5 Affordable Weekend Getaways Near Houston

Exchange your boring Saturday and Sunday routine for an affordable fun-packed weekend getaway in Houston. You can head south of downtown for a romantic beachfront outing or kick back and relax surrounded by the rich tapestry of nature found in the pineywoods due north o town. Some of the best places to escape city life for a few hours on the weekend are only a few minutes drive outside the city limits.

Instead of fighting your way through miles of bumper to bumper city traffic to get the next big event, take a respite in one of these enchanting waterfront communities.

• Freeport
• Galveston
• Kemah
• Lake Conroe
• Lake Livingston

It takes less than an hour to traverse most of these cities. We’ll take you on a quick tour of them. Then you can choose from incredibly intimate Freeport to wild and crazy water sporting adventures on Lake Conroe.

Freeport

Freeport sits 70 minutes from Houston and in less time than that you can be in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s home to some of the best kept secrets in Texas.

They hold fishing tournaments for anglers of every age.
The area has almost three miles of fun filled natural beach that’s accessible to the public.
The local community of Surfside was cited in a poll in Gulfscapes magazine as “ the Best Gulf Coast beach town”.


This Gulf Coast hamlet is the ideal place when you want to get away for the weekend and bring along your RV, a boat or camp on the Texas beach. You can have a great time without having to drive for hours and an Gulf front view for free!

Kemah

The entire city may only be 1.8 square miles, but it is home to the best little boardwalk in Texas. The waterfront community is mostly marinas, boatdocks and acres of fun-filled waterfront attractions. Visitors don’t have to ever worry about fighting boredom on the boardwalk with hours upon hours of fabulous fun just a few steps away.

Here’s a short list of the many exciting attractions in Houston you can visit along the Kemah Boardwalk.

• Wooden Rollercoaster-Boardwalk Bullet
• 65 foot Century ferris wheel
• Aquarium restaurant
• Boardwalk observation tower
• Drop Zone-140 ft free fall ride

If you’re not into fishing, but love seafood, Kemah has something for you too. People come from all over the state to their seafood markets to get the best prices and fresh off the boat, fish, crabs and oysters by the sack full.

Galveston, Texas

Galveston Island is one of the best known cities on the Gulf Coast. It's reputation for fun began back in the 1800’s when Jean Lafitte the pirate had his headquarters on the island. Today, the city is way more than just a pirates paradise. Current attractions include:

• Moody Gardens
• Schlitterbahn
• Galveston Pier
• 4 to 7 day Caribbean Cruises
• Bay, Beach and Deep Water Fishing charters

It is also where you can find a beach bungalow for the weekend or a 5 star hotel. The island is 27 miles (43.5 km) long and no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point. If you want to get away and have loads of fun on the weekend, travel the short drive to the island.

Lake Livingston

The backdrop of this small Texas town are the towering trees in the piney forest of East Texas. It’s located a little more than an hours drive north of Houston and makes a great place for a weekend trip or a vacation year around.

Lake Livingston lays claim to the bragging rights that the 39 mile lake is the 2nd largest in Texas. The area is ideal for Houston nature lovers getaways. It's full of wildlife. Every kind of two and four legged creature, known to exist in the state roams around the area.

• Big Foot
• Red Fox
• White-tailed Deer
• Coyote
• Bobcat
• Nine-banded Armadillo

The areas’ attractions include some of the best parks in the state, Livingston State Park, Big Thicket National Preserve near Woodville, and the Sam Houston National Forest.

Lake Conroe

Next time you and your sweetie want to do something different for a change, try a weekend getaway that’s only a short drive down I-45 from Houston. If you make Lake Conroe your destination you can experience some of the finest food and fun north of the city. The communities in and around Lake Conroe have superior golf and tennis courses as well as top notch water amenities like:

• Marinas
• Boat launches
• Kayak and canoe rentals

Not too keen on the outdoor life? Don’t let the small town look fool you. Conroe has shopping galore, plenty of entertainment venues plus well maintained cabin and condo rentals that will make your getaway feel like you're at home.

