Sawyer Yards

A 2017 renovation has given the thirty-five-year-old hotel a glossy new exterior and a sleekly finished leather-and-glass lobby. Grab drinks at the chic bourbon bar and practice your swing at the indoor golf simulator projected against the walls. The spa and gym now have a couple’s suite, nail bar, and top-of-the-line facial treatments; the mix of guided workout classes will keep you occupied in your downtime. Not to be outshone, the tricked-out guest rooms are done up in a crisp palette of whites, creams, and the occasional splash of blue; plus, there's a collection of “specialty suites” that look more like the inside of a storybook castle than a city hotel. Venture outside and you’re a stone’s throw from the bustling Theater District and a short walk over from Discovery Green and Houston’s best restaurants, including the beloved Xochi.

A stone's throw from the Galleria and the traffic-congested streets of Houston, the St. Regis offers the biggest luxury of all: quiet. For such a sprawling property (232 rooms, plus a pool, a spa, and several restaurants), the rooms feel decidedly homelike, with the fluffiest beds and décor that doesn't feel at all stale or corporate. The hotel relies on simple touches to leave a big impact, like the Texas-shaped chocolates at check-in or the live harpist strumming airy accompaniments on the staircase. On weekends, the hotel's Remington Bar draws a crowd with live music and dancing.

A new addition to Downtown Houston, Hotel Alessandra is a modern, twenty-story building situated near the METRORail, making it the perfect home base from which to explore all of Houston. It's also near the ever-active Discovery Green, and when you're exhausted after a busy day, returning to the hotel's marble staircases and vaulted ceilings is heavenly. The guest rooms are outfitted with all the high-tech bells and whistles, like a tablet for navigating lighting and room service. Bar Bardot will win you over with house-baked pastries, freshly squeezed juices, and small bites offered in the afternoon. But lunch is best enjoyed poolside on the roof, perhaps while taking a break from the spa.

Hotel ZaZa is right at home in Houston's Museum District, where its themed suites—not for minimalists—are as elaborate as any show in the nearby galleries. If you book the Rock Star Suite, expect all leopard print and mirrored walls. The Tycoon Suite has a trophy-size hundred-dollar bill mounted in the living room, and the West Indies Room feels like an island retreat. For all its eccentricities, the hotel never pushes quirk over quality. All the rooms have Italian linens, waterfall showerheads, and candlelight turndown service. The complimentary Magic Car Service will drive you to the best spots in the neighborhood, and ZaSpa has a fantastic infrared sauna. Plus, the outdoor pool is great for cooling down from the heat, and the bar's DJ spins a great set. The eclectic sense of humor is just a bonus.

Businessman Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, aspires to provide the global traveler with the ultimate respite with his new hotel, the Post Oak. The thirty-eight-story structure lavishes guests with an extensive wine cellar, a luxury auto showroom, and a library designed in partnership with book publisher Assouline. And that's before you even get to your room, which is likely to have a grand marbled bathroom and killer views of the city. The hotel has nine restaurants, including the state's only Mastro's Steakhouse (consistently ranked one of the best steakhouses in the US), a patisserie with a showcase of pastel-colored macarons, and an opulent cocktail bar. There is even an in-room dining menu for pets, because Texas.

If you're eating your way through Houston, you'll stumble on a fair amount of tacos. From cornmeal-crusted catfish to Austin-style breakfast tacos, Torchy's has earned the trust of Texans statewide. In this city alone, there are five branches, but unlike with most chains, the food and staff are unequivocally beloved at every outpost. Still, this one in the Heights is our personal preference. (It's easier to get a seat, and there's a bar, meaning margaritas.) If we had to narrow it down to three, go for fried avocado, the Trailer Park (fried chicken), and green chili pork.

The word "caracol" means "snail" in Spanish, an ode to chef Hugo Ortega's memories of ceviche de caracol served fresh in his brother's kitchen in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The seafood dishes on the menu follow a familiar route—fresh, sentimental seafood, served with obvious care and love. A custom wood-burning oven allows the house specials to shine: whole roasted fish and wood-grilled oysters topped with chipotle butter. For dessert, the El Coco, a series of chocolates, handmade by chef Ortega's brother Ruben Ortega and served in the shell of a cocoa pod to be cracked open with a little wooden hammer. Finish with guava mimosas—sublime and refreshing enough to suggest a hint of sea breeze on the brow.

