I really love downtown Houston and its mix of modern and old architecture, street & mural art, open green spaces, hip eateries, bars, hotels, and more. It's a vibrant city full of life, character, and inspiration. Always have a great time when visiting. read more

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Downtown Houston is so magical. People walking, people talking, people laughing and having a good time. Downtown Houston is full of fun places. Fun murals and fun buildings to look at. Downtown Houston has beautiful murals with beautiful buildings and beautiful views. read more

Downtown Houston - Local Flavor Near Me

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Houston does night time for everyone. The downtown area is magical at night with the beautiful lighting and glow in dark paddle boats and scooters ! Day time was a beautiful walk also as I could grab coffee and food and see amazing art everywhere ! Houston needs to teach Florida how to do it right because nightlife is a 1 star in Orlando. read more

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Downtown Houston is full of artwork on building, parking garages and sculptures. I enjoyed staying down town and seeing the random art and how the city lights up at night. read more

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I grew up spending about two weeks every year in East Downtown Houston, or EaDo as the locals call it. My Dad was born and raised in Houston in his parents' home, on Dallas Street. Two of my older siblings and I visited for a week a couple of times a year as young children. The house still stands, despite being over 100 years old, and has been remodeled into a lovely home that retains so much of its historical aspects! My Grandpa and I would walk to the Kroger grocery store up the street and he would treat me to whatever children's gift I wanted that day, and we played Go Fish on the screened in front porch at least every evening. These are great memories! Our aunt and uncle lived nearby, and we all enjoyed my uncle's barbecues and swimming in their inground swimming pool was really a special occasion for all of us! After growing up, I enjoyed the benefit of Continental Airlines' buddy passes and flew to Houston regularly to visit my best friend, who was a flight attendant at the time. My downtown Houston visits, outside of my grandparents'' home, were limited. I did visit a couple of government facilities to take care of some business for my dad without any issues and the people were, for the most part, friendly. One downtown visit could have gone a little more smoothly. After I visited this facility, and walked through almost the entire complex, an employee notified me there was a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in the facility. Seriously?!?! This would have been a good nugget of information to know prior to touring the place!! Thankfully, I did not contract TB! read more

Pros -Hub for Houston commuters with an extensive indoor tunnel system that connects a lot of buildings to each other and multiple dining/food halls for lunch options -Finn Hall, Bravery Hall, etc are new upscale food options that are a good addition for those that work downtown -Nobody lives downtown so it's quiet on the weekends -Main street has trashy bars for those who want to participate -Close to cooler spots around Houston such as Buffalo Bayou trails, White Oak Bayou trails, Herman Park Cons -Parking used to be free on weekends street-side but now mostly require an app or paid lots -Traffic is pretty awful but that's to be expected -The new painted bus lanes are terrible -Large unhoused population pretty much all along Fannin from north Downtown all the way down through lower Midtown, under 59 going towards EaDo, amongst other areas. Pretty much no organization or policing of the unhoused and homeless that hang around; that means you don't want to walk around that area during the day or at night and deal with the issues, such as urine everywhere, drug use, and mentally unwell folks doing mentally unwell things. read more

Downtown Houston - Local Flavor Near Me

I find downtown Houston to be a lot like Dallas. Easy to navigate Big buildings In Texas Entertainment areas Restaurants I lived in Houston two years and remember only going downtown once. Of course back then large cities were usually day use office only. Things have changed and as with every large city,a lot is happening in downtown Houston these days. High rise living changes everything and H Town has its share. read more

kinda confusing with all the one ways and limited parking spaces but i got the hang of it haha really metropolis vibes with lots of traffic lights and signs. so much to sight see and do! good amount of people working corporate offices read more

