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Houston is served by two major commercial airports and two smaller regional airports.
The large airports are:
* George Bush Intercontinental Airport, [url=http://iah.houstonairportsystem.org/].] The larger of the two airports and is located 23 miles north of downtown near Beltway 8, between IH-45 North and US-59 North. It is the largest hub for United Airlines and serves 25 domestic and international airlines.
* William P. Hobby Airport, [url=http://hou.houstonairportsystem.org/[/url].]Located 7 miles south of downtown and is located off of I-45 South. It is convenient if you're travelling downtown or south of the city, such as to [[Galveston[/url]]. Its main carrier is Southwest Airlines, and it also served by Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and JetBlue.
The smaller airports are:
*Sugar Land Regional Airport, [url=http://www.flysgr.com].]Located 25 miles southwest of downtown on TX 6, just north of U.S. 59. It is a popular choice among the well-heeled corporate aircraft set.
*Ellington Field, [url=http://www.fly2houston.com/EllingtonHome[/url].]Located 19 miles southeast of downtown, just off I-45. Formerly an air force base, now used for general aviation, non-passenger commercial traffic, and government aviation (NASA, Texas Air National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard).
The following companies have locations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and/or Hobby Airport:
*Advantage Rent A Car [http://www.advantage.com/[/url]
*Alamo [https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/home.html]
*Avis [http://www.avis.com/car-rental/avisHome/home.ac]
*Budget [http://www.budget.com/budgetWeb/home/home.ex]
*Dollar [http://www.dollar.com/]
*Enterprise [http://www.enterprise.com]
*Firefly Car Rental [http://www.fireflycarrental.com/rentalcar/reservation/home]
*Hertz [http://www.hertz.com]
*National [https://www.nationalcar.com/]
*Thrifty [http://www.thrifty.com/]
Amtrak, 902 Washington Ave, [http://www.amtrak.com]. Amtrak's Sunset Limited line is the only passenger train route with a stop in Houston, although a daily bus provides a direct connection from the Houston Amtrak station to the Texas Eagle at Longview.
Houston's major freeways include:
* IH-45 North ("North Freeway"): To Dallas
* IH-45 South ("Gulf Freeway"): To Galveston
* IH-10 West ("Katy Freeway"): To San Antonio
* IH-10 East: ("Baytown/East Freeway", not to be confused with "Eastex freeway") to Beaumont
* IH-610 ("The Loop"): Loop around downtown
* US-59 South ("Southwest Freeway"): to Victoria
* US-59 North ("Eastex Freeway"): to Lufkin
* US-290 West ("Northwest Freeway"): to Austin
* SH-249 North ("Tomball Parkway"): to Tomball
* SH-288 South ("South Freeway"): to Freeport
* SH-225 East ("Pasadena Freeway"): to Deer Park/La Porte
* BW-8 ("The Beltway/Sam Houston Tollway"): Loop about twice as far out as IH-610.
Approximate distance to nearby cities (in miles):
* [wiki=54c3265daedcd4e9f97fe63e102c3307]Austin[/wiki]: 160
* [wiki=35c9317e0121c11e32199f94ab6a8be8]Baton Rouge, LA[/wiki]: 270
* [wiki=2cae68cda70b895bcb454691656b7584]Beaumont[/wiki]: 90
* [wiki=adfb5084aacd6f633c409fe6d3c63a77]Corpus Christi[/wiki]: 207
* [wiki=09ea9b5e69df9e1385463fde29bc41cf]Dallas[/wiki]: 240
* [wiki=1b75f7197aac9bde82a11e7020169923]El Paso[/wiki]: 745
* [wiki=ea23d8416f74d5e02b6b8f40a07c76d2]Galveston[/wiki]: 50
* [wiki=ed0ab96e63017de305670b8315d1f63c]Lake Charles, LA[/wiki]: 140
* [wiki=ac69cbc800b7f96e0f5f588b7d032949]New Orleans, LA[/wiki]: 346
* [wiki=938256dbbd2dc32e07ec3230533e3644]San Antonio[/wiki]: 200
* [wiki=280536b63b2ee6abb0021970d60304b5]Waco[/wiki]: 180
Greyhound Lines, [http://www.greyhound.com].
** Downtown station, 2121 Main St.
** Crosstimbers Station, 4001 North Freeway.
** Northwest, 1500 West Loop North.
** Southeast, 7000 Harrisburg Blvd.
** Southwest, 5690 Southwest Freeway.
* Megabus, [url=http://us.megabus.com/].]Runs buses from Houston to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Departs from three different locations in Houston.
