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American Airlines Flights from Miami (MIA) to Houston (IAH)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Miami (MIA) to Houston (IAH), departing between 8:15am and 9:15pm. Usually a Boeing 737-800 is flown for this route, with in-seat power sources available. Generally, audio programming is offered on this route. The average travel time from Miami, FL to Houston, TX is 2 hours and 48 minutes.
During your Houston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Six Flags AstroWorld & Six Flags WaterWorld
Farther south of Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center is the new Reliant Stadium and the old Astrodome (the city still hasn't figured out what to do with this structure), and just south of it across the Loop 610 Freeway is AstroWorld, a 75-acre park with several high-tech roller coasters, other thrill rides, performance venues, and theme areas. Highlights include the Serial Thriller, a roller coaster that has you suspended in a seat while it twirls you through seven inversions. In Dungeon Drop you can experience free fall, and the Texas Tornado steel roller coaster does four loops at breakneck speed. Almost all of these rides are for children 48 inches or taller. For smaller children there are themed areas such as the one based on Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes characters.WaterWorld, open from late spring to early fall, is one of those aquatic parks that requires a sturdy bathing suit. It's part of AstroWorld, and admission is free when you buy an AstroWorld ticket. It offers water rides and games with a mixture of chutes and slides that you ride with or without a raft or other device. Again, many require that children be 48 inches or taller. Six Flags owns another, larger water park called SplashTown.
Museum of Health & Medical Science
We have all heard about what an amazing thing the human body is, but just how much do most of us know about its workings? This family museum will surprise most visitors with its extensive use of audio, video, holograms, and medical technology to provide a graphic view of human physiology.Because of the Texas Medical Center, Houston has a large medical community, which has been the driving force behind the creation of this museum. With additional contributions from corporations and individual doctors, it has constructed an eye-catching interactive exhibition called the Amazing Body Pavilion. The exhibit is itself a metaphor for the body. Visitors enter through the mouth and proceed down the digestive tract learning about all the organs that process our food. (Children seem to think this is pretty cool.) The exhibit covers all the major organs in ways that provide lots of interaction for children, and explanatory text and monologues by little holographic figures are well written and manage to provide info that most adults will find interesting. Of course, with so many doctors involved, you can be sure that there will be some preaching about the need for a good diet and to avoid smoking, and don't expect the museum's snack bar to offer any junk food. But do check out the gift shop; it has an assortment of curious and intriguing items that you won't easily find elsewhere.Seeing the exhibit takes a little more than an hour. One other note: You might want to ask at the front desk about the next scheduled organ dissection. When I was there, the organ of the month was the sheep brain; I opted to forego the performance.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)
This is by far the best and biggest public art museum in Texas. It's a wonderful testament to what a lot of oil money can do, and the manner in which it evolved tells something about the development of the city's sense of aesthetics. The original museum, built in the 1920s, was pure neoclassical -- the attitude was that if Houston was to have a museum, it was to look like a museum. In the '50s, the MFAH directors hired Mies van der Rohe, the grand architect of the International Style to build an addition. In the '70s that addition received an addition, also designed by Mies. Both of these were bold statements of modern architecture -- lots of glass and steel forming a light and airy space -- but, unfortunately, not the kind of space that lends itself well for much of the museum's collection.In the '90s, the museum's directors hired Spanish architect Rafael Moneo to design a building that would be a return to traditional galleries. It, the Audrey Jones Beck Building, is across South Main Street from the main building. (A tunnel connects the two; make a point of visiting it.) The new building aims at reconciling the boldness of modernism with the staid character of traditional design. Constructed with rich materials and designed on grand proportions, the building feels monumental. All the galleries on the second floor take advantage of interesting "roof lanterns," which allow Houston's plentiful natural light to enter in regulated amounts. The Beck building doubles MFAH's gallery space and allows the directors to attract first-rate traveling exhibitions. The museum's collection of more than 40,000 pieces is varied, but it is perhaps strongest in the area of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works, baroque and Renaissance art, and 19th- and 20th-century American art. There is also a fine collection of African tribal art, as well as ancient artwork from several civilizations.Aside from the two gallery buildings, there is a large sculpture garden designed by Isamu Noguchi located across Bissonnet from the main building, and the Glassell School of Art, which can be seen just to the north of the sculpture garden. Look for a building made of a strangely reflective glass brick (another architectural pun). The museum also owns two collections of the decorative arts that are displayed in two mansions in the River Oaks area; see Bayou Bend and Rienzi.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Houston area, including:
Hotel Icon
I like a hotel that's not afraid of a bit of fringe, a splash of gold damask, a touch of refined decadence. So many hotels I see opt for the zero-risk approach to traditionalism: conservative furniture with American Colonial or neoclassical elements -- what I call the George-Washington-slept-here look. This place goes more for the Lola-Montez-slept-here look: lots of texture, ornament, and a definite "boudoir" feel to the rooms, all of which makes this hotel a fun place to stay. In renovating the old Union National Bank Building (ca. 1911), the designers sought to capture something of the feel of that golden age of refinement and exuberance. The most fun is to be had in the suites on the top floor, each named after a glorious old hotel. These rooms are extra large and extra plush and touched by a bit of idiosyncrasy (although I can't tell how much of this is the product of the original building's floor plan and how much was by design). The standard rooms are laden with atmosphere and amenities. The higher rate is for rooms with extra-large bathrooms equipped with a pass-through above the large tub that opens up to the bedroom. To set the mood for your stay, I recommend having a drink at the mezzanine bar, which is really in character. Bank Jean-Georges, the hotel's restaurant, is reviewed below. The location is excellent.
Lovett Inn
Located a block off Westheimer and 3 blocks from Montrose Boulevard, the Lovett Inn is on a quiet street right in the middle of the busy restaurant and club district of the Montrose area. The house dates from the early 1900s and was built by one of Houston's mayors. Most rooms are large (well above the usual size for B&Bs). The four rooms in the main house and two in the carriage house are attractive and well furnished with period pieces, wood floors, and area rugs, yet eschew the cutesiness that so many B&Bs feel obliged to deliver. Almost all have private balconies. There are also four town house units around the corner (two per house), which have separate entrances and greater privacy. These are comfortable but modern. One town house has a full kitchen for the use of guests if they rent both rooms.
La Quinta Inn & Suites Galleria
You can tell at first glance that this inn, constructed in 1998, is a new breed of La Quinta, with a gurgling fountain in the lobby, a fitness room, and a fairly large outdoor heated pool with separate hot tub. Proximity to the shopping along Post Oak and in the Galleria seals the deal. Standard rooms are medium to large and come with two double beds; the "King Plus" room comes with king-size bed and a recliner.
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