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Someday I might buy a "Hous" in Houston. It's where the TV show "Hous" was filmed. It was also the setting for the movies "Hou Framed Roger Rabbit", "Hous That Girl?" and "Hous Of 1,000 Corpses." The city bizarrely named after Anjelica Huston has more than its fair share of Addams Families, and a few beautiful women with Addams Apples. Not to the same degree as, say, New York City, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Paris or Rio, but every great city displays these features and Houston is no different. And remember... when we're cruising around Houston together... don't you forget Hous your Daddy. Still one of the most amazing downtowns in the country, with one of the most incredible massive skylines built by oil, and hopefully it will always be this impressive. They also have an interconnected system of tunnels here for the workers which will take you to lunch time food options and even some boba in the subterranean area, and I'm not talking about a little food court underground - I'm talking about tunnels that stretch all over downtown. It's absolutely f***ing amazing. Read about the hurricane in my older review. Scandalous from the city. It was originally my review #2,010 because that's the year I played several concerts right in the Downtown area of this city. Now that I spend half my life living here and work out at the YMCA right downtown, I can say that I really love this part of town. It's a clean and well organized part of the city and the traffic moves fairly well. The food options include the utterly spectacular Zydeco (get Crawfish Etoufee) and the excellent Nara Thai Express. General Houston food: Best food in Houston: We'll start with the best of the best. The life-changing food items in Houston are (1) Mole w/Pechuga and Puerco De Asada from Tostada Regia on Long Point, (2) the Chicken Hara Masala curry and Chicken Boti at Himalaya, with a Rocket Naan and some rice, (3) Lamb Cumin, Spicy Dry Chicken and Tofu w/ Sizzling Seafood from Hunan Bistro, (4) The Torta de Cochinita Pibil (and Gordita and Charro Beans) from La Bala on Bellaire, (5) the Crawfish Etoufee from Zydeco, and (6) the Green and Panang curries (x/spicy) from Nara Express as well as their Basil Fried Rice, or the Green and Massaman curry (x/spicy) from Asia Market Thai Lao, and perhaps best of all (7) the #6 covered in their chili sauce, from Darband on Hilcroft. More life changing items are (8) the Yuk Gae Jang from Tofu Village in Chinatown, and the same dish as well as the Soon Du Bu (seafood) from Yori Yori inside 99 Ranch on I-10, (9) the Chicken Flat Noodle (x spicy) and Snow Pea Leaves (x spicy) from East Wall, (10) the Korean Spicy Chicken at Lim's Chicken on Bellaire, (11) the Char Kway Tow and Belacan Fried Rice from Banana Leaf, (12) Karahi from Mai Colachi in Sugar Land, (13) a basic burger from Lankford Grocery, (14) Jalapeno Sausage or Smoked Sausage from Hot Bagel Shop, (15) the specialty at Thien Thanh. And Banh Mi from (16) Les Givral's and Nguyen Ngo. The best Boba in town is from Mr Wish (fruit teas), Gong Cha (brown sugar milk tea), Yum Cha (fruit teas), Tea Top (milk teas), Feng Cha, and so many more, such as Tapioca Place with great Banh Mi. Also, the Jalapeno Cheese Bolillo from El Bolillo. The Chicken Kebab from Los Perros (Richmond). Xin Jiang for late night kebab sticks. Cocina Latina for Salvadoran. Pollo Bravo for Peruvian chicken. Taconazo for taco trucks. Ekko's or Gyros & Shish for Gyros. Nu Ice has the very best ribbon ice. Shipley Donuts (when hot), traditional glazed. Starving yet? Downtown Houston is stunning. It reminds me of Downtown LA or Downtown Dallas, which may both be slightly bigger, but having been to all three many times, they seem very comparable. Each is clean, shiny, new, impressive, and rises above a hot city like a phoenix from the desert flames or the dusty plains or swamplands in Houston's case. Each has a spaghetti bowl of freeways running in and around and through, and yet manages to tower over the thundering stream of engines, with a towering glittering uber-American presence. All three cities have been described as concrete jungles of endless freeways, and they are, they really are. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. The tunnels are great! Like Montreal, but for keeping cool, not warm. I've walked around in both, and they're both fantastic and innovative and very futuristic. Now Houston just needs an undeground subway system to whisk you (there's that word again) to any far-flung burb of the massive sprawling metropolis. I'd have loved to go downtown with Whitney Houston during her early years, but once Bobby Brown got hold of her, things changed. And that was her prerogative. Or his, perhaps. Anyway, I won't be cruel. I wanna dance with somebody so let me finish up this review, and I'm saving all my love for somebody who loves me, and if I don't dance with someone for one moment in time, then how will I know? read more

