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The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
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Overview
Find out what makes Houston the most vibrant city in Texas with this self-guided Houston driving tour! As you explore, you’ll see everything that makes Houston unique, from historic districts to stunning parks and the famous Space Center! Revisit historic battles on the Bayou. Stop by Emancipation Park, a centerpiece of Black history in the city. Admire Houston's tallest skyscrapers and uncover the heart of this truly Texan city!
Purchase one tour per car, not per person. Everyone listens together!
After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route.
New, extra validity — now yours for an entire year! Use multiple times over multiple trips!
This isn't an entrance ticket. Check opening hours before your visit.
Description
Stop At: Buffalo Bayou Park, 18-3600 Allen Parkway and Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas
Next, we'll arrive at the Buffalo Bayou Park, where we'll get a chance to see the enormous cisterns the once quenched the thirst of the entire city! We'll also learn how the city transformed and found new uses for these cisterns once they weren't needed for drinking water any longer.
NOTE: This 39+ mile-long tour covers the essentials of Houston in 2-3 hours.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Sam Houston Park, 1100 Bagby St, Houston, Texas 77002
Our drive takes us past Sam Houston Park next, where a row of preserved historic homes display how Houstonians from all walks of life lived, from freed slaves building new lives for themselves to affluent merchants.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Houston City Hall, 901 Bagby St, Houston, TX 77002, USA
We'll park at City Hall and hear about the challenges of building it during the Great Depression. We'll also get a good look at the statues of Houston's founders which stand before the hall, and learn about how those statues had to wait over 80 years to be built!
Duration: 10 minutes
Pass By: Pennzoil Place, Pennzoil Place, Houston, TX 77002, USA
We'll keep driving until we see Pennzoil Place, a pair of huge black towers looming over Houston. Here, we'll pick up some facts about the imposing buildings and the innovative architect behind them.
Stop At: Market Square Park, 301 Milam St, Houston, TX 77002, USA
Our route takes us next through Houston's Historic District, chock full of gorgeous old buildings. We'll also hear about the multiple fires which swept across the old City Hall, and the celebrities like Johnny Carson who have partied in this very district!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: JPMorgan Chase Tower, 600 Travis St, Houston, Texas 77002
The next sight we'll see is the Chase Tower, the tallest building in all of Texas. Here, we'll uncover some secrets of its construction, like how the original design was hazardous to air traffic and it sports a helipad that's never been used!
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas St, Houston, Texas 77002
Next, we'll park at the Christ Church Cathedral, Houston’s very first religious congregation which dates back to 1859. We'll also hear about the generous stranger who's responsible for a steer's head being part of the church seal.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St, Houston, Texas 77002
Our route then passes Minute Maid Park, the famous baseball stadium designed to imitate the Golden Age of baseball.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Emancipation Park, 3018 Emancipation Ave, Houston, TX 77004, USA
Next, we'll see Emancipation Park, a lovely recreational space with a rich history. We'll hear about emancipation, Juneteenth in Texas, and how this park became an epicenter for the Black community in Houston. Then, we'll get the real facts on some of Houston's most notorious urban legends.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Houston Museum District, Houston, Texas
As we drive, we'll enter Houston's Museum District, home to fascinating museums covering everything from Black history to natural science to fine arts and beyond. If you want a really deep dive into the city of Houston, this is the place to be.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Hermann Park, 6201A Hermann Park Dr, Houston, Texas 77030
Next, we'll pass Hermann Park, home to plenty of attractions for the little ones, including an entire zoo featuring cheetahs, chimps, and more!
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Rice University Campus, 6100 Main St, Houston, Texas 77005
Our route brings us through the Rice University campus next, where we'll get some insight into the founder and hear about a baffling--and very ambitious--senior prank conducted by an alum known only as "The Mastermind."