Each season, March changes its cuisine to devote itself to a new region along the Mediterranean. It's outstanding tasting menus are matched by incredible wine selections, impeccable service, and beautiful design.

Ranking BBQ in Texas is ill-advised. The topic invites strong opinions and heated debates, and it can get personal. Nevertheless, it's easy to make a case for the Pit Room. The brisket here is simply outstanding. Pitmaster Bram Tripp claims the secret is a strict adherence to high-quality meat—everything served is USDA beef or heritage pork from California—but we think there's something in the sauce. The sides are as carefully crafted as the meat: butter beans with bits of bacon, homemade jalapeño and vinegar potato chips, tortillas fried with lard from the brisket. The only things not made in-house are the bread and ice cream, and judging by everything else, if Tripp had a go at it, he'd nail that, too.

Chef Paul Friedman represents South Africa well, merging Dutch, Portuguese, and Asian influences into perfectly seared meats and seafood, served with a side of lush chutneys and spices. The name, Peli Peli, refers to a little red pepper relied upon to transform marinades in traditional cuisine. To experience its full effect, opt for the Cape Town skillet, a dish piled high with prawns so massive they have to squeeze onto the plate, scallops, sautéed calamari, and more. With a thirty-foot acacia tree as a centerpiece and a ceiling of networked neon lights, the restaurant's interior is as much an attraction as the food.

An ode to contemporary Houston, State of Grace has been appropriately established inside a refurbished shopping mall. The menu feels like an elevated version of the Houston food court. Crawfish hushpuppies—doughy balls of cornmeal, flour, and fish, fried then dusted in powdered sugar—share the menu with K-town fried chicken, cheese enchiladas, and squid ink pasta. It's Texas, in all its multicultural, contradictory glory. The eclectic fare makes it a bit of a hipster haven, but trust that the standards here are pretty classic.

Mala Sichuan Bistro is the crown jewel of Houston's Chinatown, a neighborhood glittering with really good food. The people elected it a winner long before the James Beard nomination was announced—check the consistently packed hall of happy diners as proof. Mala reserves bragging rights as some of the best Sichuan in the country: dan dan noodles, mapo tofu, and spicy, crispy chicken. The water-boiled fish in particular is a winner—the bright-red pot of simmering fish stew is perfect over a bowl of rice. Whatever you order, a side of eggplant cooked to sweet, gooey perfection is just...let's just say you'll be happy.

Hugo Ortega solidifies his status as a city treasure with Xochi (his 2017 follow-up to Caracol), built with his wife to represent the diversity of Oaxacan cuisine. Expect zero compromises on tradition—masas, tortillas, chocolates, cheeses, and moles are all house-made. What's imported are the authentic Oaxacan coffee beans, impossible to find anywhere else. The menu may be intimidating, but a short-course tasting of four moles of your choice and a platter of tortillas is a great place to start. The chichilo mole is an easy favorite, but consider the chaicatana, mixed with dried flying ants. Then delve into the antojitos for a taste of goat tacos or tlayudas, an Oaxacan street food of thin, fried tortilla, covered in beans, lettuce, meat, cheese, and salsa.

Local Foods has been packed with lines out the door since it first opened in Rice Village in 2011. Perhaps the new downtown locations can disperse the crowds, but it's doubtful considering the love for this sandwich shop runs deep. The secret at Local Foods is to keep it all fresh: You can hear the crisp snap of cauliflower when you bite into the Garden Sammie, a phenomenal veggie sandwich with a rich avocado spread. And make it a point to sample the vegan chili—vegan options abound, but this side is a standout. Otherwise, the undisputed classic is the Crunchy Chicken sandwich, fried chicken topped with crushed kettle chips and nuts, pickled cucumbers, and tomato slices on a salted pretzel bun.

James Beard Award–winning chef Tyson Cole serves small and inventive Japanese dishes using a mix of local ingredients and nonlocal seafood. Order the Hot Rock (they bring Wagyu beef and a hot rock to your table and cook the meat in front of you), and the madai from the sushi menu. If you're a peanut butter person, you have to get the peanut butter semifreddo with apple-miso sorbet for dessert. The combination of flavors may sound strange, but it tastes amazing. If you don't have time for a full dinner, come between 5 and 6:30 for sake social, during which a limited, but noteworthy, selection of the menu is on offer (and for a fraction of the cost).

