Houston and Galveston

Houston is the largest city in Texas and one of the biggest in the country, about 80 km from the Gulf of Mexico. It grew with oil and the port, which is connected to the gulf by a ship channel, and houses the Johnson Space Center, from where NASA controls crewed flights. Space Center Houston, the agency's visitor center, displays rockets, the Apollo mission control room and spacecraft replicas.

In the city, the Museum District groups more than a dozen museums around Hermann Park, such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Natural Science, and the Montrose neighborhood has the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel. To the east, the San Jacinto Monument marks the battlefield of 1836 that won Texas its independence.

Galveston, about 80 km to the south, occupies a narrow island on the gulf. It was Texas’s wealthiest port in the 19th century until it was devastated by the 1900 hurricane, the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. After that, the city built a large seaside wall, the Seawall, and raised the island’s elevation. The Strand historic district and Victorian houses, the beaches and Moody Gardens park make the island a beach and weekend destination, and a departure point for Caribbean cruises.

The climate is warm and humid most of the year, and the region lies within the Gulf hurricane season, which usually runs from June to November.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Houston, Galveston.