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: William Marsh Rice Statue, Houston, TX 77005, USA
Next, we'll see the subject of the prank itself: the William Marsh Rice Statue, and learn about how the pranksters banded together to protect one of their own from repercussions.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyscape, Rice Boulevard Entrance 18, West Lot 1, Houston, Texas 77005
As we continue through the Rice campus, we'll see the strange, pyramid-shaped building known as Skyspace. Here, we'll get a quick rundown of what this odd building is for, and how you can experience its beautiful sky viewings for yourself.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: MacGregor Park, 5225 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX 77021, USA
We'll keep driving past MacGregor Park and listen to the story of how he revolutionized Houston's transit system by replacing the donkeys it relied on for far too long.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: MacGregor Park MLK, Houston, TX 77021, USA
At the end of the boulevard, look to the right. You should be able to spot the bronze statue of Dr. King. For a full picture of his life and achievements, check out the African American Culture Museum in Midtown.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Old Spanish Trail, Old Spanish Trl, Houston, TX, USA
As we drive, we'll end up on the Old Spanish Trail. Once upon a time, it spanned the entirety of the country! This trail stretched over 2,750 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Next, we'll look down get the inside scoop on the importance of oil and gas in Texas's development, and look up at the stars to hear about NASA, the infamous Apollo 13 mission, and world-famous astronomer Carl Sagan.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: San Jacinto Street, San Jacinto St, Houston, TX, USA
The San Jacinto Monument is a 567.31-foot-high column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near the city of Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney St, Houston, Texas 77010
Discovery Green is an 11.78-acre public urban park in Downtown Houston, Texas, bounded by La Branch Street to the west, McKinney Street to the north, Avenida de las Americas to the east, and Lamar Street to the south.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Houston Graffiti Building, 1503 Chartres St, Houston, Texas 77003
Grouping of industrial structures featuring rotating displays of colorful street art & murals.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Holocaust Museum Houston, 5401 Caroline St, Lester And Sue Smith Campus, Houston, Texas 77004
The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in the U.S. state of Texas. The Holocaust memorial museum is the fourth largest in the U.S., and opened in 1996. A major commitment of the Holocaust Museum Houston is education.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: The Houston Museum of Natural Science, 5555 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, Texas 77030
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is a natural history museum located on the northern border of Hermann Park.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet St, Add Parking Locations, Prices, Houston, Texas 77005
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, located in the Houston Museum District, Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 70,000 works from six continents.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: Children's Museum Houston, 1500 Binz St, Houston, Texas 77004
Bustling family museum with a wealth of hands-on activities such as a Bubble Lab & a Tot Spot.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany Skyscape, Rice Boulevard Entrance 18, West Lot 1, Houston, Texas 77005
Built in 2012, the pyramidal structure accommodates 120 people between two levels. Twilight Epiphany is acoustically engineered to host musical performances and to act as a laboratory for Shepherd School of Music students. Constructed of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, the structure is equipped with an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling and through an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof during sunrise and at sunset. Turrell's composition of light complements the natural light present at twilight, and transforms the Skyspace into a locale for experiencing beauty and reflecting on the surrounding campus and the natural world.
Duration: 5 minutes
Stop At: The Health Museum, 1515 Hermann Dr, Houston, Texas 77004
The John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, or The Health Museum in short, is a museum in the Museum District of Houston, Texas. The museum is a member institution of the Texas Medical Center.
Duration: 5 minutes
Schedule
- Reservations are REQUIRED for all bookings
- Book Your Package On-Line and Receive Your Confirmation
- Departure point: Detailed check-in instructions - including the address and parking information if applicable - will be included in your final confirmation email.
- Duration: 2 to 3 hours (Approx.)
- Departure Time:
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
The Best of Houston Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour
5/5/2020 - 12/2/2025Monday - Sunday : 06:00 AM - 11:30 PM - Return Details:
NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 E NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, USA
What's Included
- Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
- Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
- Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
- Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
- Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.
- Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!
- Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!
- Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!
- Gratuities (Optional)
- Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations
What To Bring
- Confirmation Voucher (printed or mobile)
- Any required or suggested items listed on your confirmation email.
- A Smile!
Additional Info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- How to access: Once you book a tour, you’ll get a confirmation email with instructions. Follow the instructions right away: • Download the separate app • Enter the password • Download the tour • MUST DO while in strong wifi/cellular.
- How to start the tour: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction. • Go to the starting point. (Note: no one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided). • The audio will begin automatically at the starting point. If you face audio issues, visit the FAQ. • Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
- Amazing Savings: why pay for an expensive, crowded, and limited bus tour — priced per person! — when you can have ONE amazing audio guide on your OWN phone for your WHOLE group?
- Flexibility and Convenience: • Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. It's perfect for tailoring your exploration and revisiting your favorite spots on future trips. • Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace, free from the constraints of a group.
- Comprehensive Tour Experience: •The app provides a full itinerary, travel tips, narrated audio stories, scripts, images, videos, and recommendations for additional activities. • Enjoy a private experience without the crowds, ideal for personalized stops and photo opportunities.
- Ease of Use and Accessibility: • The app is hands-free and activates stories via GPS, offering support through call, chat, or email. • There is no need for a continuous cell or Wi-Fi connection as the GPS map works offline.
- Memorable Keepsakes: • Utilize the app’s images to create a photo book or share on social media, ensuring you have high-quality, crowd-free memories from your trip.
- Preparation: • After booking, download the app and the tour using a strong Wi-Fi connection. • Review the tour at home before your trip for a better experience.
- Starting the Tour: • Open the app upon arrival at your destination. • Select the appropriate tour based on your starting point. • Head to the starting location; the audio will begin automatically. • Follow the suggested route and adhere to the speed limit for an optimal experience. • By following these instructions and taking advantage of the app's features, users can enjoy a personalized, flexible, and in-depth exploration of their destination at their own pace and convenience.
- Minimum Mobile OS Requirement: iOS 14 or later / Android 9 (Pie) or later. It is compatible with iPad models that have a GPS chip.
- CarPlay and Android Auto are not yet supported. Connect your phone via Bluetooth, USB, or Aux for audio. Use phone speakers if needed.
- Operated by Drive with Action
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
Reviews
Average 3.34 out of 5 stars based on 35 traveler reviews collected by Cool Destinations and partner sites such as Trustpilot, Viator, and TripAdvisor
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Free cancellation
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.