Despite the wealth of taco options available in Houston, Ramon Soriano Tomka was still craving the tacos he knew from the streets of Mexico City. One man's food craving can become a city's culinary treasure, as is the case with La Calle Tacos. Here, Tomka converted the best-of-the-best taco recipes from all his favorite spots—sampling the translucent tortillas he knew from one or the salsa from another—into one perfect taco. Guacamole, for once, does not cost extra, and the aguas frescas are made with fresh, whole fruit.

Anita Jaisinghani's reverence for the healing power of Indian spices mixed with her creativity makes Pondicheri's menu both new and familiar. Palak paneer is tucked into simmering green omelets, and morning thali (a traditional breakfast platter) is reimagined to include oats, saffron yogurt, and a fried egg atop dosas. The fried chicken is coated in chickpea batter and tossed in garam masala and dried mango powder, and the specialty burger involves a lamb and goat meat patty. A second location has recently opened in New York.

Dr. Andrew Weil's bastion of healthy, balanced eating is a welcome change to the famously rich local cuisine. Open for brunch, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant serves vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free food with a focus on ingredients that are sustainable and organic. Carnivores will love the grass-fed bison burger, followed by a Double Brown Stout from Dallas brewery Deep Ellum.

Midwest native Chris Shepherd embraces his adopted home, Houston, with deep love, so expect some Southern comfort with your order: deep-fried pickle slices, peanut-butter-and-jelly wings (we weren't sure either, until we tried them, then we were damn sure), and a really solid burger. But the Hay Merchant's pride and glory is its incredible selection of craft beer. In fact, co-owner Kevin Floyd has been known to dump a beer from the menu as soon as it undergoes a major acquisition, resulting in spontaneous fire sales. It's not snobbery—if they believe good production practices are being compromised in any way, they won't support the brewery. Their principles usually mean happy returns for their patrons, like their golden rule that if a Houston sports team is winning the game—like, say, the Astros at the World Series—all eighty-plus taps of beer are offered half-price.

Here's how this works: Every drink purchased at OKRA's Charity Saloon qualifies as a vote toward one of four charities at the polling station against the wall. Charities are always local, and at the end of each month, the bar donates all profits to the organization elected by its patrons. If that spirit of benevolence—the bar has donated over $1 million to charity—doesn't win you over, trust that it's simply a great place to drink. The latticed glass ceiling floods the wooden hall with natural light, a shuffleboard table awaits your attention, and the waffle fries are arguably the best in the business of waffle fries.

The neon sign upon entry warns you straight-up: no pastries. But tamales—and tequila and mezcal—are fair game. They also serve what are arguably the best margaritas in Texas, using premium tequila and inventive twists like mango and chamoy dusted with tajín. Small and simple, with a projector displaying vintage soccer matches in black-and-white against the walls, this bar is a tribute to Mexican drinking culture.

Grab a beer and sip it swinging in the comfort of one of the outdoor hammocks strung across Axelrad's backyard. Intimate as a campsite (note the vintage Airstream), the building is actually over a century old (it was formerly a grocery store) and is now the most laid-back lounge in Houston. Pets are welcome, there's a live jam session every night, and while food is rarely offered, the neighboring pizzeria, Luigi's, serves a solid slice.

Anvil's cocktail menu can be intimidating to the uninitiated. Or for that matter, to the initiated. Biblical in length, there is an actual table of contents just to organize the exhaustive catalog of cocktails—divided into sections like Sour & Short and Tropical & Tiki. Pray for the bartenders, who must master every single one before they earn their rank. If you arrive in time for a bartender's "graduation day," every item on the menu is just $1 as newbies are quizzed on their mixology credentials. Usually there's a line out the door, but this bar is the call when you're ready to venture away from your regular gin and tonic.

Don't come to Public Services expecting the frills and invention of modern experimentation—this is a classic whiskey and wine bar. The leather-bound menu matches the grandeur of its setting in Houston's historic Cotton Exchange building (completed in 1884) with just six essential cocktails. The selection of rare spirits is best experienced through smaller pours, which should allow you to taste your way around the globe, and extend your stay to try the charred eggplant dip.

