Museums—The Museum of Fine Arts (and its Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden); the Houston Museum of Natural Science; Bayou Bend; the Menil Collection; Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum.

Memorable Meals—Smoked rack of lamb and creamy coconut ice cream at Americas; spinach enchiladas and homemade lemonade at Irma's; gumbo and buttercake at Treebeards; pepper crabs and garlic shrimp at Kim Son; caramel-dripped churros and freshly ground chocolate dessert at Hugo's; warm cheese bread and hot grilled polenta at Fogo de Chao.

Late Night—People-watching at South Beach nightclub; jazz at Scott Gertner's Sky Bar.

Walks—Houston Arboretum & Nature Center; the Heights Boulevard walking trail; downtown via the tunnel system; Hermann Park; Memorial Park.

Especially for Kids—Touchable exhibits and special activities at the Children's Museum of Houston; the space shuttle simulator at Space Center Houston; a 50-minute drive away find miles/kilometers of beaches for making sandcastles, and the Rainforest Pyramid and Aquarium at Moody Gardens on Galveston Island.

Houston's extensive freeway system is shaped much like a wagon wheel and is dispersed across the city's sprawl. Two concentric rings circle the city—Loop 610 and Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway). Highway 6 makes a half-circle farther west. Interstate 10 runs east-west and cuts the city in half, and I-45 and U.S. Highway 59 intersect each other in the center, like wheel spokes, and run more or less north-south. The Hardy Toll Road also runs north and is the fastest route to the Bush Intercontinental Airport from downtown. State Highway 290 goes only northwest, and State Highway 288 goes only through the southwest area. The latter is the main route to the Texas Medical Center. Areas outside Loop 610 are considered suburban. Mass transit is problematic—except in the downtown core along the 7.5-mi/12-km METRORail line that went into service in early 2004—and it is essential to have a car and a good map or GPS to get around the city.

Most areas are referred to as being inside or outside the 610 loop. The area enclosed by the loop, though still a large area, is often referred to as the "inner loop" or "inner city." There you will find such major areas as the Theater District downtown; the Museum District and the Texas Medical Center south of downtown; Greenway Plaza, an office and retail complex west of downtown; and the Port of Houston east of downtown. Inner-loop neighborhoods include Montrose (artsy and bohemian, with a significant gay population); Rice Village and Upper Kirby (hip centers for restaurants and small retail shops); River Oaks and West University (the city's two most affluent neighborhoods); and Houston Heights (Victorian homes and antiques shops).

Just outside the loop to the west are the Galleria and Post Oak areas, renowned centers for shopping and international commerce. Southwest of downtown, on the southern perimeter of the loop, is Reliant Park, which includes Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome. Between the loop and Beltway 8, south of downtown, is William P. Hobby Airport. Outside Beltway 8 to the north is George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

And keep in mind that Houston is only about a 50-minute drive away from Galveston Island on the Gulf of Mexico, a popular tourist destination with historic, turn of the century homes and miles/kilometers of sandy beaches, although they're sometimes awash with tarry globs of oil from the rigs offshore.

Serving twice as the capital of the Republic of Texas, Houston flourished for a while because of cattle and cotton. After Texas became a U.S. state in 1845, the city languished until the arrival of the railroads in the late 1880s. Then two very different events conspired to change its course: The great 1900 hurricane destroyed its neighbor Galveston, a thriving island port and major banking center on the Gulf of Mexico. A year later, the discovery of oil at Spindletop, 100 mi/160 km to the east of Houston, brought a wave of entrepreneurs to Houston in search of quick riches. With its new prosperity, the city widened Buffalo Bayou, creating the Ship Channel, and Houston replaced Galveston as a leading port.

World War II transformed Houston into a major center for shipbuilding and steel manufacturing, in addition to oil refining. It became the headquarters of several U.S. oil companies in the 1970s when oil prices rose to historic heights (known locally as the oil boom) and the industry flourished. But the local economy suffered when oil prices collapsed worldwide in the 1980s. A concerted effort to diversify into health care, aeronautics, international banking and high technology revived the city. Houston remains resilient in all economies. Despite the well-publicized crash of the oil markets in the early 1980s and the scandalous fall of energy giant Enron that unfolded between 2001 and 2003, the city still attracts major corporations to headquarter there. It is home to the world's largest medical center, which continues to expand. Houston's local economy has continued to grow, despite the falling value of the U.S. dollar, with a major push into the high-tech field in the 21st century, especially related to energy, medical and software industries, and expansion into fledgling, leading-edge industries such as nanotechnology.

Once a place for legendary cowboys and oil wildcatters, this Texas town has evolved into a sprawling, diverse melting pot of industry and cultures. Houston accounted for the largest growth in the Hispanic population in the last U.S. Census, and there are also growing Asian and Middle Eastern populations. There are places of worship for every major religion and restaurants representing almost every ethnicity.

The 2000 U.S. Census named the Houston area one of only 21 true "multiple melting pots" because of its ever-growing immigrant population and its significant presence of Hispanic and Asian residents. By 2035, Hispanics are predicted to be the majority population in Texas, with Houston and San Antonio its major Latin centers. In 2002, Black Entertainment Television rated Houston the No. 1 place for African-American families to live. This accounts for Houston's multicultural richness.

Houstonians eat out more than people from any other city in the U.S. Why would you eat at home if you had more than 11,000 restaurants to choose from, with food ranging from world-renowned chefs to authentic taquerias and noodle-houses? (Not surprisingly, Houston was rated the Fattest City four out of five years by an annual Men's Fitness magazine report.)

The Houston metropolitan area is more than 90 mi/145 km wide in any direction, so everything is spread out. Residents think nothing of driving 20 minutes to the nearest post office or grocery store.

Houston has no zoning ordinances. It's not unusual to find a cow pasture next to a bar near a residential neighborhood. This explains the proliferation of suburban "master-planned communities" on the city's outskirts, where community associations bind all residents with artificial zoning or deed restrictions.

With a history of wildcatters and eccentrics such as the legendary philanthropist Howard Hughes, Houston's quirky spirit lives today through many art icons, such as the Orange Show, a monument to the fruit; the Beer Can House, which gives new meaning to home improvement; the Flower Man House, an unbelievable collection of art and greenery; and the Art Car Museum and Parade, which showcases cars transformed into a myriad of four-wheeled wonders.

If you become ill while traveling in Houston, you can count on good access to health care. The Texas Medical Center, just south of downtown Houston, is the largest in the world. Its numerous specialty hospitals in cancer treatment, rehabilitation, heart treatment, neurology, pediatrics and and other disciplines are routinely ranked among the top 10 in their specialties by U.S. News and World Report's annual survey. The Texas Medical Center's more than 4,000 doctors treat more than 5 million patients a year.

If you can't find an address, it may be because you are on the wrong section of a street. Many streets end abruptly because a missing section was never built. Check your map: You may find the next section starts a few blocks away. This frustrates the locals as well, so you're not alone. Other streets such as Westheimer and Memorial Drive are about 20 mi/30 km in length, so make sure you are in the right area of town.