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World Travel Guide
Houston Travel Guide
Editor's note: Hurricane Ike struck
Houston on 13 September 2008. The storm went right through
downtown, and some facilities, including some of the
high-rise office buildings and hotels, may not yet be
operating normally. Visitors should call ahead to make sure
things are OK at any specific locations they plan to visit.
When Houston, Texas, dubbed itself Space City, it was
referring to its connection to the stars (via nearby NASA's
Johnson Space Center, built in 1961). But the nickname could
just as well refer to the enormous amount of earthbound
space the town occupies within the city limits, much less
the metro area's sprawl. Houston is bigger than the state of
New Jersey, so don't plan on seeing it all in one trip.
Houston's attractions and immense size also bring a certain
magnificence: The city is headquarters to almost two dozen
of the largest corporations in the U.S., its port is the
nation's second largest, and half of the world's largest
foreign companies have offices there.
Oil money and corporate largesse enable Houston to have
professional resident companies in allRead More ... four
areas of the performing arts: ballet, opera, theater and
symphony. Additionally, more than 200 institutions are
dedicated to the arts, history and science, and Houston is
also home to professional sports teams for three
major-league sports—the Houston Astros (baseball), the
Houston Rockets (basketball) and the Houston Texans
(football).
One surprise for most Houston visitors is how green the city
is. The subtropical climate (it's approximately the same
latitude as northern Florida) causes lush growth in grass,
trees and plants, and the mild winters leave plenty of
greenery untouched.
Houston's cultural diversity (more than 90 languages are
spoken there) and its low cost of living also have made it
one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S.
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