These action-packed weekend getaways in Houston are for couples, families or groups. You can have a no-frills trip or make it a 5 star weekend. The choice is yours.

Get more details about vacation spots, festivals and upcoming Houston events in your neighborhood by going to the right sidebar and joining the I heart Midtownlive crew.

References:

• Freeport.tx.us
• Galveston.com
• Kemahboardwalk.com
• Conroevisistorandconventionsbuerau.net
• Lake Livingston.com
• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hef03

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Traveling In Houston

Here’s some fresh information to help you while you travel in Houston so that you can get around in the city, get your party on and get you geared up to have a funky good time in the nation’s 4th largest city.

Houston seems to grow by leaps and bounds in just a few years. It wasn’t that long ago when I returned home to Houston from college after having been away for over a year and was unable to get to my house without help. The city had changed drastically, familiar streets were replaced with new sections of an expressways.

When traveling, everyone likes to get a sense of the lifestyle, find some leisure activities and let their hair down. For this city that means trips to downtown, the museum district and local attractions. These are some of the key places we will help you how to find and throw in a few tips on some of the other fun things to do around them.

Houston Museum District

Located between downtown Houston and the world famous Texas Medical Center, the Museum District is home to over 17 museums. Each year they get together an hold whats called Museum Day. They throw open the doors at all of the museums to give visitors a chance to see some of the latest exhibits, improvements and installations.

The normal admission charged at most of them is reasonably priced and on Thursdays The Museum of Fine Arts and Children’s museum are free. Here's a few that are always free.

* Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum
* Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
* Holocaust Museum Houston
* Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
* Houston Center for Photography
* The Jung Center of Houston
* Lawndale Art Center
* The Menil Collection
* Rice University Art Gallery
* Rothko Chapel

Getting To The Museum District & Parking Info

If you plan a morning visit you can usually find a spot close to your museum of choice. Other options are to pay to park your car in a lot near downtown and hitch a ride on the Metrorail train.

(NOTE)
When you are traveling in Houston's Museum District the best parking are the lots located on Hermann Dr, Cambridge and Hermann Loop which runs past the Houston Botanical Garden Center and Hermann Park, a limited number of spaces are available on the street.

It can take a couple of trips circling around and around the area before you find a suitable parking spot in the museum district later in the day.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

This unique Houston attraction is where the beautiful works of art are fused into skillfully created handicraft. The center's eclectic exhibits are curated from the works of 21st Century artisans whose skills run the gambit from modern to neo-classical crafts.

In addition to viewing the exhibits on display visitors can engage in dialogues with artists-in-residence, busy their own hands by attending workshops where they can create their own craft objects and purchase select objects from the quaint gift shop in Asher Gallery.

Their hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM; Sunday 12 - 5 PM


Anyone whose traveled to other cities will agree that Houston has some of the top notch attractions in the nation. Most of them are within walking distance of two or more museums. There are plenty of action-packed things to keep you entertained in the museum district. Their staff works hard to present new innovate ways for people to experience art and show them it can be a funtastic multi-sensory experience.

Make sure any trip you make to the city includes a visit to them in your schedule. It's one way to turn a boring day into one that’s the bomb. You will discover why they are always mentioned as some of the best places to visit in Houston.

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10 Must-See Houston Attractions - Historical Sites

There are some incredible Houston attractions that help visitors to step back into small epochs of time. They preserve the rich historical information of this area and document the fears, faces and facts of the men and women who often braved hostile elements during the preceding 20 plus centuries in this neck of the woods.

The sign post, sonnets and structures they left behind we simply refer to as his-story, but could aptly be called her-story or more appropriately the-story.



First time visitors to the state can get some quick details about the area and residents can compare their easy going lifestyles with facets of life experienced by earlier generations of Texans.

