IT'S GOOD TO BE...HOUSTON
Best Place for an Out-of-this-World Experience
- Houston is home to the Johnson Space Center and its Official Visitors Center, Space Center Houston. Houston was the first word spoken on the moon when, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong said, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
- Mission Control Houston teams have been vital to every U.S. human space flight since 1965, including the Apollo missions and more than 100 Space Shuttle flights.
Best Place to Do Business
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance named Houston the No. 1 city in the country to live and work, based on its strong economy, abundant jobs, reasonable living costs and fun things to do. (2008)
- With nine of the nation's 25 largest publicly traded oil and gas exploration and production firms headquartered in Houston, Houston truly is the energy capital of the world.
- Houston is home to the second largest port in the U.S. in total tonnage and the largest in the nation in foreign tonnage.
- Houston ranked as the No. 3 city for Fortune 500 headquarters in Fortune magazine (2008)
- Forbes.com ranked Houston as the No. 7 city in the country for jobs. Houston ranked third in income growth and fourth in job growth. (2008)
- Houston ranked No. 27 for small business growth among major metropolitan areas between 1998 and 2003, according to the State of Small Business Report issued by Sales Genie.
- Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel listed among the 10 most wired hotels in the country, according to Mobile PC magazine (2004)
- The George R. Brown Convention Center was rated one of the top 25 convention centers in the country in the Meeting News Planners Choice Awards (2005).
Best Place for Big Ideas
- Houston ranked by The Wall Street Journal as No. 11 in a listing of the top 20 most inventive towns in America, based on the number of patents issued in 2005.
Best Place to Relocate
- Forbes.com ranked Houston the No. 1 city in the country to buy a home, based on home prices and average vacancy rate (2008).
- Forbes.com ranked Houston the 3rd best city in the country for young professionals, based on a variety of criteria: where Ivy league graduates settle 10 years after graduation; No. of Forbes 400 best big companies and 200 best small companies; median salary data; and No. of residents between the ages of 20 and 35 (2008).
- The Houston region ranked 3rd on Site Selection Magazine's list of top metropolitan areas for new and expanded facilities (2006).
- The Houston area ranked 19th on Expansion Management magazine's list of America's 50 Hottest Cities (2006).
Best Place to Stay Healthy
- Houston is home to the world's largest medical center, Texas Medical Center, which includes 46 institutions.
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center ranked as the best hospital for oncology in the U.S. by U.S. News and World Report (2008).
- Texas Children's Hospital ranked as the sixth best pediatric hospital in the U.S. by U.S News and World Report (2008) and fourth overall by Child magazine (2007).
- Cardiovascular surgeon Bud Frazier, M.D. and his team completed their 1,000th heart transplant at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. It is believed Dr. Frazier has performed more heart transplants than any other surgeon in the world (2006).
- St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital was the first hospital in Texas and one of only 33 hospitals nationwide to be designated a Magnet hospital, the highest honor a healthcare organization can receive for nursing services (2001).
- St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital was named among the "100 Best companies to Work For" by Fortune magazine (2004) .
- Memorial Hermann Hospital is the birthplace of Life Flight™ (1976).
- Yahoo! Travel listed the Rothko Chapel as one of the top 10 U.S. places to see before you die (2008).
- The Houston Museum District is the fourth largest museum district in the country with 18 museums within walking distance.
- The Menil Collection was included in Vanity Fair's Art Universe, a map of the international art scene, as one of the editors' favorite places to visit (2006).
- The Cy Twombly Gallery at The Menil Collection is the only museum designed, built for and devoted to the work of a single living American artist.
- The Houston Museum of Natural Science, with 3,171,690 tickets sold in 2006, is the third most visited museum in the U.S., following only the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- The Children's Museum of Houston was ranked as the No. 2 children's museum in the country by Child magazine (2003) and No. 1 by MSN.com.
- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the largest art museum in the Southwest.
- Houston is one of only a few cities in the U.S. with resident professional companies in the four disciplines of the performing arts—ballet, opera, symphony and theater.
- The Health Museum is the most visited health museum in the country.
- Houston Grand Opera is the only opera company in the world which can boast Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards.
- Alley Theatre, launched in 1947, is one of the oldest resident professional theater companies in the country.
- Houston Symphony, launched in 1913, is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas.
- Theatre Under the Stars is one of the largest nonprofit producers of musical theater in America.
- Houston Ballet has been hailed by The New York Times as "...one of the nation's best ballet companies."
- The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum holds the only intact Byzantine frescoes in the Western Hemisphere.
- Rothko Chapel is the only ecumenical center of its kind in the world.
