Griffin Fence

Grab your tankard of ale, your favorite Lord and Lady, and spirit your way to The Texas Renaissance Festival, named #1 Best Cultural Festival by USA Today. Take a step back in time to the nation's largest Renaissance-themed event, where you will experience a 60-acre 16th-century European village filled with kings, queens, knights, nobles, peasants, and all manner of fantasy creatures. The festival has 21 stages of continuous entertainment by clowns, acrobats, musicians, dancers, magicians, award-winning food and drink, wine and beer, and over 500 shops that showcase the work of master artists and craftspeople from around the world.

Escape from the hustle and bustle of city life at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, where you can enjoy five miles of nature trails winding through native prairie, savanna, wetland, woodland, riparian habitats, and have ample opportunities for exciting wildlife sightings. Explore The Nature Center building, which features a Nature Shop filled with items for nature lovers of all ages, an interactive Discovery Room, Educational Exhibits, hands-on activities, live ambassador animals, biofacts, and a weekly botany display.

The Menil Collection Art Museum holds over 19,000 pieces of art that are displayed in the main building and often switched around several other types of art collected from the 1940s. The collection is significant in its European art, including paintings by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. The permanent collection highlights Arts of Africa, the Americas and the Pacific Northwest, the Ancient World, the Pacific Islands, Drawing, Medieval and Byzantine, Modern and Contemporary, Surrealism, and the permanent installation entitled Witnesses.

The Grammy Award–winning Houston Symphony has played a central role in Houston’s cultural and civic life for more than 100 years. The symphony is now one of America’s oldest performing arts organizations and the largest performing arts organization in Houston. It's always a season to remember at the Houston Symphony. Throughout the year, the institution cultivates musical appreciation for all tastes. The symphony produces a classical season, a pops season, a family series, and symphony specials, so there are plenty of opportunities to catch a performance on a romantic date.