** Downtown, 815 Pierce St (Pierce & Travis St)
**Northwest, 13250 FM 1960 W (located at the shell gas station)
**Katy, Katy Mills Mall (entrance 8)
*Vonlane, [url=http://www.vonlane.com/[/url].]Runs first class buses from Houston to both Austin and Dallas equipped with various amenities such as leather seats, ample leg room, free Wi-Fi, and satellite TV.
**Bush Intercontinental Airport, 6655 Will Clayton Pkwy.
*Autobus Americanos, [url=http://www.greyhound.com.mx[/url].]Mexican trans-border bus line with services to various points in Mexico. Operated by Greyhound in the U.S. and Grupo Estrella Blanaca [url=http://www.estrellablanca.com.mx[/url]]in Mexico.
** Harrisburg, 7700 Harrisburg Blvd.
** Southwest, Hillcroft at Southwest Freeway (US 59)
*Starline, [url=http://www.travelstarline.com[/url]]. Express city to city bus service with routes direct to [[College Station[/url]].
** Downtown station, 1201 San Jacinto St (San Jacinto & Polk St)
** Downtown, 815 Pierce St (north of Travis St). They also have additional stops at Door 5 of Katy Mills Mall (by Sun & Ski Sports) @ 5000 Katy Mills Circle, Katy; and a Select Shell Station/Store @ 13250 FM 1960 W (FM 1960 & US Hwy 290W). Please look at the ticket as to which stop you need to go to before heading out. The same bus may not stop at all three stops.
*El Expreso, [url=http://www.elexpreso.net/].]Goes south to Brownsville/Matamoros; Monterrey via Laredo/Nuevo Laredo; & McAllen/Hidalgo. Goes north to Chicago via Luftkin, Texarkana, Little Rock & Memphis on one route and direct to Dallas on another. Goes east to Mobile. One route goes north from Mobile up to Raleigh via Atlanta, Gainsville, Greenville & Charlotte while the other goes towards Florida.
** Downtown station, 2201 Main St.
** Harrisburg, 7701 Harrisburg Blvd.
*Turimex Internacional, [url=http://ticket.gruposenda.com/[/url].]Mexican trans-border bus line with services to various points in northern Mexico and the US states of Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, North & South Carolina, and Mississippi.
**Harrisburg, 7011 Harrisburg Blvd.
** Southwest, 6590C South West Fwy @ Hillcroft & Southwest Freeway (US 59)
*Omnibus Mexicanos, [http://omnibusmexicanos.com.mx/english/[/url]. Mexican trans-border bus line with services to various points in Mexico.
**Third Ward, 3200 Telephone Rd.
You can get to Houston easily from Mexico (from as far as Mexico City and Michoacan) on a bus. In the bus stations of many major cities in Mexico you will see buses advertised to go to Houston.
There are many private bus companies in Houston that exclusively serve Mexico.
Houston has a number of freeways and tollways that make getting around the metro area by car fairly easy. The expressway system is arguably the second-most comprehensive in the nation, after that of Los Angeles (see list of freeways under the "Get in" section.) A number of obstacles, however, can make driving in Houston a less than pleasant experience. One is construction, which seems to be ever-present; and the other is traffic. Evening rush hour in Houston begins as early as 4PM and can last to 7PM. Morning rush hour is between 7AM and 9AM. During rush hour, traffic on the highways can come to a halt. The area near the Galleria, between US-59 and IH-10, is an area you should avoid during rush hour if possible.
