2 Best Sights in Houston and Galveston, Texas

Remember Apollo 13's "Houston, we have a problem?" This is the "Houston" that Jim Lovell and his crew were talking to—and the home of the Mission Control that NASA astronauts communicate with today when they're in space. Visitors to the center can learn about the history and science of space exploration at the Living in Space exhibit, which simulates what life is like aboard the space station—and how even "simple" tasks like showering and eating get complicated in zero-gravity. In the Kids Space Place, children can ride on a lunar rover and try out tasks in an Apollo command module. Want to know exactly how it feels to be launched into space? Then check out the Blast Off Theater, where you'll experience the rocket boosters and billowing exhaust of liftoff. You'll then dock at the International Space Station to get started on your mission. The adjacent Johnson Space Center tour includes a visit to (the real) Mission Control and laboratories that simulate weightlessness and other space-related concepts. You can also see a real Saturn V, the launch vehicle for the Apollo moon missions, in Rocket Park. Be sure to allow several hours for your visit.

This is one of the city's premier cultural treasures. Italian architect Renzo Piano designed the spacious building, with its airy galleries. John and Dominique de Menil collected the eclectic art, which ranges from tribal African sculptures to Andy Warhol's paintings of Campbell's soup cans. A separate gallery across the street houses the paintings of American artist Cy Twombly; Richmond Hall, a few blocks away, houses one of only two permanent Dan Flavin installations in America.