Families have lots to do downtown!  The following are just a few of the many opportunities:

• City Hall Visitors Center. Open Monday through Friday, 8 am - 4 pm., it offers interactive sites about the Houston area, a brief film about Houston and a gift shop.
• Visit the city's official events calendar.  Another good resource is the city's Public Works Department's list.
• Take a tour of downtown -- through the pedestrian tunnels (during business hours), historic downtown, night crawls, ghost walks and more.
• Take your own tour of downtown's Art Deco Buildings.
• Observation decks:
  • JPMorgan Chase Tower, 600 Travis.  Chase Tower is 75 stories tall, making it the tallest building in Houston, and one of the top 10 buildings in the United States. The observation deck is on the 60th floor and is open during business hours.
  • Wells Fargo Plaza, 1000 Louisiana.  At 71 stories, Wells Fargo Plaza is the second tallest building in Houston, and the tallest all-glass-exterior building in the Western Hemisphere.  Take an elevator up to the 58th floor to get a wonderful view of Houston.
• Visit Main Street Square, the three-block pedestrian plaza in the 900-1100 blocks of Main Street.  (For reference, Foley's is in the 1100 block.)  The centerpiece is a 250-foot-long fountain with 40-foot jump jets! 
• Explore the many other fountains, especially the fountains along Preston and Prairie. 
   
• Take METRORail.  Besides being an official transportation mode, taking METRORail one way and then the other is a fun experience, especially for $2.00 for adults round trip and $0.50 for kids (free for kids under 5).
• Visit one of downtown's plazas including Jones Plaza (601 Louisiana), Ray C. Fish Plaza, (in front of the Wortham Theater), and Old City Hall Clock Plaza (301 Travis).
• George Bush Monument in Sesquicentennial Park at Bagby and Franklin.  The statue of Bush, which faces east toward Buffalo Bayou, includes an 8-foot bronze statue, panels which are mounted on pink granite boulders with engraved quotes from the president, and a timeline in granite paving stones recording high points of Bush's career. 
• Visit one or more of downtown's parks, including Tranquility Park (400 Rusk, between Walker and Rusk, just east of Smith), Hermann Square (900 Smith, in front of City Hall), Sesquicentennial Park (400 Texas), JPMorgan Chase Pocket Park, Antioch Park (1400 Smith), Market Square Park (301 Milam), Sam Houston Park (1000 Bagby), Smith R.E. "Bob" Park, (1300 Smith/Clay), Buffalo Bayou Park, Allen's Landing (where the Allen brothers arrived in 1836 and began their real estate venture:  Houston, 1001 Commerce), Confederate Ship Area (801 Commerce) and Root Memorial Square (1400 Clay, acrooss from Toyota Center).  Don't forget our next major park, opening in 2007, 13-acre park in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center! 
• The Heritage Society is an outdoor museum in Sam Houston Park that features historic houses from several eras of Houston's history as well as a museum and gift shop. They offer lectures, children's programs and special events.  It is at the corner of Lamar and Bagby (behind the downtown library). Hours are Monday - Saturday 10 am - 4pm and Sunday 1- 5 pm. 
• Visit the many venues in the Theater District:  Alley Theater, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet (4th largest in the U.S.), and the newest addition to the Theater District, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
• Buffalo Bayou events, art and trails!
  • Experience the many events on Buffalo Bayou, including Anything that Floats, the Dragon Boat Festival, Regatta and Bayou Sprints, Watershed Symposium and more.  
  • Then there's art along Buffalo Bayou sponsored by Buffalo Bayou ArtPark which places temporary public art in open spaces.
  • Downtown has beautiful hike and bike trails that are constantly being expanded, especially along Buffalo Bayou.
  • Make the bayou “burp.” No kidding. Go to Preston Avenue at street level over the west side of the bayou just next to the back corner of the Wortham.  There's a nook in the railing with a small red button inside the nook.  Push the button, and in a moment or two a big bubble of air will come to the surface in the middle of Buffalo Bayou!
• The Downtown Aquarium offers family fun, dining, spectacular land and sea creatures and gorgeous views of the downtown Houston. The 500,000-gallon underwater adventure complex with more than 200 species of aquatic life, Ferris wheel, aquatic carousel, Shark Voyage, and a White Tigers of the Maharaja’s Temple exhibit.
• And what about canoe and kayak trails?
• Houston Convention and Visitors bureau - www.visithoustontexas.com.
• Live music and many restaurants!