Common Bond's head chef, Roy Shvartzapel, returned to his hometown with one lofty goal: to build the best bakery in Houston. After assembling an all-star team of globally trained pastry chefs, he opened to lines around the corner, all waiting for his world-class breads, pastries, and viennoiseries (fancy for "croissants"). After a pistachio-cream-filled croissant (trust us on this one), turn your eye to the brunch menu: lavender lattes, chorizo mussels, and classic grits await. Also worth noting: The chocolate chip cookies are likely to rank among the best you've ever had

Espresso-obsessive Matt Toomey has dedicated himself to roasting and sourcing the best cup of coffee possible. A single shot of espresso here is composed of four different coffee beans tested to meld with milk while maintaining their flavor. When fans line up in the morning, they know Boomtown Coffee will deliver. The standout here is the Crüd (a combination of cold-brew espresso, chicory vanilla, and cream), with an additional "crack rock"—a gigantic ice cube of espresso that dissolves over time to slowly release an extra shot. Genius. During the week, food trucks provide a rotating variety of accompaniments for your to-go cup.

David Buehrer was one of the first people to offer top-quality artisanal coffee to the local community back in 2008 via his first business, Greenway Coffee. He then built Blacksmith and doubled his dedication to serving the best coffee in town. Everything is fresh and handmade—down to the caramel and ganache added to flavored drinks. The breakfast menu has a loyal fan base, thanks in no small part to the house-baked, square-cut biscuits, which serve as the foundation for fried eggs, fresh marmalade, and bowls of red-eye gravy.

This is a beloved local ice cream spot with an ever-evolving menu of handcrafted flavors. Fortunately, every choice is the right one thanks to Fat Cat's uncompromising dedication to Texan farmers. Fruit is always seasonal and provided by neighboring farms, and eggs are delivered fresh twice a week. If an ingredient is imported, expect the very best, as is the case with the crowd-favorite Mexican vanilla.

Czech immigrants left their culinary mark on Texas back in the 1800s with the gift of the kolache—a bite-size pastry filled with something sweet or savory. While many local bakeries serve some variation of the kolache, the Kolache Shoppe on Richmond Avenue has held on to its location and clientele for fifty-plus years. Each variation in the display case deserves a try, but for savory flavors, the winning combination is sausage, egg, cheese, with a little slice of jalapeño tucked into the dough. Sweet kolaches look a little different—like thumbprint Danish versus pigs in a blanket, but the cottage cheese kolache at least allows for a moment of feigned healthy eating.

Disguised as a throwback to the ice pops of your youth, Steel City pops are actually a serious upgrade. Expect flavors like strawberry shortcake, vanilla bean (with a cookie in the middle), pineapple, and jalapeño. Ask for your pop dipped in a layer of chocolate, or sprinkled with espresso dust, or drizzled with caramel (or all of the above). If the menu doesn't keep you occupied, the Ping-Pong table will.

Also referred to as "the taco Truck outside West Alabama Ice House," Tierra Caliente is another runner-up for best tacos in Houston. Served in soft, chewy corn tortillas, the famed ingredient here is the addictive green sauce (spicy, be warned); the best order, $1 breakfast tacos. And as for customer service, let's just say the staff kept this place open during Hurricane Harvey. The most winning feature of all is its proximity to the West Alabama Ice House, a Houston institution. Take your order next door to the picnic table and sip a can of Lone Star in the backyard.

Given our loyalty to nontoxic skin care and makeup, it’s only natural that we love a beauty boutique that checks off certain boxes: clean and luxurious products, transparent labeling, and a great overall message. So when Lemon Laine—a modern beauty boutique with an ethos that revolves around natural, effective, and sustainable products—opened in Houston, we were instant fans. Owner Laura Lemon brings her decade’s worth of beauty industry experience to the shop, in which she stocks some of our favorites, including Kjaer Weis, True Botanicals, and our very own goop skincare. Best yet: The design is clean with bright color—and there’s an oil bar where you can mix bespoke beauty formulas to meet your specific skin needs.

The first time you stumble into Sloan/Hall, you might think you're in a museum. The gallery/life space has everything from greeting cards and collector's books to a gold-plated robot beside a twelfth-century Italian chest to a French perfume collection, Etat Libre d'Orange. The vibe here can be ironic, so this is a great place to get a gift for a friend with a sense of humor and edge.

