Free Things to do in Houston
Spending the day in a big city like Houston, Texas can be a lot of fun! And if you look around, you'll see that there are so many great family activities you can do for FREE!
Discovery Green
Discovery Green is a great place to start. Discovery Green is a public park that is 12-acres and located downtown Houston that is open daily. Admission is always FREE.
There are a lot of great events in the park and a vast majority of those are free as well. Some of the activities do require a fee, but those are listed clearly on the Discovery Green website. Just check out their calendar for more information.
Spend a fun day at the park with your family and friends by packing a picnic and some lawn chairs or blankets. You can even bring your dogs to play at Discovery Green!
Miller Theater
If you feel like watching a show, head over to Miller Theater! The theater is located in Hermann Park, on approximately 7.5 acres of land. Miller Theater is always FREE and offers 8 months of excellent, artistically and culturally diverse professional entertainment. Check out their calendar to see what amazing performances or shows they have coming up.
Museums
Houston has a variety of absolutely amazing museums to visit. Some are always free, and others offer special free days just check out this list:
- The Contemporary Arts Museum is always FREE
- The Holocaust Museum is FREE on Thursday 2pm – 5pm and specific holidays.
- Houston Museum of African American Culture is always FREE
- Buffalo Soldier National Museum is FREE every Thursday from 1 PM-5 PM
- Children’s Museum of Houston is FREE for Family nights on Thursday 5 – 8 p.m.
- Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is always FREE
- The Health Museum is FREE Thursdays 2 – 5 p.m.
- Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is always FREE
- Houston Center for Photography is always FREE
Water!!
For those hot summer days Houston has 20 different city splash pads or spray grounds.
Spend the day building sand castles and enjoying the water at Crystal Beach.
Take a ride on the Galveston Island Ferry. The ferry is free and the only way to cross the waterway between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. Ride the ferry over to Crystal Beach which is a is a small town with a bank, a hotel, restaurants, supermarket and a post office. Crystal Beach is about 7 miles long (you will have to pay for beach parking).
There are many beaches to choose from just remember there is usually a small fee for parking. Click here for a full list of Galveston Beaches.
What's your favorite thing to do in Houston?
Houston looks like such a fun place! I’ve never thought of going to Texas until now – looks like a great place to immerse yourself in culture.