<p>Taking D to Owl Day and Dad wants to tour the town. Where is a nice place to stay near campus, nice restaurant, etc. What do you just have to see or do within a reasonable distance? Thanks</p>
<p>the Marriott med center is very nice and the beds are extremely comfortable, and it’s only a few blocks walk from Rice (but they charge for parking, in and out, fyi) We love the Shiva Indian restaurant in Rice village about 10 minute walk the other side of Rice, especially the fresh nan. Cross the rail line and you are in the park and can walk to the zoo. (5 years visiting at Rice, and we still haven’t done this yet!) ;)</p>
<p>The Holiday Inn at the med center is also very comfortable. My parents were pleased when they stayed there. And anxiousmom is totally right about Shiva. It’s really tasty, and moderately priced ($11-13 for main dishes). It’s on Times Blvd. between Kelvin and Kirby. Some other great places to eat: Chuy’s (Tex-Mex on Westheimer), Goode Co. (Texas BBQ on Kirby), Pappasitos (Tex-Mex off Kirby), Thai Spice (in the Village on Kelvin… don’t go to Thai Village, Thai Spice is much better), and Swirll (frozen yogurt in the Village on University). If you want to check out places where Rice students go when we’re hungry at 2am, I’d recommend House of Pies and Taco Cabana. House of Pies, of course, has world-famous pies, along with some of the best breakfast and diner-like food you’ve ever had. Taco Cabana (colloquially called “TC”) is fast-food Mexican, but it’s WORLDS away from Taco Bell and the like. Both are very cheap and are open 24 hours. Both restaurants are on Kirby between Highway 59 and Westheimer.</p>
<p>Hermann Park is a great place to walk around and relax. I’ve never been to the zoo, but I’ve heard great things. You can also take the light rail northbound one stop and end up in the Museum District. The Houston Museum of Natural Science is pretty cool, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is one of the best in the country. There’s also the Menil Collection (Sul Ross St. in Montrose) which is free. The art is great–lot’s of avant-garde stuff along with some classics, but you’d need a car to get there. I’d also recommend the Holocaust Museum (one of the best in the country, 2nd only to the one in DC), but the tour is very heavy and emotional–not exactly suitable for getting excited about coming to Rice.</p>
<p>i visited houston a year ago.
the holocaust museum in houston is very good, I agree to it bing the second best.</p>
<p>thai village is really really good though, the lunch buffet is a great deal.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, see you in Houston next week.</p>
<p>id take the light rail to Main Street Square in Downtown. There are nice resteraunts there. Thats also where the Symphony plays and there are a couple of theatres (plays and movies)</p>
<p>OldCard – you’ve gotten some good advice already and I’ll add my 2 cents. You should first see the area surrounding the campus, so be sure to visit Rice Village [Rice</a> Village](<a href=“http://www.ricevillageonline.com/]Rice”>http://www.ricevillageonline.com/). My favorite restaurants in “the Village” are Prego [Prego-Houston</a> an Italian Restaurant in Houston, TX<a href=“an%20upscale%20yet%20casual%20Italian%20restaurant”>/url</a> and Benjy’s [url=<a href=“http://www.benjys.com/larger.html]BENJYS[/url”>http://www.benjys.com/larger.html]BENJYS[/url</a>] (also an upscale yet casual restaurant, but with a more eclectic menu). Ruggles Cafe is also good, as is El Meson (cuban), Shiva’s (indian) and Miss Saigon’s (vietnamese). Going a little farther afield, Chuy’s is a fun inexpensive Mexican restaurant with good food [url=<a href="http://www.chuys.com/]Chuy’s">http://www.chuys.com/]Chuy’s</a> dot com](<a href=“http://www.prego-houston.com/]Prego-Houston”>http://www.prego-houston.com/). Houston has a wealth of great, reasonably priced restaurants, so I could go on and on. If there’s something specific you’re looking for, feel free to PM me and I can offer some suggestions. </p>
<p>As to what to do while in town, after checking out the campus (especially sitting for a while and enjoying an iced tea at Brochstein Pavilion), I also recommend going to one of our fabulous museums. My two favorites are the Houston Museum of Fine Arts [The</a> Museum of Fine Arts, Houston](<a href=“http://www.mfah.org/newhome.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=1&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=1&eid=¤tPage=]The”>http://www.mfah.org/newhome.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=1&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=1&eid=¤tPage=) and the Museum of Natural Science [The</a> Houston Museum of Natural Science](<a href=“Houston Museum of Natural Science”>Houston Museum of Natural Science). If you aren’t renting a car, you can take the light rail from campus to these museums. If you want to just wander a bit, the new downtown park, Discovery Green <a href=“http://www.discoverygreen.com/[/url]”>A Decade of Discovery-Temporary Art Exhibits at Discovery Green® - Discovery Green, is pretty interesting. If you have a car, take a ride down Kirby Drive towards downtown and see some of the houses in River Oaks; drive west on Westheimer past the shops and restaurants at Highland Village to get to the uptown area and visit the Galleria. Drive to Memorial Park and see all that it has to offer and stop at the inexpensive Beck’s Prime for a burger or grilled ahi tuna sandwich set on the beautiful expanse of a golf course.</p>
<p>You could also see if the Astros are in town when you’re here – opening day is on Monday, and the ballpark is great. You can get there by light rail also. Or see what’s showing at the symphony or many theaters in town.</p>
<p>Enjoy your visit. For a city with a bum rap, Houston has a lot to offer. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to get a glimpse of that while you’re here.</p>
<p>with the rail you can get to lots of places downtown. they have theater (les mis is playing now, next is wizard of oz) baseball games, museums, imax, the aquarium restaurant downtown.</p>
<p>depending on wht you want to do. the choices are endless!!</p>