It's such a cliché to say that everything's bigger in Texas, but it's hard not to say it when you're talking about Kuhl-Linscomb, designer Pam Kuhl-Linscomb's nearly 100,000-square-foot design complex, which offers everything from designer homewares to tabletop items to stationery to pet accessories to a full-fledged apothecary. You could easily spend a day in here.

We love a store with a range of price points, and with options ranging from Jerome Dreyfuss purses to Venessa Arizaga friendship bracelets, Saint Cloud certainly qualifies. While it's primarily an apparel store, the accessories (A Peace Treaty scarves, Erin Considine fringed earrings, Lizzie Fortunato gems) can be relied on for consistently good gifts. The fact that they have a great clean beauty selection (Ilia, Grown Alchemist, Olio e Osso) and the sweetest, most creative kids' buy is a major bonus, too.

Biscuit is primarily known for designer Bailey McCarthy's quirky, colorful bedding collection, which incorporates everything from cactuses to arrows to astrology into sweet, soft-as-butter sheets and duvets. The Houston shop also has the best hostess gifts—the store's vignettes are scattered with cool coffee table books, candles, trays, and bar accessories. There are always great little knickknacks, too, like pineapple-shaped golden shot glasses, tin recipe boxes, and embroidered cocktail napkins.

The guy behind Manready Mercantile, Travis Weaver, is as Texas as they come—he grew up in a tiny town in West Texas, and his store drips of that aesthetic, with an enormous American flag hanging in the back, vintage saws, fishing signs, taxidermy on every wall, and an old-school canoe suspended from the ceiling. His brand began with a line of candles he made on the stove top in his apartment—the success of which inspired him to keep making products traditionally marketed to women (bath salts, bubble bath, and more) and making and packaging them for men. Now, he's expanded into clothing, and the brick-and-mortar showcases his own products as well as giftables from like-minded brands like Freenote Cloth, Mollusk Surf, Helm, and Taylor Stitch. During the holidays, it's pretty much a one-stop shop for brothers, dads, and SOs.

When Mickey Rosmarin opened an independent T-shirt shop in the early 1970s, he had no idea he would eventually come to set the bar for Houston's entire shopping landscape, introducing the city to designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Andrew Gn, and Kenzo. Now a resident of the West Avenue River Oaks shopping center, Tootsies is a three-story boutique that draws in the best of American and European couture, ready-to-wear, jewelry, and accessories. Come here for Attico robes, Saint Laurent shoes, and an encyclopedic collection of Chloé handbags. The customer service and attention to detail continue to make Tootsies a luxury-focused destination—and the private dining room for luncheons, spacious fitting rooms, and exclusive trunk shows don't hurt either.

It's difficult to fathom what 2.4 million square feet looks like until you step inside the Galleria. The usual European suspects—Gucci, Céline, and Dolce & Gabbana—all have individual boutiques showcasing the full range of new collections. If you're more of a department store type, Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom all have gleaming outposts in the mall. And since it's not a question of if you'll get hungry but when, there are twelve restaurants, including the only Fig & Olive in Texas. There's also a movie theater and an ice rink. What's not here? Hard to tell. If time allows, sneak a visit to the nearby Waterwall—a sixty-four-foot man-made waterfall that's a quick walk over from the mall.

Wendi Koletar opened this boutique in Austin twelve years ago, and she finally let Houston in on her sharply refined taste with a River Oaks outpost in 2016. On the racks hangs a well-edited selection of under-the-radar international designers. Brands like Kaarem, Demoo, and Priory offer natural silk and cotton fashioned into well-tailored separates. The store takes aesthetic cues from sculptural abstract artists, best reflected via the off-kilter jewelry selection from names like Lizzie Fortunato and ACB.

Since opening in 2007, Found for the Home has been impressing serious collectors and casual enthusiasts with an eclectic mix of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century antiques—presented among a selection of repurposed industrial finds. Owners Aaron Rambo and Ruth Davis have an eye for the whimsical: mid-twentieth-century Italian settees and chairs, birdcages converted into bejeweled chandeliers, handmade brass candlesticks, and marble dinner plates. The space also opens its doors to trunk shows and showcases from innovative designers like lampmaker Christopher Spitzmiller or interior designer Nathan Turner.

