Houston or Dallas for a short city vacation? (San Antonio, Austin: rent, houses)

[novaha]

Hello,

We are a family from NYC. 2 adults, 1 toddler.

We are looking to have a short city vacation in either Houston or Dallas (3-4 nights).

We need plenty of things to do and see: a little sightseeing, parks, shopping, family friendly restaurants.

Which city might be more suitable for this type of trip?

Thank you in advance.

[testmo]

there is a thing between houston residents and dallas residents - they tend to hate the city they do not live in.

that being said i'd say pick houston. houston is the most diverse city in the United States. You will find more diverse cuisine here than in NYC. it will also be a larger range of high end, mom and pop, and everything in between. also a lot cheaper. go to new china town one night and get some dim sum and smoothies! go see the massive Mosque and Shiva Temples that are here. the temple located in Sugar Land is mind boggling

houston, imo, has better museums and more diverse museums. The Menil is a world class museum (private collection so it isnt on the scale of the MFAH). it is located inside the hipper neighborhood here in houston. It is also in the Museum District and a short drive to virtually all the other museums here. The Buffalo Soldier Museum i hear is very good but unfortunately draws few visitors (i do not visit for political reasons, maybe that makes me silly). You have the art car museum located in the historic heights neighborhood which is also cool to shop in and eat around. you have the orange show for a little more eclectic stuff. the natural science museum is nice for houston but nothing like NYC's so i wouldnt put it on my list. i mean the list goes on. if you are interested in the emancipation era we have a lot of lesser known historical sites and museums centered around that. Houston has the only remaining freed slave community historical site in the US. it is a sad picture of gentrification in the modern city, but very interesting. project row houses is also a good one if you want to ponder on our modern society

the galleria is good for shopping (i am not a shopper at all) with the high end designers stores which are in houston. the water wall is in the same area and cool to look at. discovery green located downtown is a small park centered on renewable and sustainable building and landscaping. memorial park is a huge park fit for long walks, bike riding and the sort.

houston is routinely voted as one of the best shopping cities in the US. i think they still do that because of the galleria, which i think sucks. but to each their own. it could also be because houstonians like to spend money!

but houston is a business town, not that dallas isnt. there isnt a lot of tourism here (yet) and you may find you have to find your way around by yourself. make sure you rent a car while you are here. you can always take a day drive out to galveston and see the sights and the strand there as well.

there is a park out in north houston i believe that shows what this entire state used to look like. its mostly swamp with really cool walking bridges built over all the land and the really old trees that grow in the water. excuse my poor explanation. i always found that place cool as a child. i have no idea what it is called

we also have River Oaks which is a smallish community right in the hipper part of the city that has more wealth than Beverly Hills. Lots of tabloid like stories and members of middle eastern royalty. it can be neat just driving looking at some of the outlandish homes

if you are here on a weekday downtown may look deserted. most of the people will be walking between the buildings in the underground tunnels

[DanielWayne]

I am happy to live and work in Houston, but to me it's not very touristy. The Kemah Boardwalk, Johnson Space Center, and the Strand in Galveston are some really nice places, but you will have to do a lot of driving around Houston. As said above, we do have excellent museums an loads of good food. Even people from Dallas can't dispute that

If you want Texas fun, then try San Antonio and some of the little towns in the nearby Hill Country like Fredericksburg. Also I'd choose Ft Worth for vacation over Dallas - downtown is great, they have excellent museums, and there are the stockyards.

[Malvie]

Well, I think you got two good and not mutually exclusive answers above.

If you're looking for a real change of pace, and lots of family-friendly touristy things, you need to be looking at San Antonio first. They are the state's biggest tourist destination; it's their primary industry; they are geared up for it; it's all about the family there; it's a total change-of-pace from NYC. And generally it's going to be cheaper.

Dallas and Houston are much more "big city" atmospheres (and you live in the best big city in the world), and while both can cater to tourists, both are much more about business.

Of the two, Houston has more to offer the tourist. Dallas has big business and lots of suburbs. Houston at least has Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston, Johnson Space Center, and the San Jacinto Monument/Battleship Texas.

[Shipresa]

Fort Worth is GREAT for kids, has parks (Trinity Park with a really cool train through it - kids LOVE it as do adult kids too!), the zoo, log cabin village...all near each other.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is wonderful! The planetarium is better than Houston's (sorry, I live here in Houston) and for kids 5-12, a great hands-on exploration center.

Nearby on Camp Bowie is excellent frozen custard (Curly's) ! Yum!

And the Stockyards. Not what they used to be in the past, but nice to see. So much to do in Fort Worth, and its laid back and less traffic.

[HtownLove]

For the people who have been saying SA, I am not sure what 2 adults and a todler would do in SA for 3-4 nights. You can do the touristy thing in SA in a couple of hours.

With a todler I don't know if the Riverwalk, Six Flags and the missions would do. I would say Sea World would probably be a good fit, but 3-4 days??? hmmmm.

For Houston I would say the childrens musem would be a good choice for a toddler. the Cockrell exhibit at the Nat Sci Museum would be good too. Hermann park also has lots to do with toddlers. There are all the little rides and stuff, there is the park itself, and the zoo in that park. add to that the Kemah Boardwalk, and Galveston island , and the range of restaurants and you got yourself a nice little vacation right there. Also NASA is and the aquarium does have little attivities that appeal to toddlers too.

I would recommend SA for people with kids over 8, not a toddler. I would not drag a toddler to six flags, the riverwalk or mission seeing.

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

but you will have to do a lot of driving around Houston.

LOL, you will have to do a lot of driving to do in DFW too.

[Metro Matt]

Houston

Its a little more touristy than Dallas plus its close to the ocean, Hill Country, & San Antonio which is the best tourist destination in Texas period.

[TheEconomist]

I hate to be a downer, but why are you choosing either Dallas or Houston for vacation from NY? They both can be nice cities to LIVE in depending on your job, but they aren't the best tourist destinations. Are you visiting family somewhere in Texas?

You can definitely have a good time, but if you are visiting any city in Texas, I would take Austin hands down as a tourist spot. They have the best BBQ in the world (Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX and Stubbs BBQ downtown). They have Barton Springs, Mt. Bonnel and a 70 mile drive out of town is Fredericksburg and incredible wineries. Austin has the Lady Bird Johnson flower garden. Re-reading this - Austin seems better in Spring, but its still good anytime. There is the state capital that is in session until May. Live music, the State History Museum. The Blanton Art Gallery at U.T. You can check out the U.T. architecture and gorgeous campus.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by TheEconomist

I hate to be a downer, but why are you choosing either Dallas or Houston for vacation from NY? They both can be nice cities to LIVE in depending on your job, but they aren't the best tourist destinations. Are you visiting family somewhere in Texas?

I thought the same when I first read the question, but hey, I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to be shot

[stoneclaw]

i agree, go to san antonio. That is THE city in Texas for tourists.

Houston and Dallas are great cities but not very much to offer for tourists. Houston is trying to get there with the addition of the new theme park in New Caney (hopefully!!!). If you're only planning on narrowing it down to Houston and Dallas, i would choose Houston simply due to the fact the area offers a more diverse landscape: Kemah Boardwalk, Beaches, Good museums, food, and shopping. Don't get me wrong, Dallas has all those too minus the Beaches and Boardwalk but its more what you'd expect to see in any other city. The highlight of the Dallas experience is shopping malls. I'm not too big on malls but Dallas has two big upscale malls: Northpark and Galleria, while Houston only having one upscale mall: The Galleria, it's the biggest and best shopping experience in Texas.