Your Houston CME conference.

Houston after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM Houston time. A good afternoon here is one outing, not three: a museum, a stretch of Buffalo Bayou Park, or time in Hermann Park. Houston is spread out, so look at the distance between where you are staying and where you want to go before you commit, and keep the weather in mind for anything outdoors. On a hot afternoon the museums are the easier choice; the trails and gardens suit the cooler months better.

Travel, lodging and admission are separate arrangements that you make yourself. Your study day runs on your phone or laptop wherever you choose to stay.

Museums or the park?

The Houston Museum District lists 21 member institutions, among them the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Children’s Museum Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Holocaust Museum Houston, The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel and the Houston Zoo. The tourism board says the district is easily accessible by METRORail. Compare each museum’s opening days and hours with your 2:00 PM finish.

The tourism board lists Hermann Park in the Museum District. Its conservancy describes the Japanese Garden, created in 1992 as a gift from Houston’s Japanese community, the Hermann Park Railroad, pedal boats, McGovern Centennial Gardens, the Lott Family Carousel and McWilliams Dog Park. The park’s conservancy is at 1700 Hermann Drive. Pair it with one museum rather than several.

Buffalo Bayou and downtown

Buffalo Bayou Park is a 160-acre green space just west of downtown, running from Shepherd Drive to Sabine Street between Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive. It has the Sandy Reed Memorial Trail, a ten-foot-wide concrete trail along both sides of the bayou for walkers, joggers and cyclists, and the narrower Kinder Footpath for walkers and joggers only. It also has gardens and native landscaping, a nature play area, a dog park and public art. The Cistern, built in 1926 as one of the city’s first underground drinking water reservoirs, offers tours and hosts immersive art installations. Check current tour availability first.

The tourism board describes downtown as the central business hub of the nation’s fourth largest city. It has Discovery Green and Market Square Park as open-air spaces, and the Theater District is home to the Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony and Theater Under the Stars. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership lists Buffalo Bayou Cruises at Allen’s Landing.

Space Center Houston

Space Center Houston is at 1601 E NASA Parkway. Its own planner offers a full-day itinerary of seven hours or more, a half-day plan of four hours and a two-hour Lightspeed plan, so a visit after a 2:00 PM finish needs to be planned around those lengths. The full-day plan includes all of the NASA Tram Tour stops, and the half-day plan includes the Rocket Park stop only.

Review the center’s itineraries before you go and use its reservations contact for questions. Confirm the day’s plan with them before you set out.

Montrose, the Heights and the Galleria

The tourism board calls Montrose eccentric and diverse, with art galleries, restaurants and nightlife just west of downtown. Houston Heights is a group of historic neighborhoods northwest of downtown that date back to the late 1800s. Rice Village sits in the tree-lined West University area, and the Galleria Uptown is a major shopping district centered on Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road.

River Oaks is described as a shaded, upscale area for dining and shopping, between the Galleria and Montrose. Midtown lies between downtown and the Museum District, and EaDo is near the George R. Brown Convention Center and PNC Stadium. Choose one neighborhood for the evening and check how you will get there before you go.

When to visit Houston

Using Greater Houston Partnership data, the tourism board lists winter highs of 62 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit and notes that frost is uncommon. Spring highs climb from 73 in March to 86 in May. Summer highs run from 91 to 94 degrees, and Houston averages about 99.6 days a year at 90 degrees or higher. Highs fall from 89 in September to 72 in November. October and November have the most clear days, and June is the wettest summer month. Rain increases in spring, reaching 5.15 inches in May, and June is the wettest summer month at 5.35 inches. Fall rainfall stays between 4.2 and 4.5 inches a month, so pack for rain in any season. The tourism board describes the climate as suited to an outdoor lifestyle.

Getting to Houston and your study setting

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is the arrival point shown in this guide. Houston Airports also operates William P. Hobby Airport and Ellington Airport. Choose your accommodation and ground transport with your study setting and your plans outside study hours in mind.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.