ESCAPE ROUTE

SEE

Just a few blocks from downtown Houston, Graffiti Park is a magnet for street art fans and Instagrammers. Every building at 1503 Chartres St is covered with colourful designs, and local artist GONZO247’s Houston piece is so popular it’s used in the city’s tourism ad campaigns. Go underground at Buffalo Bayou Park for a guided tour of a vast subterranean concrete cistern that once held 56 million litres of drinking water for the city. For an overview of the city, The Houston City Tour with Texana tours (texanatours.com) is entertaining and informative.

SHOP

Head to 19th Street Houston Heights for an eclectic mix of designers, vintage stores, handmade jewellery and antiques. For top designers and household names The Galleria has 375 stores, 30 restaurants, two hotels and an ice-skating rink. Meanwhile Kuhl-Linscomb is a single store smorgasbord of gifts, apothecary products, stationery, jewellery and more, with 70,000 square feet of shopping heaven to be explored.

EAT

Upscale steakhouse Steak 48 serves an unforgettable American-raised wagyu and there are 18 sides to choose from including a sinfully sweet corn crème brulee and roasted sweet potatoes served with bourbon and torched marshmallows. Mexican eatery Xochi is great for sharing tasting plates of delicious moles, some with optional edible insects, and agave spirit based cocktails. Texas’ oldest brewery, Saint Arnold’s Brewery looks like a German beer hall and is named after the patron saint of beer. Try a flight of their signature beers along with a Crawfish Roll and hand cut frites, but go lightly on the ‘Fire Emoji’ sriracha topping. It kicks.

CHEER

Grab tickets to a Houston Rockets basketball game, or better yet, book a suite at the Toyota Center. Corporate suites can be booked by anyone and include an open self-serve bar, hot dogs, sliders and nachos. There’s even a dessert cart that comes to the door piled high with cakes and cookies. Let’s go Rockets! nba.com/rockets/tickets/suites