Where to stay in Houston

Downtown is Houston's central business district, the largest in Texas, ringed by I-10, I-45 and I-69, with the original townsite on Buffalo Bayou and a Theater District of 13,000 seats. The Museum District, about 5 km (3 miles) away by road, groups 21 museums and cultural centres next to Hermann Park, 11 of them free at all times, with the Texas Medical Center immediately to the south.

Uptown, the Galleria area, is a business district about 10 km (6 miles) west of Downtown along Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road. The Heights, a community in northwest-central Houston, is about 8 km (5 miles) from Downtown by road.

Galveston is a separate city, a resort and port on Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast, about 80 km (50 miles) from Downtown and about 66 km (41 miles) from Hobby by road, behind a seawall more than 16 km (10 miles) long built after the hurricane of 1900.

The two airports sit on opposite sides of the centre: Bush Intercontinental about 23 miles (37 km) north of Downtown, Hobby about 7 miles (11 km) from it. GetCar's guide Driving in Houston describes the Rental Car Center at IAH, open 24 hours and about five minutes from the terminals by shuttle, the electronic toll roads and the airport garages, which charge up to USD 25 a day and take no cash.

In the city, ParkHouston sells street time through its app, powered by ParkMobile, or at the pay station, within a limit of 2 to 10 hours posted on each station, and the time cannot run past that limit on the same block. Meters are not enforced on official City holidays, and the City warns never to pay anyone cash to park on the street.

Downtown, several blocks become tow-away mobility lanes during commute hours, 7 to 9 am and 4 to 6 pm, and red-bagged meters are reserved for permit holders, with other cars cited and towed. The City sends long-term parkers to surface lots and garages, so for a stay of several nights ask the hotel about its garage.

On Galveston's Seawall Boulevard, parking costs USD 2 an hour with a two-hour minimum and a USD 16 daily cap, from 10 am to 6 pm every day, paid by PayByPhone per licence plate. Plate readers check the payments, and tickets arrive by post. Stretches on the north side of the boulevard, between 12th and 19th, 33rd and 39th, 53rd and 61st, and 85th and 91st streets, are free.

Texas charges a state hotel occupancy tax of 6% on rooms costing USD 15 or more a day, in hotels and in condominiums, apartments and houses rented for less than 30 consecutive days, and cities and counties add their own. In Houston the total is 17%: 6% for the state, 7% for the city, 2% for Harris County and 2% for the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. In Galveston the city adds 9% to the state's 6%, charged on the nightly rate and on fees such as cleaning.

Since 1 January 2026, a short-term rental in the City of Houston, meaning a home or part of one let for less than 30 consecutive days, needs a certificate of registration. Every listing must show the certificate number and the maximum occupancy, stays of less than one night and special events are banned, and the certificate hangs inside the front entrance. From 1 January 2027 the City will start asking platforms to remove listings without a certificate.

Galveston has required registration since 2015. Each rental unit has a Galveston Vacation Rental (GVR) number that must appear in every listing, and the City publishes a map of neighbourhoods with short-term rental restrictions. Airbnb and VRBO collect the city's tax, so a booking there should show two tax lines, one for Texas and one for Galveston.

Compare totals with the taxes in: a price shown before tax rises by 17% in Houston, and in Galveston by the state's 6% plus the city's 9%. For a rental home, check that the listing shows the City certificate number, or the GVR number in Galveston, before paying.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with its peak on 10 September, according to the National Hurricane Center. It matters most for Galveston on the Gulf Coast, so read the cancellation terms before booking a beach stay in those months.

Visitors from the UK and 24 of the 27 EU countries need an approved ESTA before flying, at USD 40.27, valid for two years or until the passport expires.

Business, theatre and the bayou parks: Downtown.

Museums, Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center: the Museum District.

Offices and shopping at the Galleria: Uptown.

A rental house: the Heights.

The Gulf beach: Galveston.