FAQ

No. Recreational marijuana is illegal everywhere in Texas, Houston included. Two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. Harris County has a pre-charge diversion program for misdemeanor possession, but that's a second chance, not legalization.

No. There are no legal cannabis consumption lounges anywhere in Texas. The hookah lounges and cigar bars you see around town are tobacco businesses, and they won't let you smoke weed inside. The CBD cafes and hemp bars that opened during the hemp boom mostly lost their product after the 2026 bans.

THCA flower is effectively off the shelves. State rules in force since spring 2026 count THCA toward total THC, so real THCA flower fails the 0.3 percent limit, and lawyers call it an open legal risk while lawsuits play out. Delta-8, delta-10 and THCP became Schedule I on July 31, 2026.

Dot Coffee Shop on the Gulf Freeway runs 24 hours and only closes on Christmas. Poppa Burger on North Main is open 24/7, 365 days a year, and cash only. Katz's in Montrose built its name on round-the-clock hours. Hours change, so check before you go.

Tacos Tierra Caliente, the truck at 2003 W Alabama next to the West Alabama Ice House, is the classic, and it's busiest after 10pm on weekends. Chapultepec Lupita on Richmond runs very late with a huge Tex-Mex menu. Bring cash for the truck.

Tex-Mex fajitas, which the Original Ninfa's on Navigation helped make famous starting in 1973. Viet-Cajun crawfish from Bellaire Boulevard. Kolaches and Shipley glazed donuts for breakfast. Creole fried chicken from Frenchy's in Third Ward.

For the full experience, the River Oaks Theatre on W Gray: a 1939 art deco house, restored and reopened in 2024 with laser projection and food delivered to your seat. For pure screen size on a blockbuster, go laser IMAX at the Regal Edwards Marq*E on the Katy Freeway. For film nerds, the MFAH and Rice Cinema.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston can project 35mm in both the Brown Auditorium Theater and the Lynn Wyatt Theater, and regularly schedules 35mm prints of classics. Rice Cinema's new Pitman Cinema Theatre has 35mm and 16mm projectors too. Check each listing for the format.

No. The last Houston-area Alamo, at LaCenterra in Katy, closed in February 2026. The old Vintage Park Alamo has run as Star Cinema Grill since 2016, which is your closest substitute for dine-in.

The Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel and Cy Twombly Gallery are always free, and so are the Turrell Skyspace at Rice, Lawndale, Project Row Houses, Smither Park, the Hermann Park Japanese Garden, Miller Outdoor Theatre and the Waugh Drive bats. MFAH is free Thursdays for its permanent collections. HMNS does Free Tuesdays, 5 to 8 pm, for its permanent halls.

Yes. Every Thursday the MFAH permanent collections are free for everyone. Special exhibitions still need a separate ticket.

No. Twilight Epiphany is free with no reservation. Light sequences run at sunrise and sunset daily for about 40 minutes, so arrive early for a seat.

No. Recreational marijuana is illegal statewide. Two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. The only legal cannabis is through the limited medical Compassionate Use Program.

Yes, compliant CBD products are legal and weren't affected by the July 2026 ban. Hemp products must stay at or under 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. A federal 0.4 milligram per container total THC cap starting December 11, 2026 will knock out many full spectrum products.

Permanent Texas residents with a qualifying condition, including cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, autism, MS, ALS, chronic pain, Crohn's, traumatic brain injury and terminal illness. A doctor registered with TCUP enters you in the state registry. Products are low THC and smoking flower isn't allowed.

Yes. The Menil Collection at 1533 Sul Ross St is always free, and so are the other buildings on the campus like the Cy Twombly Gallery. The Rothko Chapel next door is free too. Check each site for current hours before you go.

Art, bars and LGBTQ history. Montrose has been the center of Houston's gay community since the 1970s and was the city's counterculture neighborhood before that. Today it's known for the Menil campus, the Rothko Chapel and the bars and restaurants along Westheimer.

Anvil Bar & Refuge on Westheimer is the city's best-known craft cocktail bar, open since 2009. Poison Girl is the whiskey and pinball dive down the street. West Alabama Ice House is the classic open-air beer hangout, with tacos right next door.