One peculiarity about Houston's freeway system is the ubiquity of frontage roads, or, as they're called by the locals, feeders. These are pairs of one-way surface roads which run parallel to several freeways in Houston and its suburbs, similar to what are called service roads in other parts of the country. The most basic thing to remember is that, after you've turned onto a feeder road from a surface street, you'll have to take another ramp to enter the freeway. Rest assured, they're easy to navigate once you get used to it. *Houston Traffic Map [http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/]
*The freeways system [http://www.houstonfreeways.com/]
Some freeways have limited-access lanes located in the median strip of the highway, generally called HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes. These lanes usually can't be entered directly from the feeder roads, so using them usually requires finding a METRO Park-and-Ride. Google Maps doesn't seem to know they exist, but if you can navigate METRO's HOV maps, these traffic-free lanes can save you a lot of time if heading to or from downtown during rush hour. Beware traffic congestion is heavy in the city centre during most hours in the day
The HOV lanes are generally operational Monday - Friday. In the morning morning hours (5AM - 11AM) they run inbound, and in the afternoon and evening (from 2PM - 8PM), outbound. The HOV lanes are generally restricted to cars with 2 or more passengers, but the Northwest freeway's HOV lanes require 3 or more passengers during peak travel periods (6:45-8AM). The HOV lanes can be marked with signs bearing a white diamond on a black background, or, more recently, with signs bearing a green strip saying "Express lane" at the top. Highways with HOV lanes are: I-45 North, I-45 South, US-59 North, US-59 South, I-10 West (Katy Freeway), and US-290.
Recently, The Katy Freeway HOV lanes have been expanded into the Katy Freeway Managed Lanes, a 24-hour multi-lane HOV with paid Single-Occupancy Vehicle access cost-adjusted based on HOV usage. In addition, METRO has announced a program to allow Single-Occupant Vehicles onto HOV lanes with the payment of a toll. More information about these new HOT Lanes can be found at the aptly-named [url=http://www.ihatehoustontraffic.com/]ihatehoustontraffic.com[/url].
Note: The Sam Houston (except for the 13 mile Northeast section) and Hardy Tollways are the only toll-roads that allow cash payment of tolls at toll plazas. All other toll-roads, including managed lanes, require a pre-paid RFID "EZ Tag." Cash toll plazas accept coins from $0.05 up to $20 bills and do not accept credit or debit cards.
*HOV lane map & schedule [http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/SchedulesMaps/HOV.aspx]
*Katy Managed Lanes on Harris County Toll Road Authority website [https://www.hctra.org/katymanagedlanes/index.html]
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, better known as METRO [url=http://www.ridemetro.org/],]operates local and express bus lines, as well as a very popular light rail system called METRORail [http://www.ridemetro.org/TransportationServices/MetroRail.asp[/url]. Visitors may be able to get around without a car, especially if they stick close to downtown, but ample free and cheap parking, combined with Houston's suburban sprawl, make public transit an unpopular choice for Houstonians themselves.
All METRO fares can be paid with exact change in coins and $1 bills, or with the recently-implemented reloadable fare smartcard, the Q Card. Q Cards can be obtained for free at METRO's RideStore downtown, and at many local supermarkets, usually at the same service center you'd go to to cash a check or send a wire transfer. Oddly enough, the machines at Park & Ride lots and METRORail stations do not sell Q Cards, so bring exact change or buy your Q Card before boarding. There are four options for re-filling your Q Card:
* Credit Vending Machines in Park & Ride lots, which accept credit and debit cards
* Ticket Vending Machines at METRORail stations, which accept both cash and credit cards
* Bus Reloaders at the back of every local bus. These are a bit counterintuitive to use, but once you get them, they're quite simple. Insert a bill, and then place your card in the slot. These machines take $1, $5, $10, and $20 bills, and will reload only one bill at a time.
* Places where cards can be bought: any store that sells Q Cards can also reload the card for you-just ask at the service desk! Most grocery chains and many convenience stores sell Q Cards.
Outside of Downtown, don't expect to catch a taxi on the streets, but there are various cab stands located at various parts of downtown proper. Taxis in Houston are generally dispatched by various companies.
* [url=http://www.yellowcabhouston.com]Yellow Cab[/url] (tel. 713-236-1111).
* [url=http://www.taxisfiesta.com/]Fiesta Taxi[/url] (tel. 713-225-2666).
Traveling via a limousine has become more popular lately. Many Houston limousine companies offer full ground transportation options such as town cars, classic cars, stretch limos and luxury vehicles that can be utilized for special occasions like airport transportation, parties, school dances, business functions and weddings. Consider hiring a limousine service to handle your travel needs.
Houston is so spread out and (most of the time) humid and hot that bicycles are often best used for exercise or to get to somewhere that is closeby. On the other hand, if you have a little bit of stamina and perseverance, Downtown, Midtown, Rice, Uptown and the Medical Center/Hermann Park/Museum District area are within a 30 minute ride. Multi-modal transportation is also possible, since all city buses have easy to use racks in the front or storage compartments that can get traveler and bicycle near to a final destination.