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I'll admit that I am biased - Houston born and raised here. However, you really can't beat the Houston skyline - so unique and sprawling. Downtown is generally and underrated and underappreciated part of Houston since we have such a spread out city: unless you work in downtown, most people never bother to come here. Be it for a play, concert, ballet, convention, sporting event, park visit, shopping drinking, you name it - downtown Houston has it. One thing I have yet to do is explore the downtown tunnels (hard to do on weekends when most things inside the tunnels are closed). Yes, the parking down here is painful just like you would expect from any big city, but with a little patience and luck you it will afford you the ability to explore our lovely city. read more

We actually really like downtown Houston a lot. There is a lot to do here and there's a lot of really good hotels to choose from. But we really feel like it's very dirty and it gives off New York the Bronx. There's a lot of homeless out and about and it's extremely dirty and not to mention dangerous. We don't recommend staying here but visiting it and shopping here is a must read more

Pros: - Plenty of places to eat at - Free events to attend - Festivals happening throughout the year - Picture worthy places all around - Stellar night view of downtown - Festivities during the holiday time - Everything is within walking distance - Great sceneries of what Houston has to offer - Night life is always fun in downtown - Great area to spend with family, friends, and dates Cons: - Limited parking - Overpriced parking - Just parking in general - One way streets - Traffic read more

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I have been coming to Houston most of my life and for the past three years several times a month on business. I love the downtown area best, there are plenty of things to explore and some very good restaurants and bars. During the week the downtown area is alive and can be quite challenging to get around or to find reasonable parking. The weekend offers a much more subdued city and can be ghostly at times that is my favorite time to be downtown. This is a very diversified city it attracts all kinds of people and businesses this diversity is what has created a culture like few city's can boast. I'm sure Houston faces many of the same challenges that most large metropolitan areas face, infrastructure issues, the number of homeless on the street, and economical downturn. Houston always seems to be able to adapt and stand as tall as the skyscrapers that fills its skyline. read more

First impression when I came here. Wow the building are so big and wow even the signs are huge. And wow why am I so small. Yes that's what ran through my mind. I was just amazed to see big buildings. Only issue is after work, the city is so quiet and there are hardly anyone around. Its also cool to see that there are tunnels for people to avoid the hot or rainy weather. read more

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What can I say? I love this town. I was too young to remember my childhood in Maryland since I came here in 1980 but only to remember the changes that have been made to downtown. I remember when Main Street uses to be a regular street and there and a video arcade on the North end of it. Forward to almost 30 years and now with me working downtown I again open my eyes to see the restaurants, bars and the night life emulating life here. I have unfortunately not been able to experience other big city 24 hour life like Las Vegas, New York or even Chicago but for now this is and will always be home. read more

Downtown Houston - Local Flavor Near Me

Like most downtowns, this is the place to be. It feels like it has several downtowns, which makes sense since it's so big one wouldn't fairly capture its essence. read more