Walk the 19th Street shops, ride the 4.6-mile Heights Hike and Bike Trail, stroll the Heights Boulevard esplanade and catch a show at the Heights Theater or White Oak Music Hall. Heights Mercantile on 7th Street is a good stop off the trail. Then eat, because the restaurant scene is deep.

Mostly not anymore. Parts of the Heights banned alcohol sales starting in 1912, and restaurants used private club licenses to serve drinks. In 2016 voters approved off-premise sales 64 to 36, and the dry restrictions have mostly been lifted since.

About 4.6 miles. It runs on the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad bed and connects to the Heights Boulevard trail and the bayou trail network. The MKT Bridge over White Oak Bayou reopened in June 2026 after more than a year of repairs.

EaDo is short for East Downtown, the area just east of downtown across the freeway. It sits where downtown, the East End and the Third Ward meet. It's known for Shell Energy Stadium, breweries, murals and a strong food scene.

Yes. Starting in the 1950s, a roughly 20-block area here was Houston's Chinatown, a hub for Chinese immigrants. The community moved west toward Bellaire Boulevard in the early 2000s, and EaDo grew out of what was left.

Shell Energy Stadium at 2200 Texas Ave, home of Houston Dynamo FC and the Houston Dash. It opened in 2012 and was previously called BBVA Compass Stadium, BBVA Stadium and PNC Stadium.

The Continental Club at 3700 Main St is the long-running live music room, open since 2000, with Big Top Lounge right next door. Axelrad Beer Garden on Alabama St is the outdoor hang with hammocks and a neon tree. Bars come and go fast in Midtown, so those are the safe bets.

Mai's on Milam St has been the late-night Vietnamese spot since 1978 and is famous for feeding people after the bars close. Check current hours before you go, since late hours change. For breakfast the next morning, the Breakfast Klub on Travis St is the classic.

Vietnamese families opened businesses along Milam, Webster, Fannin and San Jacinto starting in the 1970s. The area became known as Little Saigon, and the city made the name official in 2004. Many businesses later moved because of rising property values.

Black Houston history, mostly. It's home to Emancipation Park (bought by freedmen in 1872 for Juneteenth), Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, Project Row Houses and the restored 1939 Eldorado Ballroom. Food-wise, Frenchy's Chicken and Cream Burger are the classics.

Four formerly enslaved men, including Rev. Jack Yates, bought the land in 1872 for $800 to celebrate Juneteenth. It's Houston's oldest park, and from 1922 to 1940 it was the only city park open to Black Houstonians. Juneteenth celebrations returned there after a 2017 renovation.

Visiting the art houses is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, and it's been free to walk through. The installations change by round, so check what's on before you go.

Catch a free event at Discovery Green, watch the sunset from the POST Houston Skylawn, see a show in the Theater District or an Astros game at Daikin Park, then bar hop around Market Square. Warren's Inn on Travis has been pouring since 1978.

No. The roughly 7.5 mile tunnel network runs weekdays from early morning to about 6pm and closes on weekends. It's mostly private property under office towers, and Wells Fargo Plaza has direct street access.

Daikin Park. It opened in 2000 as Enron Field, was Minute Maid Park for years, and was renamed in 2025. It's at 501 Crawford St.

It's a walkable shopping district of more than 300 shops and restaurants over about 16 blocks, just west of Rice University. It's been around since the 1930s and is known for patios, boutiques and a mix of old and new storefronts.

Yes. James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyspace is free and needs no reservation. Sunrise and sunset sequences run daily for about 40 minutes, and it reopened September 15, 2026 after a construction closure.

Yes. Rice Cinema reopened with a full program in January 2026 in a new 216 seat theater in Sarofim Hall, with films on Friday and Saturday nights. It shows art house, documentary and international films on film and digital.

Yes. The Galleria has a year-round ice rink on the lower level under the central atrium. It's reportedly the first rink ever built inside a mall, and it's been there since the mall opened in 1970.

Yes. Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park at 2800 S Post Oak Blvd is free and open to the public. The 64 foot fountain has been running since 1985 and is lit at night.

No. Williams Tower has no public observation deck. The best view of it is from the Waterwall at night, when the rotating beacon on top sweeps the sky.