See details on Houston historical markers and facts.


Battleship Texas

10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.) The USS TEXAS was home to daring sailors during in WWI and WWII. It fired on Nazi defenses at Normandy on "D-Day," June 6, 1944. and lent gunfire support and antiaircraft fire to the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

San Jacinto Battle Ground Monument

The place where Texans fought and won their independence from Mexico is now the location of the world’s tallest monument tower. You’ll discover little know facts about the lifestyle on the frontier, items valued by early settlers and witness a film on the Texas revolution in the Jesse H. Jones Theater for Texas Studies.
Location:3523 Battleground Rd, Houston,
Free admission to the monument and museum
Check for current price on movie and admission to observation deck

George Ranch Historical Park

Established when this area was still part of NE Mexico the ranch houses are remnants of life in early Texas. It will take a couple of hours for you to wander through gardens, barns and outdoor kitchens in what seems like a parallel time period.
Admission:$10 (Adults) $5 (Children ages 5-15)
Location: 10215 FM 762 Richmond, TX,
open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 10 pm.


Texas Seaport Museum

Located on Galveston Island, which was once the Ellis Island of the South. It only takes a few minutes inside the museum before it begins revealing how the rich legacy of seaborne commerce and immigration fostered growth throughout the Gulf Coast.
Location:Pier 21 Theater, Galveston, TX 77550
(409) 763.1877
Open Daily 10am-5pm

Taylor-Stevenson Ranch

This ranch is home to the American Cowboy Museum. It welcomes visitors thrills them with farm animals they can pet and astonishing stories seldom heard or told about African-American ranchers in the West. Hours vary, to set up a visit call (713).478.9677
11822 Almeda road
Houston, Texas
(photo courtesy Google image)

Sam Houston Park

The displays in the downtown Houston park celebrate the diversity of the people who struggled together, to build a sleepy Texas enclave into a world-class city. It’s home to a collection, of ten restored historic homes from various periods 1823 to 1905. Free admission
1100 Bagby Street, Houston
Hours are: Tuesday–Saturday:
10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.




Jesse Jones Park

See how the early inhabitants of Texas ate lived and survived in the hostile environment of the frontier. Learn about their tools and weapons at the Redbud Hill Homestead. See how their neighbors an Akokisa Indian Village, lived. It gives you a real sense of a simpler, friendlier time between immigrants and native Americans.20634 Kenswick Drive, Humble, open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

(Early Texas cabin courtesy Google images)











Historic Liendo Plantation

Volunteer docents familiar with the rich history of Texas and Liendo Plantation lead guests back in time when cotton was king and chattel slavery embroiled the nations into a fierce Civil War. The historic landmark is only open on the first Saturday of most months. An reasonable admission fee of $7.00 is charged (seniors, groups, and students $5.00). Tours run at 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, and 1:00 PM.

Bayou Bend Gardens

This Texas treasure is renowned for its superb collection of American decorative arts and paintings. The works in the collection are considered some of the finest examples of American designs and craftsmanship that also reflect the tastes, values, and aspirations of ordinary Americans. Visit the attractions website (http://www.mfah.org/visit/bayou-bend-collection-and-gardens/) for times and special events.

Galveston Harbor Tour and Dolphin Watch

Take a fantastic voyage on Seagull II, a fast, stable and sheltered motor vessel built specifically for harbor sight-seeing excursions and education. Visitors can get an up-close look at the Galveston harbor and watch for sightings of the abundance of marine mammals that live there.

Admission:$12 (discount coupon available at website)
Pier 21, Number 8
Galveston, TX 77550

Historical Attractions

Taking time to visit some of the many Houston attractions are fun things to do with a group of friends that will quicken the pace of a lazy day. It seems that many of the attractions that commemorate historical events are often slighted or barely mentioned in brochures and media accounts of the city. That doesn’t distract from the importance of the historical exhibits as witnesses that remain behind linking the chain of unforgettable people and places of the past, present and future together.

