The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1

  Next, we'll arrive at the Buffalo Bayou Park, where we'll get a chance to see the enormous cisterns the once quenched the thirst of the entire city! We'll also learn how the city transformed and found new uses for these cisterns once they weren't needed for drinking water any longer. NOTE: The tour is over 40 miles long, with more than 40+ audio stories, and takes about 2-3 hours to complete. Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  Our drive takes us past Sam Houston Park next, where a row of preserved historic homes display how Houstonians from all walks of life lived, from freed slaves building new lives for themselves to affluent merchants.

  Admission ticket free
• 2

  We'll park at City Hall and hear about the challenges of building it during the Great Depression. We'll also get a good look at the statues of Houston's founders which stand before the hall, and learn about how those statues had to wait over 80 years to be built!

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  We'll keep driving until we see Pennzoil Place, a pair of huge black towers looming over Houston. Here, we'll pick up some facts about the imposing buildings and the innovative architect behind them.

  Admission ticket free
• 3

  Our route takes us next through Houston's Historic District, chock full of gorgeous old buildings. We'll also hear about the multiple fires which swept across the old City Hall, and the celebrities like Johnny Carson who have partied in this very district!

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  The next sight we'll see is the Chase Tower, the tallest building in all of Texas. Here, we'll uncover some secrets of its construction, like how the original design was hazardous to air traffic and it sports a helipad that's never been used!

  Admission ticket free
• 4

  Next, we'll park at the Christ Church Cathedral, Houston’s very first religious congregation which dates back to 1859. We'll also hear about the generous stranger who's responsible for a steer's head being part of the church seal.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 5

  Our route then passes Minute Maid Park, the famous baseball stadium designed to imitate the Golden Age of baseball.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  Next, we'll see Emancipation Park, a lovely recreational space with a rich history. We'll hear about emancipation, Juneteenth in Texas, and how this park became an epicenter for the Black community in Houston. Then, we'll get the real facts on some of Houston's most notorious urban legends.

  Admission ticket free
• 6

  As we drive, we'll enter Houston's Museum District, home to fascinating museums covering everything from Black history to natural science to fine arts and beyond. If you want a really deep dive into the city of Houston, this is the place to be.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  Next, we'll pass Hermann Park, home to plenty of attractions for the little ones, including an entire zoo featuring cheetahs, chimps, and more!

  Admission ticket free
• 7

  Our route brings us through the Rice University campus next, where we'll get some insight into the founder and hear about a baffling--and very ambitious--senior prank conducted by an alum known only as "The Mastermind."

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 8

  Next, we'll see the subject of the prank itself: the William Marsh Rice Statue, and learn about how the pranksters banded together to protect one of their own from repercussions.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  As we continue through the Rice campus, we'll see the strange, pyramid-shaped building known as Skyspace. Here, we'll get a quick rundown of what this odd building is for, and how you can experience its beautiful sky viewings for yourself.

  Admission ticket free
• 9

  We'll keep driving past MacGregor Park and listen to the story of how he revolutionized Houston's transit system by replacing the donkeys it relied on for far too long.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 10

  At the end of the boulevard, look to the right. You should be able to spot the bronze statue of Dr. King. For a full picture of his life and achievements, check out the African American Culture Museum in Midtown.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 11

  As we drive, we'll end up on the Old Spanish Trail. Once upon a time, it spanned the entirety of the country! This trail stretched over 2,750 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Next, we'll look down get the inside scoop on the importance of oil and gas in Texas's development, and look up at the stars to hear about NASA, the infamous Apollo 13 mission, and world-famous astronomer Carl Sagan.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The San Jacinto Monument is a 567.31-foot-high column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near the city of Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.

  Admission ticket free
• 12

  Discovery Green is an 11.78-acre public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 13

  Grouping of industrial structures featuring rotating displays of colorful street art & murals.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 14

  The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in the U.S. state of Texas. The Holocaust memorial museum is the fourth largest in the U.S., and opened in 1996. A major commitment of the Holocaust Museum Houston is education.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• 15
  The Houston Museum of Natural Science

  The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park.

  5 minutes • Admission ticket not included
• (Pass by)

  The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, located in the Houston Museum District, Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 70,000 works from six continents.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  Bustling family museum with a wealth of hands-on activities such as a Bubble Lab & a Tot Spot.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  Built in 2012, the pyramidal structure accommodates 120 people between two levels. Twilight Epiphany is acoustically engineered to host musical performances and to act as a laboratory for Shepherd School of Music students. Constructed of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, the structure is equipped with an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling and through an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof during sunrise and at sunset. Turrell's composition of light complements the natural light present at twilight, and transforms the Skyspace into a locale for experiencing beauty and reflecting on the surrounding campus and the natural world.

  Admission ticket free
• (Pass by)

  The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, or The Health Museum in short, is a museum in the Museum District of Houston, Texas. The museum is a member institution of the Texas Medical Center.

  Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• How To Access: After booking, you’ll get an email and text with setup instructions and password (search “audio tour” in emails and texts). • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password sent by email and text. • MUST download the tour while in strong wifi/cellular. • Works offline after download.
• How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
• Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
• Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you

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