Bad news, folks: the enitre city of Houston is ugly. Sincerely CBFC in San Francisco PS. I still love Houston, but in that way I love my brothers -- they're home, but they are indisuptably ugly. PPS. I take that back -- yy mom just re-did her kitchen in Houston, that's not ugly.
Okay, I live in SF, and I really miss how lush Houston is, that there are so many greens around. Not kidding. Cali is a desert. Also, please take your guests to the Menil, and the little Rothko chapel right next to it near Alabama. No other city has that swanky duo sitting under the oaks! Also, don't take all that good food for granted! SF's great for yuppie chow, but you can't find soul food, BBQ, or truly good Mexican food to save your life.
There is that stretch of Rice Blvd (or is it Univeristy?) that runs near Rice's stadium that is completely shaded in arching live oaks. That road is fantastic. In general, I love live oaks and we do have quite a few around. There are some ancient ones on Augusta and Westheimer that are monstrously huge -- so big and old braces had to be built to support the branches. Those are beautiful. We also have nice ones in Hermann Park. A lot of the area around Rice and Hermann Park is pretty nice, now that I think about it. The Rice campus is great. In Memorial Park's Arboreum, there's a stretch of swamp that has a wooden boardwalk running through it. That place is great, though where you walk is rather confined. But, when I have visitors the thing I really want to show them is the old shotgun shacks of 5th ward, especially when they are visiting from a foreign country. I show them the utter poverty we have in this city and then the poshness that's found in River Oaks and Memorial. It's not terribly scenic, nor does it paint Houston in a great light, but it usually has a strong effect and shows a lot about the city.
The Rice U area and River Oaks have some of the most lush landscapes in the city. The trees are large and old, yet well cared for. The houses still have a flair to the old architecture...it makes for a really nice drive. They've made at least 2 movies through those stretches (Reality Bites and Rushmore), so it has to be nice.
I'm also not originally from Texas, don't have any ties to college teams in Texas, don't spend much time getting wasted downtown and have lived in both cities, so I am also unbiased by those standards. That being said I can honestly say Austin is far from overrated. Aside from I-35 being undrivable most of the time(I rarely have to even go near that beast), Austin is easily the best city I have ever lived in. What other city in Texas has numerous lakes and rivers within or close by to camp, boat, tube, etc, swim in natural springs and creeks, extensive hike/bike trails through the woods(no Memorial doesn't count) at many different locations throughout and around the city, scenic drives(360 in Westlake or 71 west of Oak Hill)/romantic spots(Mt. Bonnell is absolutely stunning at night), exciting and competitive sports teams(Express/Ice Bats), the best music scene in the state and IMO the nicest, coolest citizens of any city in Texas(pretentious Dallasites and Houstonites need not apply). The only thing Austin doesn't have is the Rockets, but they do come here for training camp!!
Nicely put Pimp. Dont forget about the lack of billboard advertising (something that uglies up H-town from every direction), and those damn environmentalist who want us to live in a clean, green city with lots of parks.
I think a lot of the stereotype image of Houston was becuz of the movie Urban Cowboy. I've seen it several times and boy, it really was not flattering, don't you think? Plus all the oil refineries that are found around here, it just gives "outside" folks a negative view. But since we don't depend on the tourist industry, I guess it really doesn't affect us as much(to a certain extent).....