The parks, streets and other community assets in Houston often bear names from its past. As you traverse the city you’ll notice the frequency of some of the names you encounter. Milam (street, school) Jones (street, school, park, buildings) Hermann (park, hospital, zoo). The accomplishments of these early settlers, businessmen and politicians are often memorialized by the city by naming new accouterments that improve life in the community after them.

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Houston Attractions Couples Should Visit

There are still some good Houston attractions where couples can kick back, relax and enjoy an outing on the cheap. Here's a list of free or nearly free places where two-somes are welccome and can find plenty of fun things to do year-round.

To discover lots more of the interesting places and incredible events happening each month in Houston, that often don’t make it into the blog, subscribe to our newsletter. We promise to not spam you and only send you the freshest details and information that will help you enjoy your downtime in H-Town.

To experience some of the best homegrown artist, musiciasns and entertainment in the Southwest take your partner, spouse or loved one to any of these cool palces.


Hermann Park

Houston Cinemas

Public Library

Miller Outdoor Theater

For over thirty years one of the exciting things for Houston couples to do on weekends has been to attend free events at what used to be affectionately called Hippie Hill, the Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park.

The amphitheater style setting has a covered seating area to ensure that you can sit comfortably during an event. They have lots of space for hillside seating, if you prefer you can bring a lawn chair, it must be placed on the left side of the hill. The right side is for those who enjoy their entertainment from ground level on a quilt or picnic blanket.

There are afternoon matinees for children and plenty of evening and weekend shows. Here are just some of the exciting Houston events that have a regular spot on their calender.


Motown and more Revue “Dancing In The Streets”
Juneteenth Celebration
Annual July 4th Concert
Free Concerts
The Houston Shakespeare Festival.
Movies At Miller

USA Today has tagged Miller Outdoor Theatre as the top free event and attraction in all of Texas. To find out about tickets for the covered seating and this weeks schedule of activities visit their websapce.

Movies In Houston

Free movies may be coming to a park near you. So far, Agnes Moffit Park, Market Square and Discovery Green have featured free “Screen on the Green” nights for the public. If you like oldie but goodie movies, sci-fi or Hollywood blockbusters, Houston is the place where you can enjoy them in a variety of traditional and chic settings.

If you are ready to get off the couch and experience cinema in some new ways? Here are some of the venues where movies rule, in the city.

Alamo Drafthouse
Domy Books
Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s Brown Auditorium
Museum of Natural Science

Events At Houston Public Library

If you have not updated your Houston Public Library Card since you were in school you are missing out on one of the best places to chill-lax in town. The library is not just a a place where you can check out a book. Residents gather at local libraries for book clubs, art exhibits, yoga classes, crafts, hobbies and more.

You can research your family genes at Houston’s Clayton Genealogy Library. Learn about the African American experience at the The African American Library at the Gregory School or browse early Texas imprints, old newspaper clippings.





Here’s a look the Houston Public Library by the numbers and some of the other fantastic things happening there!



Registered Borrowers
Youth 232,995
Adult 564,608

Program Attendance: 263,748
Public access catalogs: 707,909
Total # items checked out last year 5,838,587



* Houston Metropolitan Research Center
* Clayton Library Center For Genealogical Research
* Greenberg Collection
* The African American Library at the Gregory School
* Texas and Local History Collection
* More Money @ Your Library


Your library card will give you access to music CD’s video games some specialized online collections, magazines and periodicals. Each month their local author series invites local writers an poets to drop in for some lively discussions with residents. More programs...

* Author Series
* Gulf Coast Reads
* Language Workshops
* Mid-Day Series (B.Y.O.L.)
* Poetry at HPL
* Exhibits
* Crafts & Hobbies
* Exercise & Fitness



They have music CD’s video games and a your card will get you access to some specialized online collections, magazines and periodicals. Each month their local author series invites local writers an poets to drop in for some lively discussions.

