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Kingwood/Houston Attractions
Bus Tours
The easiest way to familiarize yourself with Houston is to take a bus tour of the city. offers sightseeing excursions through the city's theater and museum districts as well as Hermann Park and the exclusive River Oaks neighborhood.
Driving Tours
Scenic drives wind through Memorial Park and residential River Oaks, with its large live oak trees and beautiful houses.
Sports and Recreation
Sports thrive in Houston. National League Baseball's Houston Astros, (877) 927-8767, play at Minute Maid Park. Houston's NFL football team, the Houston Texans, (832) 667-2000, hits the turf at Reliant Stadium. The University of Houston's Cougars, (713) 743-9444, play football at Robertson Stadium, and Texas Southern University's Tigers, (713) 313-6830, play in the Astrodome at the junction of I-610 and Kirby Drive.
The NBA's Rockets, (713) 758-3865, and the WNBA's Comets, (713) 758-9622, play basketball in Toyota Center at 1510 Polk St. The AHL's Houston Aeros, (713) 974-7825, also play hockey in this 19,000-seat arena, which features professional and amateur boxing and nonsporting events; phone (713) 758-7200. The various Rice University Owls teams, (713) 522-6957, draw large crowds to their 70,000-seat facility. The indigenous Texas rodeos always are sellouts.
Houston has many public tennis courts. Golf is available at many public courses in the city: Bear Creek, (281) 859-8188, at 16001 Clay Rd.; Clear Lake, (713) 488-4653, at 1202 Reseda Dr.; Memorial Park, (713) 862-4033, at 1001 Memorial Loop Dr. E.; and Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, (281) 367-1100, at 2301 N. Millbend.
Polo is played near Memorial Park, at the Houston Polo Club, 8552 Memorial Drive at I-610; phone (713) 681-8571. There is professional wrestling at Toyota Center. Check the newspapers for a complete schedule of sporting events.
Challenger Seven Memorial Park, at 2301 W. NASA Blvd. and Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, 22306 Aldine Westfield Rd., (281) 443-8731, contain hiking trails as well as picnic areas. Memorial Park, 6501 Memorial Dr., features the Lieberman jogging trail, a lighted, 2.9-mile course, as well as paths for bicycling and skating. Track cycling can be found at the Alkek Velodrome in Cullen Park, 19008 Saums Road; phone (281) 578-0693.
Tom Bass Park Section II is at 3602 Fellows Rd. and contains jogging and nature trails as well as a 20-acre spring-fed fishing lake. As well as canoeing, visitors can enjoy a view of Houston's skyline from the Buffalo Bayou Park. Boating is popular at Clear Lake Park, 5001 NASA Pkwy.
Cypress Trails Equestrian Center at 21415 Cypresswood Dr. in the town of Humble offers horseback riding trips along the trails threading through the undeveloped land around George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The equestrian center offers rides at other locations as well; phone (281) 446-7232.
Horse racing, both Thoroughbred and quarter horse, takes place at the Sam Houston Race Park, 7575 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. W. Simulcast racing is available daily. Phone (281) 807-8700.
Note: Policies concerning admittance of children to pari-mutuel betting facilities vary. Phone for information.
Shopping
Whether you seek a 12-carat emerald or a $12 scarf, you are sure to find what you seek in one of the large department stores. Neiman Marcus, in The Galleria on Houston's west side, is equipped to handle the wants of millionaires and eccentrics as well as those of browsers. The Galleria's 500 other stores include Macy's, Nordstrom's and Saks Fifth Avenue, along with restaurants and an ice-skating rink.
Other malls offering restaurants, small shops, department stores and entertainment areas include Baybrook Mall, Bay Area Boulevard and I-45; Greenspoint Mall, North Belt and I-45; Memorial City Mall, Gessner and I-10; The Shops at Houston Center, on the east side of downtown; Sharpstown Center, Bellaire Boulevard at I-59; Town & Country Shopping Village, I-10 at West Belt; Uptown Park on Post Oak Boulevard. and 610 W. Loop S.; and Willowbrook Mall, SR 249 and FM 1960.
There also are shops at Rice Village near Rice University. Old Town Spring Shopping Village, north on I-45 at exit 70A, has antique and specialty shops, galleries and restaurants in 180 restored Victorian cottages along tree-lined streets.
Urban cowboys and cowgirls will find boots, hats and other Western garb at various locations including Cavender's Boot City. Antique lovers are invited to forage for vintage treasures in Lower Westheimer.
Most stores are open Mon.-Sat. 9:30-6, and Mon. and Thurs. nights until 9. Most shopping centers are open Mon.-Sat. 10-9 and Sun. noon-6.
Kemah Boardwalk, 20 miles south of Houston off I-45 at exit 25, is a waterfront complex of shops, restaurants and amusements, including a Ferris wheel. For outdoor enthusiasts, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, in Katy at 5000 Katy Mills Circle, features a 20,000-gallon aquarium, wildlife exhibits and sporting demonstrations.
Performing Arts
Houston has been musically inclined from its earliest days. As a result, a wide variety of musical entertainment, ranging from classical to modern, is currently available in the city.
The stage of Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana St., is used throughout the year for productions by the Houston Symphony Orchestra, phone (713) 224-7575, and the Society for the Performing Arts; phone (713) 227-4772. Wortham Theater Center, at Texas Avenue and Smith Street, is the home of the Houston Grand Opera, phone (713) 228-6737, and the Houston Ballet; phone (713) 227-2787.
The dramatic arts have flourished in the city. The centerpiece of the downtown theater district is Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby St., phone (713) 315-2525, home of Theatre Under the Stars, phone (713) 558-8887, and the Houston Broadway Series; phone (713) 629-3700. Professional repertory can be found downtown at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave., (713) 228-8421. Houston Center for the Arts, 3201 Allen Pkwy., is the venue for Stages Repertory Theatre, a performing arts company for original works and children's theater. The Verizon Wireless Theater at 520 Texas Ave. in Bayou Place attracts big name performers and touring productions. In addition to various performances, two art galleries can be found at DiverseWorks Artspace, 1117 E. Freeway.
March through October the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park presents free musicals and dramas as well as ballets and the Houston Symphony. Rock concerts are held at Toyota Center.
Special Events
The Go Texan Parade opens the 19-day Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Park in February. The River Oaks Garden Club sponsors the Azalea Trail through River Oaks in March, when many houses and gardens are open to the public.
The city's cultural institutions, as well as those from other regions and countries, are presented during the Houston International Festival. This event, held from late April to early May, features music, dance and theater on eight different stages. For golf lovers, the Shell Houston Open is played in April at the Redstone Golf Club in northeast Houston.
A 16th-century English village is re-created 45 miles northwest of Houston, between Plantersville and Magnolia, for the Texas Renaissance Festival. Food, merchants, craft booths, entertainers, street characters, royalty, jousting, games and skills of the period are presented weekends from early October to early November. Also in November is the 4-day International Quilt Festival, which features new and antique quilts, classes, lectures and special events at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
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