Southwest Houston Tours

This is one of our numerous regional tours of sections of Houston.  This is one of the more difficult tours to clarify because defining what is southwest Houston has been in flux for decades.  As Houston has grown and annexed more land, southwest Houston has grown further from the center and areas that were considered southwest Houston in the decades immediately after World War II, may be considered as part of the inner city.  For our purposes, southwest Houston will be defined with the following boundaries:

  • US 59/the Lloyd Bentsen Freeway/I-69/ and better known as Southwest Freeway as the northern border.
  • South Main Street/Alternate US 90 as the eastern and southern border.  This is the old San Antonio Highway.
  • Beltway 8/Sam Houston Tollway between South Main Street and Southwest Freeway as the southwestern border.

A two-hour tour is strictly driving around the perimeter of the area and through it.
A three-hour tour has two or three stops to use a bathroom, get refreshments, and to take photos. 
Tours of 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours have numerous stops to go shopping and into museums of your choice. 
Tours of 5 or more hours include a stop for lunch.

Each person pays for his/her own food and admissions into museums and galleries.

The starting time can be flexible depending on which tour you select.  Most tours begin at 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00 AM.

This area also takes in four additional cities:

  • Bellaire.
  • Missouri City.
  • Southside Place.
  • West University Place.

You will see the downtowns and city halls of:

  • Bellaire.
  • Southside Place.
  • West University Place.

It includes two significant universities as well as multiple Houston Community College (HCC) campuses:

  • Houston Baptist University (HBU).
  • Rice University (RU).

It has three public high schools:

  • Bellaire High School.
  • Sharpstown High School.
  • Westbury High School.

It has numerous museums and galleries, the majority of which are free, including:

  • Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston (CAM) – Free.  Closed on Monday.
  • Dunham Bible Museum at HBU – Free.  Closed on Sunday.
  • Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) – Free.  Closed on Monday.
  • Houston Maritime Museum – Closed on Sunday and Monday.
  • Judaica Museum of Houston – Free.  Closed on Saturday.  Open by appointment.
  • The Jung Center of Houston – Free.  Closed on Sunday.
  • Lawndale Art Center – Free.  Closed on Sunday.
  • Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden – Free.  Open everyday.
  • Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts – Closed on Sunday.
  • Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) – Free on Thursday.  Closed on Monday.
  • Museum of Southern History – Closed on Sunday.
  • Rice Gallery – Free.  Closed on Monday.  Open by appointment.
  • Telephone Museum – Located in Bellaire.  Open by appointment. 
  • More.

Many museums open at 10:00 or 11:00 AM.

It has shopping areas:

  • Meyer Park.
  • Meyerland Plaza.
  • The Rice Village.
  • Numerous strip centers.

Notable neighborhoods include:

  • Braeburn.
  • Braeswood Place.
  • Broad Acres.
  • Cambridge Green.
  • Fondren Park.
  • Fondren Southwest.
  • Gessport.
  • Gulfton.
  • Maplewood.
  • Maplewood South.
  • Marilyn Estates.
  • Meyerland.
  • Northbrook.
  • Northfield.
  • Old Braeswood.
  • Post Oak Manor.
  • Riceville.
  • South Meadow.
  • Upper Kirby (UK) District.
  • Westbury.
  • Westridge.
  • Woodshire.
  • More.

Many beautiful Mid-Century ranch-style homes and 1980s to the present Mc-Mansions are in these areas.  You will also see unique homes such as one designed to look like the mask of Star Wars character Darth Vader and a plantation-style home.

Other miscellaneous sites include:

  • The location of the former Westbury Square.
  • Three of the four largest Jewish temples and synagogues of Texas.
  • Jewish Community Center (JCC).
  • Turkish Cultural Center.
  • Chung Mei Buddhist Temple.
  • Sri Guruvayurappan (Hindu) Temple.
  • India House.
  • Zoroastrian Association of Houston.
  • The Holland Lodge, the oldest Masonic lodge in Texas.
  • Italian Cultural & Community Center.
  • Russian General Store.
  • AINoor (Islamic) Masjid.
  • A variety of Christian denominational houses of worship.
  • Many ethnic restaurants and bakeries.