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I was provided with a complementary CityPASS All opinions are my own.
When I am visiting a city, I want to see it all, visit the attractions and generally do touristy things that drive my family crazy. My kids are always begging me to “not try to make their vacations educational.” I tell them that as a former teacher it just comes naturally, but they are not buying it. When we visited Houston we were given a CityPASS that allowed us to visit attractions around the Houston area and, believe it or not, my son who accompanied me enjoyed our time out, except for the Art Museum because “he doesn’t like paintings.”
Our city pass allowed us to see five attractions, although we had a choice of seven. Our first stop was the Houston zoo, which is one of the prettiest zoos I’ve ever visited. If you go be sure to check out their amazing lego exhibit that features animals made entirely from legos.
Instead of the Zoo we could have chosen to go to the Kemah Boardwalk. Based on a recommendation from a friend who had lived in Houston, we chose not to go here because we knew it would be crowded on a holiday weekend. However, we plan to give it a go the next time we are in Houston.
We continued our adventures at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which is located about ½ mile from the zoo. Right now they are featuring an exhibit from ancient Egypt with real mummies. (This exhibit was the highlight of my son’s trip. He has a fascination with ancient Egypt and spent several hours looking at the artifacts.)
The next day we visited the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. I had a great time wandering through their exhibits of European painters, snapping pictures of Picassos, Reniors and Monets. Even my son had to admit, the Pre-Columbian gold exhibit was pretty neat.
We could have chosen to visit the Children’s Museum with fourteen hands on exhibits for kids instead of the Fine Arts Museum. While we didn’t get to visit, others in our group did and said their young kids had so much fun, they didn’t want to leave.
We also visited the Houston Aquarium, which is located ½ mile from the Hotel Icon. They feature rides outside of the aquarium, a stingray petting exhibit and a white tiger exhibit too. The one place we didn’t get to visit was the Houston Space Center. It was located around forty five minutes out of town and I just didn’t have time to work it in, much to my regret.
Some facts about the City Pass:
- It allows you to see several area attractions for a discounted price, which thrills the heart of this thrifty mom.
- CityPASS tickets are good for nine days after the first use, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the attractions.
- CityPASS tickets can be purchased for Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Southern California.
If you are going on vacation to one of these cities, be sure to check out CityPASS to make your vacation planning easier.
I love the LEGO zebra! Surprisingly, Kemah was not at all crowded! We were pleasantly surprised! The only ride that had a wait was the train, which is the most popular anyway! I’m so glad we took the chance to go, though, I know the kids would have loved the zoo, too!
THis looks like an awesome place to get passes for ! my daughter would enjoy going their so much!
I’d love to try a CityPASS – that would make for a very fun trip!
that pass idea is REALLY really cool! i’d love that- freedom, flexibility and smart spending. my kind of option.
Looks like you had a great time. My family loves museums so this is perfect for us.
I travel a lot and find that city passes often offer the best value for your money. Looks like you had a great time in Houston! (btw, LOVE the lego zebra)
This sounds awesome – I love how you were able to see so many different things. We love aquariums and museums!
I really enjoyed the VIP line access while using our CityPass, as well as the other upgrades.
Wow, I did not know that Houston had all of this. I’d love to go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Looks amazing! I would have definitely visited the aquarium!
The Kemah Boardwalk looks beautiful reminds me of home – well, this home. Looks like you had a great time! Seems like Houston has lots of great places to visit.
If you’re looking to hit city highlights, then I’m thinking a CityPass is the absolute way to go!
Wow – it looks like there are some really awesome places to go in Houston! Definately a town I would love to check out!
I need a lego zebra in my front yard!
I’m like you, I want to see it all and make sure the kids learn something along the way 🙂 The city pass sounds great! Will have to keep this in mind for our future travels.
I would love to visit Texas one day, but it could never be in the summer because I hate humidity. From you photos, Houston looks really cool.
That zebra really tripped me out. LOL I thought something was wrong with my vision, but it’s LEGOS? How cool!!!
Never been to Houston but loved the mix of attractions you chose to visit and think City Pass is the way to go when visiting a city.
Is that a Zebra made of LEGOS??? Wow, totally awesome!
I love the idea of that pass. When I visit a new city, I like to see all sorts of things too! I think I would have probably visited the zoo first as my kids and I love going to different zoos. I would definitely want to see the Houston Aquarium too!
Houston looks beautiful! I’ve never been to Texas, but I’m a huge Dallas Cowboys fan so I definitely want to visit! 🙂
I have always wanted to visit Houston! In fact, my gf goes there for business at least once a month…seriously considering tagging along. This looks like a great way to explore the city and save $$.