A travel guide for holiday fun in Houston
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The Houston Zoo Lights. Photo: Shafaq Patel/Axios
Houston has plenty of holiday cheer if you're making a trip down this month.
What to do: The Bayou City lights up for the holidays. You'll still be in Texas, so it likely won't be too cold to walk through the light displays.
- Take a free stroll through downtown, drive through the popular River Oaks neighborhood or walk through the impressive Houston Zoo lights exhibition.
- Zoo Lights, open through Jan. 8, has tickets from about $21 and the exhibit features lit-up life-size animals, a canopy of twinkling flowers and butterflies and a 33-foot colorful Christmas tree.
How else to spend your time: The city has holiday-themed events every weekend, including plenty of holiday markets to shop from, a replica of Harry Potter's Yule Ball and screenings of Christmas movies at Houston's Rooftop Cinema.
Where to stay: Book a place in or near downtown for optimal magical experiences and access to holiday fun.
Yes, but: Houston's suburbs offer their own Christmas charm.
- Sugar Land's Constellation Field has more than 3 million lights strung up.
- The Woodlands will host a Menorah lighting ceremony Sunday.
Fuel up: Houston has a copious amount of delicious Tex-Mex eateries where you can eat your Christmas tamales, including La Mexicana Restaurant in Montrose.
Holiday sips: There's also a large variety of holiday-themed drinks for the 21-and-up crowds.
- Winnie's in Midtown has a Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar with over-the-top holiday beverages.
- KA Sushi restaurant is serving festive drink trees that can hold 12 cocktails.
- For something more classic, Axelrad is serving Irish coffee.
The bottom line: Whether you're looking for some family fun or special but affordable experiences, Houston has you covered.