We are attending a wedding in Houston in January. We're arriving Thursday morning, though the wedding-related events don't begin until Friday night. Does anyone have any recommendations about must-see sights to occupy us for those two days? In addition, any ideas for day trips would be greatly appreciated.

There are wonderful museums in Houston: http://www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org

Especially:
The Museum of Fine Arts
http://www.mfah.org

The Houston Museum of Natural Science
http://www.hmns.org/

and the zoo;

http://www.houstonzoo.org/
The Galleria [5085 Westheimer Rd]if you are into shopping or just seeing every $$$$$ store in one place.

Johnson Space Center.

Houston is a great city!!

Deb

Deb's got a good list.

Also include the Cockrell Butterfly Center (which is attached to Museum of Natural Science)

The other things I'd usually mention are NASA (which Deb listed) and Clear Lake/Kemah Boardway area. Both were damaged in Ike, so I'd check to see if they're up and running by January.

I'd usually recommend Galveston, but don't think there's any way it'll be back by January.

I completely agree with the Museum of Natural Science and Cockrell Butterfly exhibit. I love going there. You should go to Goode Company BBQ to eat some great BBQ while there as well.

FYI - Goode Company is good suggestion. They have 3 restaurants across the street/next to each other on Kirby/Westpark intersection (inside the 610 Loop). Besides BBQ, one is Tex-Mex and other is Goode Company Seafood. All are good.

And what about day trips? Is it feasible to drive to San Antonio or Austin for just a day?

SA is 200 mi and Austin is 180 mi, or just under 3 hrs for either. Tends to be a long day, but doable.

Probably should've mentioned that both SW and CO offer frequent service between Houston and SA and Austin. Both flights are less than an hour and you can often find some very good fares. The reason we don't usually fly is that by the time you get to the airport, go through security, etc the time advantage quickly diminishes.

But thought I throw that out just in case.

I agree with everyone else's suggestions - all the museums are great. Moody Gardens in Galveston is also worth seeing; I think it should be up and running by then. If Kemah bounces back by then, it's a really fun spot to have dinner and enjoy the water. NASA is right there as well.