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(For the record, I love many restaurants downtown, I love the Toyota Center, Discovery green among many other great downtown destinations, but that is besides the point!) I just can't believe Downtown is such a mess! Yes, Downtown, YOU alone are the reason I had to get a GPS! I hate the way the streets are divided downtown, there really is no order. Don't even get me started with the way every street is one way!! What?! You couldn't make life easier for us and make every OTHER street two way!?? I swear, whoever made the plans for downtown must have been quite incompetent. Now, this is not the first time I state my hatred for Downtown's lack of order. I believe, I read somewhere that the reason Downtown is so screwed up, is because all the bayous make the streets cut off... I call your BS, because I have seen maybe ONE bayou around Downtown! Now, Downtown New York is what I call a very nicely thought out project. Almost all the streets lead you to the FDR drive on the east side or West side Hwy on the west!! if you take a random street like 68th you can go from all the way north to all the way south!! Was that really so hard to achieve in Houston?! I tell you what, You didn't even try! Go ahead and try to find a freeway downtown! You will have to go around twice and end up seeing it after you passed it! Whoever hired the "Engineers" who created downtown should ask for their money back. I bet a few rich farm owners just decided: Hey, lets make a Downtown! Yee haaww!! They probably drew a little diagram and said.. well.. I'm going to name this street smith, after my father. Another one said, yup, this one should be Louisiana because that's where my family is from! Hold on, this little crappy street, lets call it Milam, because I hate that guy!! And so on and so on. It must have been quite an interesting brainstorming session! (ok.. ok.. maybe it didn't happen that way! lol) Now, I do love the amenities downtown, so don't get me wrong. I just hate the lack of space, the disorganized streets and the lack of public transportation. Almost forgot to mention, that train thing that runs on main is a waste of a perfectly good two way street!!! You are a skeptic and need proof that what I say is true? Please open the following link: http://www.downtownhouston.com/maps/dh.php read more

I love downtown Houston, I feel it's forgotten that Houston is one of the biggest city in America, but when you think of Houston, our downtown is not what you think of. There's so much to do here. They have classic bars, new spots, restaurants, entertainment, shopping, and luckily now they added in green spaces and even groceries. The architecture is also very impressive, with some of the tallest buildings in the nation. It's a damn shame not more people enjoy our glorious downtown. The next time you're looking for something to do, think downtown. read more

Ok, I love it and I hate it. The traffic is terrible, I have to walk tor blocks to get anywhere, parking is getting more expensive but this is what makes our city one of a kind. Downtown Houston attracts such a wide variety of people and this is because this is where many work but also is a place to be at night. Great variation of lunch restaurants and hip bars for happy hour and the best part parking is usually free after 6. On weekends, parking is cheaper but so many different events make up for that cost because when entire families can have fun, you cannot put a price on that. read more

Downtown is really growing and improving. More specialty bars and restaurants are popping up, Market Square is always hosting something, and homelessness is trying to be addressed. I just really hate somewhat forced parking in a lot, parking in a garage, or valet parking. So, I just keep free at 6PM and handicap parking in mind when visiting downtown. Watch out for lightrail and Metro as they will SHOW you that they rule these roads... read more

I couldn't disagree more with the preceding review. I love downtown Houston! There are great places to eat, but I wouldn't note that as the main draw. There are tons of equally fantastic places to dine in midtown, the heights, montrose, et cetera. I could list the million things to do in Downtown - but I think this pretty much covers it: http://www.downtownhouston.org/ My most recent faves are Flying Saucer and the Angelika Film Center. I highly recommend both. Getting around isn't hard, it's actually quite nice and very well organized. The lights are timed perfectly so you will rarely have to stop at a red light. Just like any city you're new to, you may need to carry a map or utilize your GPS in the beginning, but once your oriented, it's a piece of cake. The Rundown:Travis will eventually, to I-45N while Louisiana will lead you to 1-10S. I usually get on 1-10S at Hardy St. San Jacinto leads you to I-10 North. Streets running south will take you to I-45S. Heading east, towards the edge of downtown, you will find entrances to 59 and to the west more entrances to I-45. You can also get to Memorial Drive via Prairie and Allen Parkway via Lamar. I'm also a big fan of the light rail running down Main St. It's a quick and easy way to get around. It will take you from the University of Houston - Downtown all the way to the Reliant Center with stops in Midtown, the Museum District and the Medical Center, among others. If you're not from Houston and find the streets confusing and traffic frustrating, you can park at the Metro Transit Center downtown and rely on light rail to take you to the popular attractions and destination points listed above. I look forward to it's expansion. read more

