Top 5 things to do in Downtown Houston on the Cheap

With all the family that I had coming in the few weeks before for our wedding, I thought it’d be a great idea to make a top five list for things to do in Houston.  But first, a few side-notes:  I’ve tried to keep this list on the cheap, but that doesn’t mean free.  I know that not everyone visiting will have all the money in the world.  That said, I am including lots of food places on here because that’s what you do with family the most: eat.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here is my list of five must do in downtown Houston.

1.  Buffalo Bayou Park:  This is one of my favorite spots in Houston. This video was taken on one of our bike rides through the park before Harvey a couple of years ago.  The park is around 5 miles in circumference and it has trails that run the entire length of it.  It makes it easy for a bike day.  There are some big hills to go down and climb up, so expect a pretty tough workout.  

There are tons of other things to do here.  One night, we took our out-of-country family to the bridge by the cisterns to take some photos with downtown in the background.  We headed over to the playground near the skatepark and my younger cousin played here.  

Now, the park was hit pretty hard after Hurricane Harvey, but they do have the above mentioned things to do, plus volleyball, a dog park (which is being rebuilt), a bat bridge (at sunset bats fly out for what seems like forever, it was pretty cool), kayaking, a skatepark, a concert venue, the cisterns to tour, and plenty of space for a picnic.

 

There’s also a restaurant, walking trails, art, and the list goes on.  It seems like there is always something going on, or something being added to try out.

2.  Truck Yard: This is a new spot in Houston close to downtown.  It’s already become a pretty popular spot as well.  It’s an outside venue so it can get pretty warm during the Houston summer, but they do have shade and umbrellas to help.

The area is pretty nice, there are  contairs dividing the areas, and providing cover.  There’s an upstairs, and a ferris wheel (I think it’s just for looks since I haven’t seen it going ever).  They have a plethora of tables to sit at and it seems like there is plenty to do there as well.  The first time we went they had a concert going on in a hollowed out trailer (the video above).  I’ve seen ping-pong tables too.

This place has two bars, one inside and one out.  They do sell food there too, but I think it’s mostly Cheese Steaks.  If that doesn’t sound good to you, they also bring in 2-3 food trucks every day with different menus.  There’s plenty of choice, lots of seating, and things to keep you busy.

It’s a nice place to wind down, or to pre-game before you go to an Astros, Dynamo, Dash, or Rocket game, or to just relax and grab a drink.

3. El Tiempo on Navigation – This is probably the most expensive stop on my list, but it’s the one I spend the most time at.  

There is a feud over who has the best mexican food on Navigation El Tiempo or Ninfa’s.  While Ninfa’s isn’t bad, in fact they probably have a better selection of drinks, El Tiempo gets the vote in our household.  The beef fajitas at El Tiempo are the best I’ve ever tasted.  

We liked them so much, we had our rehearsal dinner at El Tiempo (thanks Mom and Dad!).

The salsa is amazing, the fajitas are terrific, and the margarita’s are strong.  So beware.

If you are craving some Mexican food, try El Tiempo.  They aren’t paying me to be on the list, so you know it’s good.

Sometimes there is a little market in the median of the road that goes in front of Ninfa’s and El Tiempo, usually on the weekends I think.  We will usually go through and look at the wares  that are being sold.  There is usually some pretty artistic things going on there, so if you see it happening, go check it out.  It helps work our full bellies out a little.

Being on the median isn’t dangerous either if you’re worried about that.  It’s a larger than normal median with plenty of room to accommodate it all.

4.  Discovery Green – This is a park that’s right in the heart of downtown, surrounded by the skyscrappers in downtown.  In fact, the Marriott Marquis that sits on one side of the park has a Texas Shaped lazy river that has views that look down onto the park.

I live close enough to walk down to it fairly often.  There always seems to be something going on at this little not-so-hidden park.  There are shows, events, food trucks, kayaking, yoga, concerts.  Every month they also do a market with people selling stuff.  When the Super Bowl was in Houston, this park was transformed into Super Bowl Center.  There were things all over the park.  It was incredible how fast the park sprung back to normal afterwards as well.

There are some water features, and festivals here all the time, just check the schedule on their page.

I like to walk our dog down to the park and play some Pokemon Go.  It’s a hot spot for it with tons of pokemon to catch, spinners to spin, and a gym or two to battle at.  /nerdrant

5.  Houston Zoo – The last one is a bit of a personal thing.  I really like the zoo.  It reminds me of being a kid.

The Houston Zoo is one of the better zoos that I’ve ever been to.  They have great set ups and the animals are all on display usually.  We recently took some family to the Zoo, and while parking at the zoo can be madness, they have a shuttle system in place on the weekends.  They have also made it so that there is plenty of shade.  While it was definitely hot the entire time, I was able to stay out of the sun for the most part.

They crew at the zoo (hey that rhymes) is constantly trying to improve things in the exhibits, the trainers are usually knowledgable, and they also do sell private animal meetings.  I know once I was gifted a chance to meet the orangotangs off exhibit before, which was pretty neat.

Plan to spend a bit of time here, since there’s a lot to do.  There’s also a splash pad for the kids to help cool down.

That’s my list.  This is by no means exhaustive of what’s in Houston.  In fact, this is mostly just focused on things that I like to do that are near my house.  If you are visiting Houston, there’s so many areas and places to explore.  I’ll try to add to my list here and there and add things in different section of Houston as well.  For now, this is focused on Downtown.

What are you favorite things?  What did I miss?  Let me know in the comments!