Best Place for Sports Fans
- Houston ranked 6th best sports city in the U.S. by Sporting News (2005)
- Houston is the only city to boast two retractable-roofed stadiums—Minute Maid Park and Reliant Stadium. With the addition of the Toyota Center arena, nearly every professional sport in Houston can be played indoors.
- Houston is home to the first domed stadium, the Reliant Astrodome and is the birthplace of Astroturf.
- The Houston Rockets is one of only five teams in the NBA to win back-to-back NBA Championships.
- The Shell Houston Open is the 10th oldest PGA tournament.
- With more than 200,000 spectators, the Chevron Houston Marathon draws the fourth largest fan base in the country and is the largest single-day sporting event in Houston.
- Longtime Houston watering hole Griff's ranked 8th in a Sports Illustrated list of the Best 25 Sports Bars in America. Griff's is one of two bars from Texas that made the list (2005)
- Fox Sports Grill was named Best New Sports Bar in Nightclub and Bar Magazine (2004)
Best Place for Diversity
- Houston was ranked as one of the top 10 cities in the U.S. for Hispanics by Hispanic Magazine (2008).
- Black Enterprise named Houston the No. 5 city in the U.S. for African Americans, based on 24 quality of life factors. (2008)
- Houston is ranked among the top 10 cities in the U.S. visited by Hispanic-American and Asian-American travelers, according to the Travel Industry Association of America (2006)
- Houston ranked as the top city for African-American families by BET.com (2002)
- The University of Houston ranked No. 1 in U.S. News and World Report's campus diversity ranking (2003)
- Houston ranked as the third best city for expanding or starting an African-American-owned business in the ING U.S. Financial Services Gazelle Index (2004)
- Houston ranked among the top 5 cities for African-American families by Black Enterprise magazine (2004)
- Houston is the 8th fastest growing metro area for women-owned businesses, according to the Center for Women's Business Research (2004)
- Amazon Grill was listed in Hispanic magazine as one of the fifty best Hispanic restaurants in the country (2004)
- The Ensemble Theatre is the oldest and most distinguished theater in the Southwest dedicated to the African-American experience.
- In 2004, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston launched the first exhibition in the United States devoted to the contributions of Latin American artists to the phenomenon of the twentieth century avant-garde, Inverted Utopias: Avant-Garde Art in Latin America, which was awarded a first place tie for Best Thematic Museum Show by The International Association of Art Critics/USA
Best Place for Southern Hospitality
- Houston is the friendliest cruise port in the country, according to the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships. Galveston ranked as the 10th friendliest cruise port (2006)
- Houston ranked as No. 9 in Norwegian Cruise Lines' list of the Top 10 Most Polite Cities.
Best Traveling Experience
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) ranked No. 2 for customer satisfaction among small North American airports in a study by J.D. Power and Associates. Bush Intercontinental Airport ranked No. 4 in the large airport category. (2008)
- Continental Airlines, based in Houston, topped the list of airlines in Fortune magazine's 2007 list of America's Most Admired Companies.
- Continental Airlines was rated by Business Traveler's 2006 Best in Business Travel Awards as Best Airline for North American Travel, Best Flight Attendants in the U.S. and Best In-Flight Services in the U.S.
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) was selected as the No. 1 small airport (less than 10 million passengers) in the country for customer satisfaction in an Aviation Week traveler satisfaction report (2006)
- The Houston Airport System was named 2005 Airport of the Year by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for outstanding primary commercial service.
- Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) ranks first in the nation for on-time departures, according to federal Bureau of Transportation statistics (2004)
Best Place to Rest Your Head
- Hotel ZaZa was named one of the world's top 33 business hotels by Fortune magazine (2008).
- The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa was rated as one of 150 hotels in National Geographic Traveler’s "Stay List," particularly for its long-standing standard for top-notch comfort and service (2008).
- The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa was listed as one of Travel + Leisure's World's Best Business Hotels (2007).
- Hotel Icon and The St. Regis Hotel were both listed in Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List, based on a reader survey that selected the 700 top hotels, resorts and cruise lines in the world (2007).
- Hotel ICON and The St. Regis Hotel were both listed in Conde Nast Traveler's list of the top 100 hotels in the mainland U.S., selected by the magazine's readers (2006).
- The Hilton Americas-Houston received a Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings magazine. Award winners are chosen by meeting planners for commitment to hospitality excellence, innovation, customer collaboration and top-notch amenities (2006).