This is one of the most scenic part of the city and also the upscale business areas. I just like driving or riding through the high-in-the-sky buildings and enjoy the view. read more

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I love downtown. It has the best of everything: parks, restaurants, theatre district, hotels, Aeros, Astros, Rockets, House of Blues, Treebeards, Warren's etc. It's been a joy to work down here for over five years and explore nearly every single thing in the tunnels and up above in the scary sunlit world. Unfortunately when career comes calling you follow it to whatever zip code it is in, and it is no longer in the 77002. Hopefully in the future I get to come back to the land of skyscrapers permanently with a mailing address and garage pass - instead of just passing through as a normie who now needs to pay for parking after I surrender my garage parking card and take my box of diplomas, Buzz Lightyear action figure, and jelly bean dispenser across town. read more

Alright. I was a little bit too harsh on when I 1st reviewed Downtown Houston. It's actually refreshing that I can hear myself think versus any other downtown in a major city where it's hustle and bustle. It's also a great area to walk around especially if you love architecture since there's so many skyscrapers within walking distance. Bring a camera. read more

It's its own deal, but I love living in Downtown Houston. read more

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One of my absolute favorite places to have breakfast. Coffee is perfect in little cups so it never gets cold and the baguettes are fresh. Don't even get me started on the chicken and waffles! One negative....we used to come every Sunday until they suddenly and randomly took biscuits and gravy off the menu. That was the only thing my boyfriend ordered, so now it's off our list. Actually, biscuits in general have been removed. Weird for a breakfast place. Otherwise, I highly recommend for a cool, laid back atmosphere with the food of a fancy, more expensive place. read more

Downtown Houston can be a hassle to find parking if you don't know where you're going, the proliferation of one way streets can be confusing at first, yet a few simple lefts will get you back to where you were going. Tons of hidden gems in this area of Houston. I love the bars and the nightlife as well as the theater district and a great selection of restaurants never hurts. read more

We decided to spend NYE 2014 in the city of Houston and we opted for a hotel downtown. I have come to the conclusion that downtown in TX means that it will ne deserted @ nights and during the holiday seasons due to the fact that people live in the burbs and work downtown. So, if you expect downtown to be bubbling with nightlife as if you were in the navigli area in Milano, or by the Colosseum in Rome. .. you are terribly wrong. .. We had the whole city center for ourselves... walking the (rather chilly) streets... enjoying the Houston underground city... YES... you read it right... right in the spanking middle of Houston, there is a whole new level of the city unkown to the public!!! Filled with foid courts, banks, hairdressers, candy stores, clothing stores. It feels like a maze and it is a rather well-kept secret. Why does this whole different level underground? Because Houston is mighty freaking HOT come summer (well... it gets to the mid-90s by march and won't get down to high-60s untill mid November. People are really busy working and they have to wear business attires... they go outside they would pretty much melt like count dracula if he ever were to come out in the sun... So, what did the financial district come up with? A complex system of underground level tunnels. During their lunch break, businessmen/women and the likes will just surf this maze for a mani/pedi, quick brunch, a visit to the bank, get a new tie... I really loved figuring out how far the maze went and am proud to state i surfed through 90% of it "only" getting lost about half a dozen time (not bad for a newbie) read more

There are tons of things to do in downtown from restaurants, mini parks, sporting events, and look at all the beautiful skyscrapers. Just beware of the traffic during certain times, surrounding downtown and in the heart of the city. This can kill the experience a little bit but if I was you I would just park my car and just walk any and everywhere. So much to discover. They even have underground malls and restaurants in few places. read more

I love living in Downtown Houston. I'm close to almost everything except the suburbs. There are tons of things to do in Downtown Houston. You have shopping, restaurants, coffee shops, and the light rail. Great place to live. You just have to be careful with the homeless people at night. read more

I love my hometown! There are so many things to explaore all over downtown Houston!

I've been around this area since the age of 4. I really love this city. Though it maybe a little unorganized, it still all works out. My family owns a business in this area, that has been running for about 10+ years. It's very local. Very very local. read more