Closer than Surfside, Kemah has more of a family-friendly resort feel. It’s a favourite getaway for Houston locals who come for some seaside fun and dining.

You could catch the Boardwalk Beast, a high-speed motorboat for a thrilling ride through Galveston Bay or stay on dry land via the road train that trundles along the boardwalk to the delight of toddlers and young children.

The fishing in Kemah is also great and there are stores selling and renting gear. Large numbers of trout, red drum and croakers populate the bay’s waters.

This may be obvious but the Johnson Space Center is the “Houston” that astronauts address in movies, and is only a few minutes from Pasadena.

It’s impossible not to be inspired by the attraction’s hardware, counting capsules, astronaut trainers, a command module and one of the Saturn V rockets that powered the Apollo missions into space from 1966 to 1973.

Don’t miss the Northrop Grumman Theater, showing the mind-blowing large format movies, Inside the Space Station and To Be an Astronaut.

Another artefact or the ages is the very lectern from which JFK declared his ambition for America to land on the moon in 1962.

Next to the Buffalo Bayou is the site of the pivotal battle of the Texas Revolution when the Texans defeated the Mexican Army, forcing their surrender and retreat.

The San Jacinto monument is more than 100 metres high and you take an elevator to the top for vistas of Houston and Galveston Bay.

The museum here will give you a bit of insight about Texas’ 400 years of history.

Another marquee attraction at the park is USS Texas, a New York-class Battleship commissioned in 1914 and permanently moored at San Jacinto State Park in 1948.

Few American museums get more annual visitors than the HMNS, which was founded as a free attraction for the people of Houston in 1909.

It’s a massive complex with a variety of sub-buildings branching off a central facility four floors-high, full of exhibits recounting the history of Earth and the universe.

If you’re curious about natural science you’ll need as much as a day to get through the extensive permanent and temporary displays, but among the highlights are the dinosaur exhibit, 18-metre-long Foucault pendulum and the Cockrell Sundial, one of the largest in the world.

Invested in more than a dozen local and international conservation projects, Houston Zoo is an animal attraction with the right values.

This makes it a perfect day out for kids to learn about the natural world and go face-to-face with their favourite animals.

College sports fans may know the cougar, Shasta VI as the University of Houston’s mascot and she’s kept at the zoo. Shasta is joined by 6,000 other animals of 900 different species.

Zones at the zoo include an African Forest, Aquarium, Reptile & Amphibian House as well as a children’s zoo with exhibits geared towards young minds. Best of all here is the petting zoo with docile farmyard animals.

In the middle of Houston’s downtown is Discovery Green, a thoroughly modern city park completed in 2008.

It’s the main outdoor public performance venue in the city and its impact on the streets around is alleviated by the park’s own huge underground car park.

Together with the Discovery Green’s performance stages are an array of gardens and lawns, and a jogging trail under a leafy canopy and a promenade for family walks.

Kinder Lake is a one-acre body of water served by the Lakeside Cafe, while the Gateway Fountain is a large water feature that kids can splash around in on hot days.