Houston Museum District

Exploring the Houston Museum District is like taking a journey around the world.

See original Degas and Picasso masterpieces, tour one of the top zoos in the country, celebrate Buffalo Soldiers, take photography classes, visit planetariums, and more.

With 19 museums in four walkable zones, you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country with so much culture, world-renowned art, and things to see and do.

Create your own adventure when you visit the Houston Museum District, one of Houston’s top attractions.

Zone 1

Two significant cultural attractions founded by Houston philanthropists and art collectors John and Dominique de Menil are tucked away in Zone 1.

Admire more than 16,000 pieces of art from the Paleolithic area to the modern day at The Menil Collection, then meditate at the Rothko Chapel, a Houston landmark and sanctuary.

Finally, browse the rotating exhibits of photographs and enroll in a workshop at the internationally renowned Houston Center for Photography.

Zone 2

You’ll be introduced to a variety of cultures at the attractions like the Asia Society Texas Center, Czech Center Museum Houston, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

Discover leading contemporary artists at DiverseWorks, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and Lawndale Art Center.

Learn important history at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and the Holocaust Museum Houston.

Zone 3

Zone 3 is for art lovers. Step into The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, one of the largest art museums in the country home to 63,000 works of historic and contemporary art from around the globe. For more art, peruse the rotating exhibits at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, located in a quirky stainless steel building in the heart of the museum district. There’s more art to behold at The Jung Center of Houston, yet the star of the show here is the more than 200 classes on everything from ethics to meditation that are offered throughout the year.

Zone 4

Children especially enjoy Zone 4 of the Houston Museum District.

Here, they can hang out with giraffes and sloths at the Houston Zoo, embark on an adventure at the Children’s Museum of Houston, walk through a butterfly habitat at Houston Museum of Natural Science, and participate in a scientific experiment at The Health Museum.

Architectural art is the main attraction at the Moody Center for the Arts, where you’ll find a collection of outdoor sculptures as you tread around the campus of Rice University.   

Ten of the museums in the district have free admission while others have designated free admission times.

Next time you visit Houston, be sure to plan a day—or two—in the Houston Museum District for memories filled with hands-on creativity and learning.