Most of the Houston attractions that couples love to visit are in and around their neighborhood. Keep coming back here and you will discover even more of them that are close to where you work, live and play.

We are on a mission to encourage more people to take the time to support, shop and see all of the wonderful local treasures we have in H-town.

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Fun Date Ideas For Couples To Do In Houston

We have a new list of things for couples to do in Houston on a date that will introduce you to some fantastic, fun and fabulous activities at local Houston Attractions. If you're a member of a busy, tech savvy family that shares few meals together and is unsatisfied with the amount of leisure time you have available, here's some places to visit where you can get the most bang for your buck when you do spend time together.

After seeing the astonishing findings of a recent Pew Research study, which clearly indicated that more couples need to grab their loved ones for an adventurous day or night on the town. We compiled a list of local places for our visitors to consider attending in their off-time. They are affordable and will appeal to an artsy wife, sportsman husband or anyone who wants to have a date that is anything but boring.

Houston Museum District

One of the hottest places to go on in Houston is the Museum District. If you going with the entire family or group you can get discounts by using
Citypass tickets.
Houston’s modern museums want guest to view their magnificent art collections as just one part of their overall attraction. They make it easy for visitors to participate in evening mixers filled with dinning and dancing, informative workshops, lectures and special events. Some of the popular museums and events include:

• Mixers and Elixirs 
• Houston Museum of Natural Science 
• George Observatory
• Museum of Fine Art
• Menil Collection

Taking a wife, husband or significant other on outdoor adventures is an age old way to spark romance. Making a visit to one of the nature centers in Houston can be a rewarding experience. Most of them offer hikes in the cool of the evening, boat tours and other programing that will bring you up close and personal with the ecosystems that surround the Houston area. A short list of the nature centers in Houston:

• Houston Arboretum
• Armand Nature Center
• Katy Prairie
• Jones Park

Dinning and Dancing In Houston

There are plenty of hip and chic venues that call Houston home. The old school places for dancing and dinning have gotten a makeover. Some of the fabulous new places in Houston to dine and dance are:

Hard Rock Cafe
The House of Blues
Omni Salsa
Houston Swing Dance Society

Leisure Learning

There are plenty of eclectic things to do in Houston. Everything from film screenings and luncheons to art car exhibits that are designed to enrich couples individually and collectively. From the huge statue of Sam Houston sitting on his trusty stallion to sculptures along Buffalo Bayou’s walking trail. There's plenty of public art on display in the airports, at the zoo and other locations all over the city. Here’s our list of places where you can have unique dating experiences:

The Jung Center
Houston Municipal Art Collection
Orange Show
Diverse Works

Land and Air Adventures In Houston

Houston has some places that provide some fabulous once in a lifetime adventures that people dream about. Things like sailing high above the clouds in a hot air balloon, riding in a vintage airplane or driving a race car. Couples can enjoy these activities any day of the week.
Several local companies will take you sailing on the romantic balloon flight, a short private flight on WWII warbirds or for a daring rides in race cars.

• Bear Creak Balloons 
• Air Texas Balloons
• Texas Motor Speedway
• Texas Driving Experience 
• West Houston Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force

Things To Do In Houston

Go ahead and add one or more of these things for couples to do at Houston attractions to your "to do list". Your partner could be one of the 49% of employed adults who feel very satisfied with the amount of time they spend with their families and long for more time together. You can feel free to use this list to plan an exciting date with your him or her and pass it on to your friends too?

These activities are sure to excite a spouse, partner are loved one of any age group. At the end of the day you will be glad that you experienced something new and exciting. You won't have wasted your valuable time doing something that is not interesting, enjoyable or entertaining. Especially since only one in three Americans report being very satisfied with the amount of time they have for relaxing, hobbies, clubs or other activities.

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