There is a bike sharing service that is available thru [url=https://houston.bcycle.com/]B-cycle[/url]. There are 29 docking stations located mainly around Downtown, Midtown, Montrose, and the Museum District. Rides of less than 60 minutes incur no fee, while there is a small fee for longer rides.
The city of Houston has 290 miles of marked bike routes, plus another 80 miles of hike and bike trails in city parks, with concrete plans for even more expansion. For more information on the Houston Bikeway program, including a complete map of all marked bike paths, visit the City of Houston Bikeway Program website [http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/bikeways/index.htm].
Memorial Park is Houston's premier urban park. The park's 2.88-mile jogging trail is very popular with runners and walkers year-round. The park also has miles of mountain bike trails, several tennis courts, and other options for outdoor recreation.
* Approximately 455 acres (about half the size of Central Park in New York City). George Hermann gave the parkland to the City of Houston in 1914. It is accessible via the MetroRail. Encompasses the Miller Outdoor Theater, the Houston Zoo, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Hermann Park Golf Course.
iFest is a contemporary, multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural arts and music festival held annually. The festival features vendors selling local and international foods and crafts. iFest also features six to eight arts markets with more than 400 artists including a juried art market.
*Houston's own Gay Pride Parade currently the most attended and largest gay pride event in the Southwest region, held in the Montrose neighborhood.
*A parade that must be seen to be believed. For example, last year there were cupcake motorcycles, fire breathing chicken cars, and many other spectacular cars. There are vendors nearby selling water, hats, and food as well. It can get very hot!
*The world's largest entertainment and livestock exhibition. Concerts, rodeo competitions, livestock shows, BBQ competitions, and a carnival. Houston residents celebrate this event with Go Texan Day, where they dress in western wear the Friday before the rodeo begins.
*This September 16 festival features a parade, a ball, street music and dance performances in celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
*Star-crossed lovers and mistaken identities prevail at the Miller Outdoor Theatre for two weeks beginning in late July. To get a seat reserve free tickets online, or picnic on the lawn.
The lively performing arts culture of Houston includes professional, community and university-based dance, opera, broadway musical, chamber and symphonic music groups, featuring both classical and pops programming. Theater is active in Houston and includes the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre. Most professional theater is centered in the Theater District [url=http://downtownhouston.org/district/theater/],]but companies are located in many neartown neighborhoods and suburbs.
The major downtown performing arts venues include The Wortham Center [url=http://www.houstontx.gov/worthamcenter/[/url]] The Hobby Center [url=http://www.thehobbycenter.org/[/url]]Jones Hall [url=http://www.houstontx.gov/joneshall/[/url]]and The Alley Theatre. [http://www.alleytheatre.org/alley/Default_EN.asp[/url]
The major supermarket chains in Houston are Kroger, Randall's (which is owned by Safeway), H-E-B, and Fiesta Mart. In addition the nation's largest discount store chain, Walmart, has several stores in Houston most of which are also open 24 hours and most Kroger stores in Houston are also open 24 hours as well. In addition many specialty and organic supermarkets such as Whole Foods Market, Central Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Trader Joe's can also be found throughout the area.
Due to its huge expat and immigrant population, Houston also features a large variety of ethnic grocery stores, including Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and of course, Mexican.
Like any city with a respectable, trendy food scene, Houston's top restaurants seem to be all about what's seasonal and local these days (oh, and Houston is just now getting into gourmet food trucks), as well as becoming increasingly prominent in stores as well. Fresh produce to seek out include tomatoes, sweet "1015" onions (not as sweet as the Hawaiian variety, but pretty impressive), watermelon, strawberries, peaches, corn, carrots, and squash blossoms. Look for Texas cheese from the [Houston Dairymaids][http://www.houstondairymaids.com/] and bread baked daily and shipped to restaurants from the Slow Dough Bakery. Houstonians are just as crazy for crawfish (no "crayfish" down here, Yankee) as Louisianans are, as well as catfish and Gulf seafood such as red snapper, blue crab, and shrimp; gaining in popularity are local species that were previously overlooked, such as blackfin tuna, tilefish, grouper, almaco jack, and black drum. Houston has always had a steady supply of oysters from Galveston Bay, but the program of oyster "appellations" has only recently been revived, meaning high-quality specimens are labeled with their reef of origin, just like the well-known varieties from the east and west coasts - look for varieties such as Ladies Pass and Pepper Grove.
