High five in Houston

Summer is nearly year-round in Southeast Texas, so it should be no surprise that the free stuff to see and do in the sprawling metropolitan area of Houston, the fourth-biggest city in the US, focuses on the outdoors.

But that doesn't mean you have to surrender to the heat and humidity to enjoy its attractions.

•  The Menil Collection: Banker John de Menil and his wife Dominique, heiress to the Schlumberger oilfield company fortune, amassed a collection of nearly 16,000 art objects that, since 1987, have been on display at the Houston museum named after them. The collection features pieces by European and American masters, plus ancient and modern works from around the world.

•  Miller Theatre: The Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet headline an extensive performing arts line-up that's been using the Miller Theatre stage since the 1920s, and now draws nearly a half-million spectators annually to the site in Hermann Park. Tickets for the covered seating area are available early in the day for that evening's performance and concertgoers also can bring a blanket and sit on the grass hill immediately behind the seats.

•  The Water Wall: A couple of blocks south of the Galleria, Houston's largest shopping experience, and in the shadow of the 275-metre Williams Tower, the city's most visible skyscraper outside downtown, this 20-metre-high semi-circular fountain is arguably Houston's most photographed site. Visitors can stand inside the wall that re-circulates 11,000 gallons of water each minute. Besides providing a cooling mist, the visual effect is surreal.

• Port of Houston boat tour: Since 1958, the 29-metre-long motor vessel Sam Houston has been taking visitors on a 90-minute cruise of the Houston Ship Channel, home to one of the world's busiest ports. The boat holds up to 100 people who can sit in its air-conditioned seating area or stand on the deck. There's no charge but reservations are required.

• Galveston: Houston's getaway to the Gulf of Mexico. It's only an hour's drive south on Interstate 45 — park on the Galveston Seawall and you're there. As a bonus, one of the best free trips in Texas is just off the east end of the seawall, where the Bolivar Ferry carries vehicles and passengers 24 hours a day back and forth across Galveston Bay. Watch for dolphins and feed the seagulls.