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American Airlines Flights from Dallas (DFW) to Houston (IAH)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 5 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Dallas (DFW) to Houston (IAH), departing between 7:45am and 7:15pm, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 5:20pm and arrive at 6:30pm, everyday except Saturday. Usually a McDonnell Douglas MD80 or McDonnell Douglas MD83 is flown for this route, with in-seat power sources available. The average travel time from Dallas, TX to Houston, TX is 1 hour and 7 minutes.
During your Houston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston is the visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center. It's the product of the joint efforts of NASA and Disney Imagineering. Easily the most popular attraction in the Houston area, there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. You'll find plenty of exhibits and activities to interest both adults and children, and they do a great job of introducing the visitor to different aspects of space exploration. The center banks heavily on interactive displays and simulations on the one hand and actual access to the real thing on the other. For instance, the Feel of Space gallery simulates working in the frictionless environment of space by using an air-bearing floor (something like a giant air hockey table). Another simulator shows what it's like to land the lunar orbiter. For a direct experience of NASA you can take the 1 1/2-hour tram tour that takes you to, among other places, the International Space Station Assembly Building and NASA control center. You get to see things as they happen, especially interesting if there's a shuttle mission in progress. You might also see astronauts in training. And, on top of all this, Space Center Houston has the largest IMAX in Texas. Plan on staying here 3 to 4 hours.
Menil Collection
Here, on display in an unremarkable neighborhood near the University of St. Thomas, is one of the world's great private collections. Jean and Dominique de Menil arrived in Houston in the 1940s, fleeing the war in Europe. For more than 4 decades, they purchased and commissioned works of art; brought artists, architects, and academics to the city; organized groundbreaking exhibitions; and did much for Houston's art museums and for the art departments of Rice University and St. Thomas University. Their collection, especially the modern art, is vast, so much so that only a fifth of it can be exhibited in the museum at one time. The structure housing the collection was designed by Renzo Piano, who worked closely with Mrs. de Menil. It is graceful and personable and doesn't seek to impress the visitor or impose itself on the collection. In these qualities it is the physical embodiment of Mrs. de Menil's ideas about experiencing art. When you walk into the museum there is nothing between you and the art -- no grand lobby with marble stairway, no large banners or gift shop vying for attention, no tickets to buy, no tape-recorded tours. Viewing the art becomes a direct and personal experience.The Menil Collection is concentrated in four areas: antiquity, Byzantine and medieval, tribal art, and 20th century. This may seem an incongruous mix, but, strangely enough, it holds together. The collectors never intended to gather up the most representative of a period; they simply followed their own tastes, which were modern. And one interesting consequence of this fact (intended or not) is that, in walking through these galleries one right after another, the viewer gradually discerns a universality in some modern art that connects it all the way back to antiquity and across the boundaries of Western culture to the tribal peoples of other continents.In addition to the main museum, four satellite buildings form a museum campus. One of these satellite buildings is the much-talked-about Rothko Chapel, with its 14 brooding paintings by Mark Rothko, created specifically for this installation and the last works before the artist's death. In front of the chapel stands Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk. A block south of the Rothko Chapel is the Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum, which is worth seeing as much for the building that houses them (designed by François de Menil, son of Jean and Dominique) as for the frescoes themselves, which were ransomed from international art thieves. Across the street from the main museum, in a building also designed by Renzo Piano, is a permanent exhibition of the works of Cy Twombly, which, though perhaps difficult to approach, are easy to view because of the gallery's exquisite light. It lends a luminous quality to the large artworks, and somehow just being in the place livens one's spirits. Finally, Richmond Hall, 2 blocks south of the campus, holds an installation by neon light artist Don Flavin.
Battleship Texas and San Jacinto Monument & Museum
On the San Jacinto Battleground in 1836, Texas won its independence from Mexico with a crushing surprise attack by the Texan forces, whose battle cry was "Remember the Alamo!" To commemorate that victory, civic leaders in 1936 built a towering obelisk as tall as the Washington Monument but topped with a Texas Lone Star. In the base of the monument is a small museum of Texas history with some interesting exhibits, such as one about the relatively unsung Texas hero, "Deaf" Smith, and a collection of watercolors of the Mexican War painted by Sam Chamberlain. There is also a small auditorium where you can watch a 35-minute documentary of the battle. If you would like to view some of the Port of Houston as well as the rest of the land for miles around, you can take the elevator up to the observation room in the top floor of the tower, which is more than 500 feet above the ground.Across from the monument, in roughly the same place from where the Texans began their advance, is the USS Texas. Built in 1914, before improvements in warplane technology made these large dreadnought battleships vulnerable, she is the last of her kind. Between the wars the navy modernized the ship with antiaircraft and torpedo defenses, but it's still surprising that it survived World War II, having fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters. When you visit you can clamber up to its small-caliber guns or onto the navigation bridge, inspect the crew's quarters and check out the engine room. Life on board was no picnic -- the quarters were cramped and facilities were minimal -- so it is interesting to learn that this ship was considered a lucky assignment. Plan on at least an hour to see the Texas, and as much again for the monument.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Houston area, including:
Four Seasons Hotel Houston Center
This member of the luxury hotel chain does everything right. It stands out especially in the areas of service (reliable concierge, attentive staff, and a luxury spa) and spaciousness (everything about the hotel is large -- guest rooms, suites, and all common areas). Rooms are decorated traditionally: draperies with valances, furniture with neoclassic lines, upholstery with brocades and other rich fabrics. What impresses me the most about this hotel is the ease with which services are provided. Need a fridge, a fax machine, or a VCR delivered to your room? No problem. Need your suit dry-cleaned at 2 in the morning for use later that day? No problem. The hotel is located by the city's convention center, the baseball park, and the basketball arena. Connected to the hotel are the Park Shops, a shopping center, and the Houston Center Athletic Club, whose facilities are available to guests free of charge. (The hotel has a large, well-equipped health club of its own and offers guests access to a nearby racquet club, too.) Chef Tim Keating's cooking has made the hotel restaurant, Quattro, a favorite downtown dining spot.
Patrician Bed & Breakfast Inn
This is a smart choice for those who want a location near the Museum District that's a straight shot into downtown on the light rail line. The decor has a marked feminine feel, with wood floors, lots of area rugs, a few period pieces, and old-fashioned wallpaper. Rooms are medium size and come with queen-size beds, cable TV, and terry-cloth robes. Two smaller rooms on the third floor have the use of a kitchen off the hallway. With its proximity to downtown and convenient parking, this B&B gets a number of businesspeople on the weekdays. For the weekenders there are rooms sporting two-person whirlpool tubs. Prices vary according to room size and location. Guests have use of a video and CD library, a microwave, and a fridge stocked with complimentary bottled water and soft drinks.
Hilton University of Houston
This is unlike any other Hilton Hotel in that it is part of the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management and is staffed not only by professional full-timers, but also students performing their lab work. It deserves consideration because of its rates, which often drop significantly when there are no academic conferences or parents' weekends; its location on the University campus between downtown and the attractions in Houston's southeast side; and its service, which is often excellent. Rooms throughout the hotel's eight floors are large L-shaped layouts with modern furnishings that include a sleeper sofa. Eric's, the hotel's restaurant, is far better than most hotel restaurants and offers a menu with a Latin flair. The University Center next door has a health club, a large pool, game room, and beauty salon, all of which the guests have access to. Note that the parking garage has a low ceiling and cannot accommodate vehicles such as large SUVs and pick-up trucks.
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