We've been fans of the exceptional shopping experience that is Forty Five Ten since we first discovered the original location in Dallas. Founded by Brian Bolke and his late partner, Shelly Musselman, the space corrals some of the world's best designer clothing and homewares all under one beautiful roof. As at its sister store, you'll find Rochas, Marni, Proenza Schouler, and Delpozo on the shelves, along with Diptyque and Cire Trudon candles—and most recently, our very own goop by Juice Beauty skin care.

This small church in the compound of the Menil Collection doubles as a gallery for fourteen all-black tableaux by Mark Rothko. The somber paintings create a haunting, womblike interior that has a way of bringing instant calm to the spirit and the mind. The church is sparsely outfitted with a few wooden benches and a skylight to let just enough natural light seep in without disturbing the peaceful gloominess. There are weekly events for the Zen-minded, like sound meditations and yoga on the plaza, but a moment alone is the best way to experience it all.

Split across seven buildings, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts is one of the largest museums in the US, with a catalog that chronicles over 6,000 years of history. And while you're unlikely to get bored no matter where you begin, the Caroline Wiess Law Building is the main attraction. It is the permanent residence of artworks ranging from pre-Columbian and Oceanic artifacts to modern and contemporary works by artists such as Jackson Pollock and James Turrell. Outside, stretch your legs in the beautifully landscaped Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen sculpture garden, dotted with pieces by Henri Matisse and Louis Bourgeois.

Breathtaking and romantic, James Turrell's installation on the campus of Rice University is your own private multiverse of color. Let us explain: The sleek steel-and-stone structure projects an LED light sequence from an open ceiling, so you can gaze up and see the muted pastel lights interplay with the changing colors of the sky above. Plan ahead to reserve the most coveted time slots, at sunrise or sunset. During these hours, the inflamed sky melds with Turrell's installation for a hallowed hour of gorgeous light.

Since 1909, the Houston Museum of Natural Science has been committed to making the wonders of science an interactive adventure to pique imaginations regardless of age. Inside, a surreal, glass-encased tropical rain forest protects over sixty varieties of imported butterflies flitting around a cascading waterfall. (Be careful not to unintentionally sneak one out—the butterflies have a habit of taking brief repose on the backs of visitors.) Robotics nerds will find joy in a virtual reality simulation promising to deliver the sensory experience of flying like a bird. Or visit the Burke Baker Planetarium for a 3D introduction to the universe, black holes and solar superstorms included.

Bikers and joggers are forbidden at this nonprofit park dedicated to the preservation of Houston's flora and fauna, but that's okay—the site's quiet, meandering trails are better enjoyed at the slowest pace possible. The two-mile Outer Loop wraps around the park's exterior and is good for a light stroll, but if you're in the mood to explore, bring bug repellent and some water-resistant boots, then head toward the ponds. It's the best place to observe the resident hummingbirds and dragonflies dancing over the Buffalo Bayou.

Bring a picnic basket with the evening's snacks, a bottle of Pinot Noir, and a heavy blanket for the tricky Houston weather—cold on winter nights, damp on summer days. Miller Theatre's performance calendar ranges from kid-friendly musicals to Shakespeare performances, but whatever you plan for, remember to arrive early. Parking is notoriously hellish. To hit the home run of kid-friendly outings, go extra early: The Museum of National Science is right next door.

This urban oasis draws comparison to New York City's Central Park, but when the sun sets behind Rosemont Bridge and the Houston skyline lights up the sky, it's impossible to think of being anywhere else. Joggers and cyclists commit miles to the park, thanks to the generous, ten-foot-wide paths and a landscape peppered with hidden art installations. Look for the lunar lights that change from blue to white in accordance with the phases of the moon, or the breathtaking Tolerance sculptures—hollow human figures constructed of letters by artist Jaume Plensa. But the park's best secret is the underground cistern, which once served as Houston's first underground drinking-water reservoir. Carve out some time on a Sunday morning to book a meditation session over the quiet pool of water.

