Houston Leisure

Houston is a sports-crazy city, and is well represented by the countrys three main national sports. The local Major League Baseball team is the Houston Astros; the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association and the Houston Comets of the Womens National Basketball Association; and the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Non-professional active types will, however, be glad to know that the city has so many facilities for so many types of activities from indoor fitness, to tennis, to cycling.

Golf

There are more than 100 golf courses in the greater Houston area, many of which are open to the public. Hermann Park Golf Course, 2155 North MacGregor Street (phone: +1 713 526 0077), and Memorial Park Golf Course, 6001 Memorial Loop Drive (phone: +1 713 862 4033), are both easy to reach. Hermann is open daily; the Memorial Park is open until 13:30 to the general public on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and is closed on Tuesdays.

Swimming

Water lovers will enjoy SplashTown Waterpark (phone: + 1 281 355 3300; website: www.sixflags.com), with a number of pools and water rides. Next to the Astrodome is Six Flags Astro World and Water World (phone: +1 713 799 8404; website: www.sixflags.com), a theme park with water slides and a giant wave pool. The Water World section of the park is closed from September to March.

Paintball

Champions Paintball (phone:+1 281 444 2164) offers a different brand of fun; players are usually divided into two teams with nine members each, with each team attempting to knock opposing players out of the game by hitting them with a paintball. Try one of the six different games, or try them all to decide which one you like best. Champions Paintball is open daily from 09:00 to 18:00.