- The Lancaster was selected by Travel & Leisure's readers as one of the top 100 best hotels in the U.S. and Canada (2004, 2006)
- The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa rated by Meetings South readers as having the Best Hotel Fitness Facility (2006)
- Hotel ICON rated by Global Traveler magazine readers as the 10th best hotel in America (2005)
- The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa rated by USA Today as the No. 1 hotel in the country based on fitness facilities (2005)
- The Four Seasons and The Lancaster were listed in Travel + Leisure's 500, the 500 highest rated hotel properties in the world (2005), and in Condé Nast Traveler's 2005 Gold List as two of the top 700 places to stay in the world (2005)
- The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa listed as one of Health Magazine's 11 healthiest hotels (2005)
- Hotel ICON and the Magnolia Hotel are included in Condé Nast Traveler's 2004 Hot List as two of the world's 100 best new hotels (2004)
- Travel + Leisure rated The St. Regis, Houston as the No. 1 business hotel in Houston (2004)
- New York Post included Hotel ICON in its 2004 Ultimate Hideaways issue, and Robb Report named it one of the Best of the Best Hotels in the World (2004)
Best Place for a Great Meal
- Catalan Food and Wine was named one of the top 100 restaurants in the world in Robb Report, based on recommendations from vintners around the country (2008).
Pappas Steakhouse was named one of the top 10 steakhouses in the U.S. by MSN.com (2008). - Catalan Food and Wine was included in Esquire's 2007 list of the Best New Restaurants in America.
- Catalan Food and Wine was included on Food and Wine's 2007 list of Best New Wine Lists
- ForbesTraveler.com ranked Houston as the 6th best restaurant city in America, behind New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Orleans.
- The Zagat Survey's 2007 America's Top Restaurants listed Mark's American Cuisine among the top 10 in the U.S. The list is based on meals surveyed at 1,389 eateries in 42 major cities (2006).
- Gourmet rated Da Marco No. 26 in its list of America's Top 50 restaurants (2006).
- RA Sushi named one of America's top 10 new restaurants by MSN.com (2006)
- T'afia's Monica Pope was named by O, the Oprah Magazine the most creative chef in Houston (2006).
- Goode Co. Barbecue was listed in USA Today as one of "10 Great Places to Chow Down on Barbecue" (2006).
- The Remington at the St. Regis Hotel was ranked in a Zagat Survey as one of the top 100 hotel restaurants in America, based on food quality, decor and service (2006).
- Vic & Anthony's received an Award of Ultimate Distinction from Wine Spectator magazine for "impeccable service, outstanding food, alluring decor and imaginative and energetic wine programs" (2006).
- Tony's and bistro moderne named as two of Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants in America (2005)
- Noé at the Omni Houston Hotel was rated as one of Robb Report's Best of the Best restaurants (2005)
- 17 Restaurant in the Alden-Houston Hotel was named one of Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants In America (2004)
- Rouge, Shade and T'afia listed among Travel + Leisure's Best New American Restaurants. (2004)
- Vic & Anthony's recognized by Food & Wine as one of ten new restaurants with a stellar wine list. It was the first time a restaurant from Houston has been mentioned on the list. (2004)
- Hugo's was named one of the 8 Great Mexican Restaurants in America by Delta's SKY magazine (2004)
- Mockingbird Bistro named one of America's Best New Restaurants in Esquire (2002)
Best Place to Shop 'Til You Drop
- The Galleria is the fourth largest shopping center in the nation, with more than 375 stores.
It's Easy Being Green
- Buffalo Bayou's new waterfront park, the Sabine to Bagby Promenade, won The Waterfront Center's 2006 Excellence on the Waterfront Award in the Parks and Recreation Category.
Best Place to Indulge Yourself
- Conde Nast Traveler readers rated the spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston the No. 2 hotel spa in the country (2008).
- Trellis, the spa at the Houstonian Hotel, was voted by Conde Nast Traveler readers as the fourth best urban hotel spa in the country, following the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York, the Four Seasons in San Francisco and the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. (2007)
- I W Marks, Houston's largest independent jeweler, was named a Harper's Bazaar Jewelry Leader. This group consists of the top 124 best jewelry and watch retail stores in America, as chosen by its editors and other key industry figures.
- The Skyline Spa, located on the 23rd floor of the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel, was named “Best Urban Hotel Spa” in the 5th Annual Spa Finder Readers’ Choice Awards.
Best Place to Sip a Cocktail
- T'afia was featured in The New York Times as a bar on the cutting edge of the Farm-to-Glass movement (2008).
- Saint Arnold Brewery listed in a USA Today list of 10 of the best small breweries in the country (2006)
- Red Star included in Condé Nast Traveler's 2004 Hot List as one of the world's 30 best new nightspots (2004)
- The Lobby Lounge, in the lobby of the Four Seasons, was named by Forbes.com as one of the World's Best Hotel Bars for business travelers. The list includes 25 hotel bars from around the world and features only eight from the United States. The Lobby Lounge was the only hotel bar listed from Texas. (2004)
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Green Houston 