The Urban Harvest Farmers Market, also known as the Eastside market due to its location on Eastside Street in the River Oaks area is a great place to buy local produce and grab breakfast. The market has about 60 vendors ranging from small farms, ranchers, fishmongers, bakers, and chefs making breakfast. The market runs on Saturdays from 8am-12pm at 3000 Richmond Ave.
The Saint Arnold Brewery [http://www.saintarnold.com/], located in Houston, is billed as Texas' oldest microbrewery. Their brews are often sold in local bars. The brewery is open for public tours Monday through Friday from 3:00PM to 4:15PM, and Saturday 11:00AM to 2:00PM. In addition to, or in lieu of taking the tour, you can bring food and sit at the rows of picnic tables in the large beer hall. Admission includes four 8oz samples of beer. This unique admission setup exploits a loophole in state law that tries to prevent brewpubs from packaging and distributing beer.
Houston has multiple telephone area codes and mandatory 10-digit dialing. For any number, even within your own area code, you need to dial areacode + number. For local calls, you do not dial a 1+ or a 0+ before the number. Some calls within Houston are considered long distance, and for those you need to dial 1 + areacode + number.
Houston's area codes are: 713, 281, 832 and 346.
Crime in Houston is high and the highest in the state, and has a reputation among Texans as a high crime city. Travelers to Houston should follow common safety procedures such as staying away from deserted areas after dark, keeping purses/wallets in a secure location, and putting valuables out-of-sight in parked vehicles. For emergency assistance, travelers can contact Houston Police Department by dialing 911. In addition, travelers should dial 911 to report most crimes in progress. For non-emergency assistance and for crimes not in progress such as minor assault, car theft, home invasion, property damage, and theft, dial 713-884-3131 and request police assistance. The Houston Police Department also allows citizens to file online reports for minor property damage and theft if they are under $5,000 in damages. Residents of Texas are allowed to carry concealed firearms after completing training and a thorough background check.
Houston is like much of the Gulf Coast in that it is very vulnerable to hurricanes in the summer and fall. If a hurricane is forecast to make landfall anywhere near Houston, listen to officials and heed mandatory evacuation orders if one is ordered. The last major hurricane to hit Houston was Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008, which caused severe damage.
Houston is very hot and humid in the summer with temperatures around 87°F - 100°F (31°C - 38°C). In the daytime, one may not be able to stay outdoors for very long without having to seek relief in air conditioning. However, in the winter, Houston can be mild with temperatures ranging from 30°F - 64°F (-1°C - 18°C), albeit with many cloudy or rainy days.
Unlike other large cities in the nation such as Chicago, New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, Houston doesn't really have a local rail rapid transit network in place. The existing light rail network for the most part is of limited use to visitors aside from the Red Line. That being said Houstonians have a tendency to park along the rail lines to go into downtown or the medical center as it is easier to get in and out of those areas with the train without the hassle of parking and traffic.
Please be careful when coming near the METRO Rail track, especially at intersections.
Follow the signs since the trains move very quickly and run at almost all hours of the day and night. It runs almost silently. At many streets, left turns are not permitted. Also watch the signs and signals, because some will change as trains approach. Do not drive on the tracks as there are large raised white domes that separate the roadway and the rail line. In some areas signs may indicate driving (or walking) on the tracks is permitted (currently only in the Texas Medical Center) but make sure it is safe to do so.
Drive across the tracks only when you are sure it is safe to do so, especially at night as an oncoming train may not be heard by a driver inside a car.
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[url=http://www.chron.com/]Houston Chronicle[/url] - The city's main newspaper which is read throughout the city and in the surrounding areas of Texas.
* [url=http://lavoztx.com/]La Voz[/url] - Houston's primary Spanish language newspaper.
* [url=http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/]Houston Business Journal[/url] - Houston business news.
* [url=http://www.houstonpress.com/]Houston Press[/url] - An alternative, free weekly newspaper which focuses on lesser-known news as well as movies and local events ranging from current theatrical productions to concerts.
* [url=http://www.scdaily.com/Default.aspx]Southern China Daily[/url] - Houston's primary Chinese language newspaper.
* [url=http://www.thevietnampost.com/]Thuongmai Viet Nam[/url] - Houston's primary Vietnamese language newspaper.
* [url=http://houston.culturemap.com/]Houston Culturemap[/url] - An alternative, free weekly newspaper which focuses on lesser-known news as well as movies and local events ranging from current theatrical productions to concerts.