NASA Space Center: For a true other- worldly experience, shoot over to NASA, Houston’s preeminent tourist attraction. Don’t miss the awe-inspiring mission control building, one of the country’s most distinct icons of contemporary history.

Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston: One of the country’s most respected modern art facilities, the Contemporary Art Museum offers a compelling collection of paintings, sculpture, and objects d’art in a stunning stainless steel building.

The Orange Show: Postman-turned-artist Jeff McKissack glorified “the perfect food” (in his opinion, the orange) by devoting thousands of square feet to orange-related folk art, including sculptures, masonry, and bizarre buildings.

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum: The 1901 oil gush heard ’round the country erupted at this site chronicling Beaumont’s bodacious boomtown days.

Big Thicket National Preserve: This swath of East Texas Piney Woods contains a gaggle of species from the Gulf Coast, Central Plains, and Southeastern forests coexisting with critters from the deserts, bayous, woods, and swamps.

Texas State Railroad: Experience the old-time feel of riding the rails on this rickety yet enchanting locomotive, which chugs, clanks, and charms its way through the East Texas Piney Woods.