where colorful butterflies might land on you. When you get tired of walking through this huge museum, watch The Star of Bethlehem, a new planetarium show that simulates the night sky at the date and time of Christ's birth.
Family Friendly
If you are traveling with children, you will be looking for family friendly indoor attractions. The Children's Museum of Houston has a Tot Spot, for kids up to three years old, that encourages physical activity. The Ball and Pillow Pit and a 'meandering path' with small size stairs, and bumps in the road, get toddlers moving. PowerPlay!, with a three-story climbing structure and climbing wall, gets bigger kids moving, and an Adventure Course lets kids test their strength and agility.
Take a Hike
Houston's long, hot and humid summers make outdoor activities unpleasant, but in December, when the average temperature is in the mid 60s, you should head outside. The Armand Bayou Nature Center, about 25 miles from Houston, has hiking trails through wetlands, prairie and forest. Guided trial hikes will help you identify wildlife.
Park It
Discovery Green, a downtown Houston park opened in 2008, has year-round activities like jogging trails, bocce ball and croquet. Its huge playground has a migratory bird theme. An outdoor skating rink returns Thanksgiving Day and runs through Martin Luther King Day. A putting green and shuffleboard offer more outdoor fun. Another annual event, the Holiday Balloon, returns in November and offers passengers a ride 35 stories high in a helium-filled balloon.
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