LillyB

I will be in Houston this month on business with a half day of free time. What would you recommend for a first time visitor who enjoys peaceful places that are rich in architecture and scenery? Am I better off staying in the Houston area or are should I explore the Galevston coast/bay? What about some good local picks for breakfast/lunch? Thanks for any suggestions!

Traveler

Go to Galveston & visit The Strand historical district. You can do this in an afternoon. Eat at The Saltwater Grill. Their seafood is fresh and the atmosphere is quaint. Service is great. It is located on Post Office Street. If you want to eat overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, eat the Fish Tales on the seawall.

Tex

If your free half day is in the AM, forget Galveston, as the traffic is hellacious and you'll spend more time on the godawful freeway than on the island. If it's an afternoon/evening, then do consider Galveston. A caveat: don't be taken in my billboards for Kemah - it's a tacky little town with recently built boardwalk and mediocre restaurants

LillyB

Thank you - The time I have to spend will be the first half of the day, so as nice as the Strand historical district sounds, maybe I should stick somewhere closer to Houston? Any nice scenic areas and places to see/eat closer inland? For example, are LaPorte or League City worth the drive?

Linda

The Strand in Galveston is a good place to go. You might enjoy the ferry ride across Galveston Bay from Galveston. On the way down is NASA Road 1, which takes you to NASA and is very interesting if you like space travel. As you cross the causeway into Galveston, there is Teichelmann Road and the Galveston Daily News and behind that is a restaurant called Clary's--very good. Of course, THE restaurant in Galveston is Guido's. I like a place in Kemah but north of the bridge and the boardwalk called Pier 8. It is not fancy but has all you can eat for $9.99 ($12.99 on weekends). You pick the seafood, noodles, vegetables and sauce and they stir fry. While that is cooking, you have oysters on half-shell, steamed crab and shrimp, seafoold gumbo, green salad, crawdads from which to choose.

texasgirl

Lilly, If you like museums at all, I would recommend the Menil Collection _ great collection of surrealists, cool building architecturally and just always a nice lace to wander. Right on that campus is the Rothko chapel, also a really quiet peaceful place with good architecture. If you have time you could also hit the Museum of Fine Arts Houston which recently expanded.
Both museums are either in or very close to the Montrose, a neighborhood which has a lot of nice quirky, non-chain little restaurants and such.

Lindsey

LaPorte and League City will be an hour as well. For peacefulness and architecture, there are a couple of good ideas.

One would be the Williams Tower and the Water Wall. You could go by Eatzi's at San Felipe and Post Oak, pick up some meats and cheeses and have a picnic.

The Montrose area would have some interesting places to see. In addition to the Menil, you could go by the Rothko Chapel, the Museum District and Rice University.

A note that most of our interesting architecture is relatively new, less than 30 years old, and is downtown. Towers designed by Philip Johnson and I.M. Pei.

Suggestions on breakfast and lunch depend upon where you are staying and when and where your meeting is, as well as what kind of food you like. Be happy to give you suggestions once things are better defined.