Cheap Flights to Houston

Houston climate

The weather is pleasant from autumn through spring. Summers are very hot and very humid, and in late summer thunderstorms are frequent, occasionally spawning tornadoes. Houston is also vulnerable to hurricanes. Winters are generally mild, but there can occasionally be very sudden cold weather in late autumn and winter, when frigid winds whistle down off the plains.

Getting around Houston

As long as you’re spending most of your Houston time in the centre, you won’t need to rent a car. Houston’s centre and museum district are small and compact, and many hotels have shuttles to help you get around. The city’s public transport system is very good. The Metro has both bus and light rail services. If you do decide to venture out, you’ll want to rent a car. Finding your way around shouldn’t be too difficult. The city is smartly laid out, streets are clearly marked and the roads are well kept. The only trouble you’ll have is with traffic. Houston drivers are notoriously ruthless and fast, and you’ll want to stay off the road during rush hour.

Getting downtown:

The two main airports for flights to Houston are:

William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)

Houston insider information

• Space Centre Houston is the official visitors’ centre for NASA's Johnson Space Centre. The tram tour and the four-hour tour show you working parts of the space centre, and sometimes you can see astronauts in training. The Astronaut Gallery has a number of actual flight suits and pictures of all astronauts and crews. Films, simulations, and interactive displays give you the feel of being in space. Plan to spend at least half a day. If you take the four-hour tour, consider a full day.
• The Houston Museum of Natural Science has excellent permanent exhibits (including good dinosaurs, a planetarium, and a Foucault pendulum) and often has outstanding travelling exhibits. The star attraction is the rainforest environment in the Butterfly Collection, with hundreds of butterflies eating, flying, or resting (sometimes on you).
• The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), near the science museum, has an admirable permanent collection, including a sculpture garden, and also hosts outstanding travelling exhibits. It’s worth visiting just for the architecture, a mixture of early 20^th century traditional and outstanding modern, including two additions by Mies van der Rohe.
• Now part of the MFAH, Bayou Bend is a wonderful museum house set in 14 acres of lovely garden. It showcases the American antiques, some as old as the 1600s, collected by Miss Ima Hogg. (Yes, it’s pronounced “I’m a hog.” The tour explains how her father, Governor Jim Hogg, did that to her — and also that she did not have a sister called Ura; that’s just a Texas tall tale.)
• East Texas has similar terrain to Louisiana, and Houston has several bayous, watercourses that are quite deep and narrow, except during heavy rains. At places like Bayou Bend, they are a lovely part of the natural environment. In central Houston, they have sloping concrete banks to reduce flooding, but they are still sometimes home to wildlife such as shore birds like herons or even the occasional alligator.
• The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo takes place in late February and early March. But there are also other rodeo and livestock-related events throughout the year.
• Galveston, an hour’s drive from Houston, is a small beach resort town. In addition to the beaches, its attractions include the Victorian buildings in the historic district.