Houston

Houston is America's fourth-largest city and one of its most diverse — a sprawling metropolis of 2.3 million people that is the global capital of the oil industry, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, and the most ethnically diverse major city in the United States, with extraordinary food and cultural scenes reflecting its Mexican, Vietnamese, Indian, Nigerian and dozens of other communities. The Space Center Houston, the visitor centre for NASA's Johnson Space Center, is genuinely excellent — real Mission Control facilities, Saturn V rockets, astronaut training equipment and the history of human spaceflight from Mercury through Apollo to the International Space Station. The Museum District in Midtown is exceptional: the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (excellent European and American art), the Menil Collection (one of America's finest private art museums, with a remarkable collection of Surrealist and tribal art), the Rothko Chapel (14 large Rothko canvases in a contemplative, non-denominational space) and the Natural Science Museum are all outstanding. Houston's food scene is one of America's most underrated. The Vietnamese community in Midtown produces exceptional phở; the Mexican food along Westheimer and in the Heights is extraordinary; the barbecue tradition is fiercely argued (Killen's Barbecue in Pearland is a pilgrimage site). The theater district is one of America's largest. Buffalo Bayou Park is an excellent green space. Houston is car-dependent but rewards those willing to navigate it.