Imagine thirty acres of art and you begin to get the scope of the Menil Collection. First, get your bearings. The Menil Campus is comprised of several buildings: the Rothko Chapel, the Cy Twombly Gallery, the Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall, and the main building (of permanent collections) designed by Renzo Piano. But put that part out of your mind for the moment—the main building will be closed for next few months for renovations. No matter. You’ll still want an entire afternoon, if not a whole day, here. Good thing there’s also Bistro Menil—perfect for a bite between taking in the exhibitions.

Just across the street from the Menil’s main building, the Cy Twombly Gallery pays tribute to the late modern artist best known for his enormous, graffiti-esque abstract paintings. Opened in 1995, the museum is another Renzo Piano commission, and sticks faithfully to the Menil’s minimalist aesthetic of natural light, wooden ceilings, and white oak floors. Inside, you’ll find a retrospective of Twombly’s impressive career dating, from 1953 to 2004, with a collection of paintings and sculptures handpicked by the artist himself.

Maryam Naderi introduced Houston to the nontoxic manicure in 2016 with Paloma, the very first salon in the city to ditch the chemicals for five-free nail polish (formulas that contain no formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, resin, or camphor). Every square inch of Paloma is clean and committed to Naderi's vision of wellness. There's no acrylic or UV lights to speak of, and pedicures are administered over sleek stone basins instead of plastic bins. For those in a rush, the Quick Fix manicure is the way to go, but if you've come to indulge, try the Standard, an eighteen-step nail service that comes with an exfoliation treatment, massage, and your pick of Weleda products.

This spa's holistic energy approach combines traditional Japanese and Egyptian treatments with a little bit of Southern hospitality. The menu isn't so expansive that you'd lose valuable time picking a treatment, but if you need a real quickie, the thirty-minute massage is a revelation. (And it's the only place in Houston offering yoni steams, at least that we know of.) The seaweed wrap for dry, flaky skin cocoons the body in a layer of kombu, aloe, and green tea for some light exfoliation. And the Off-the-Menu facial customizes products to your skin type.

Instructors at DEFINE are trained to listen to clients' needs and pay particularly close attention to joint and muscle protection—all while toning the body to peak performance. And they throw a few creative tweaks into their standard repertoire of barre, yoga, and spin, like DEFINE bounce, a barre class that makes use of a trampoline to incorporate high-intensity interval training. Cardio is a chore, but you'd hardly think so mid-bounce at the studio. The hammock yoga class teaches ballerina-esque swan dives; the ball yoga class is like a guided foam rolling session to open up tight joints. If your baby is a fan of the carrier, there's even a class you can take together for forty-five minutes of bonding and exercise.

This cycling studio is, in a word, remarkable. The highly trained instructors give you the benefit of intense, focused attention for forty minutes of heart-rate-pumping pedaling. Not to mention a playlist that's better than most clubs and a bike that tracks your performance and sends you the analytics (average rpm, energy burned, miles cycled, etc.) after class. Don't be disappointed when you have to leave your chilled eucalyptus towel behind—you'll be back tomorrow.

Licensed acupuncturist Lori J. Earley thinks of the human body as "just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to balancing her patients' discomfort and pain. Using this ideology, Phoenix Rising provides a session called Esoteric Acupuncture, which works to expand consciousness and balance the chakras. There's also the option to add a cupping session to aid blood circulation.

Instructor and studio owner Robert Boustany combines his forty years of experience teaching and practicing yoga into a specially crafted practice he calls Pralaya. Relying on a background in academics (he holds a master's in physics), Boustany splices the very best of traditional yogi training with breathwork, resulting in a flow that aims to protect joints and boost energy levels. If you're still struggling with more difficult poses, Boustany is the kind of teacher who challenges you to elevate your practice.

If you're in need of a wax, a fast facial, a mani-pedi, or just about any self-care moment you can imagine, Milk + Honey is the spot. It's great if you have time for only an in-and-out, though we suggest carving out a solid afternoon to yourself. The Spa Partisan packs in a body-polishing treatment, a steam, and a sixty-minute body-butter massage. (It's as good as it sounds.) Facials, which last anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes, call for a customized mix of CosMedix and Osea products, and the aestheticians are happy to spend extra time to make sure your goals for the treatment are met. End your experience by wandering through the smartly curated shop, where you'll find their insane lemon-vanilla body polish and travel-size Davines hair care, which can be tricky to track down—plus, the full range of Osea certified-organic skin care.