This sinuous 160-acre city park follows Buffalo Bayou west from downtown, with easy pedestrian access and plentiful parking en route. Sweeping views stretch back to the downtown skyline, while assorted areas are devoted to exercise, contemplation, art exhibits and more besides. Potential activities range from kayak tours with Bayou City Adventures to bike rentals with Buffalo Bayou Rentals.

This 445-acre park is home to playgrounds, a lake with paddleboats, a picturesque Japanese Garden, the Hermann Park Miniature Train and the Houston Zoo. It offers shady walks under mature old oak trees and there are some lovely formal gardens. Don't miss the recently opened McGovern Centennial Gardens.

Don’t even dream you’ll see the whole of this colossal and absolutely stellar museum – the most popular in Texas – in a single visit. The permanent collection alone is extraordinary, with colorful models and massive skeletons of dinosaurs as the headline attraction, complemented by real mummies from ancient Egypt, mock-ups of Aztec temples, rare gems including a 2000-carat blue topaz, and interactive exhibits on the earth's biosphere.

This nationally renowned palace of art starts its displays with ‘Splendors of the Ancient World’, and has a fine collection of pre-Columbian golden treasures from South America. Its chief emphasis, though, lies in tracing art history from the Renaissance, via the Impressionists, to post-1945 European and American painting. Along the way you’ll encounter major works by Tintoretto, Rembrandt and Picasso.

The most famous name in New Orleans cooking runs this refined restaurant in Midtown. No mere offshoot, it’s a culinary temple all of its own, blending New Orleans flavors with Texas. Ingredients are uber fresh and the menu changes with the seasons. Service is excellent and the dining room elegant. Reserve in advance for a table in the beautiful courtyard.

As the name suggests, the Menil Collection is rooted in the extraordinary array of art and archaeological artifacts amassed by Houstonians John and Dominique de Menil. Housed in a modernist building designed by Renzo Piano, it only displays a careful selection of highlights at any one time. Representative pieces span the ages, from Ice Age carvings, via Cycladic figures from 2800 BC and Benin bronzes, to more recent works by Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Kara Walker.

Lazing the night away under the stars while sipping a cold brew is a Houston tradition, and many bars have great terraces. One of the biggest and best patios on the Washington nightlife strip is at Porch Swing Pub. Grab a picnic table, tip back a local brew, and sample classic pub grub.