Heading to Houston for Super Bowl LI? Here’s the lowdown on what do to, where to go

Once, a decade ago, I visited Houston in mid-July – when the thermometer topped out at a sweltering 114 degrees, I vowed to never go back. But never is a long time. So I gave it another chance and discovered that, especially during cooler months, America’s fourth largest city has lots to offer a visitor. As Super Bowl fandom and Lady Gaga’s halftime extravaganza descend upon Houston’s NRG Stadium, you may be among those planning to find out for yourself what makes this Texas city tick.

Space City is home to 6.2 million people. But it also acts likes a small town steeped in Southern hospitality. It’s culturally diverse, with world class museums, music and shopping. Here are some places you should be sure to check out:

To dress the part of the urban cowboy or girl, make sure your first stop is at Lucchese Boot Co. The El Paso-based boot maker has been handcrafting its remarkably comfortable Western boots for more than 130 years, and recently opened a company store in Houston’s swank Highland Village, at 4051 Westheimer Road. You’ll find myriad men’s and women’s styles in the beautifully designed 5,000-square-foot boutique, as well as a design center where you can create your own custom boots with exotic reptile skins. You get what you pay for here and the quality is so exceptional, your boots will last a lifetime. See the shop at www.lucchese.com. For a hand-steamed and shaped beaver felt Stetson hat to complete your look, head to Pinto Ranch, at 1717 Post Oak Blvd., or stop in upon your arrival at Terminal C of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. www.pintoranch.com.

Texas barbecue draws foodies from around the world and there are literally hundreds of barbecue joints in Houston. But there’s only one where “the secret ingredient is love.” Gatlin’s Barbecue, at 3510 Ella Blvd., is a multi-generational family operation that has twice won the Houston Press Best Barbecue Award. They offer delicious smoked ribs, brisket, chicken, and all meats pulled to a very loyal following. www.gatlinsbbq.com.

Mexican food is another category where Houston’s restaurant choices are enormous, but you’ll never leave hungry or dissatisfied when you dine at festive Hugo’s in the edgy, gay-friendly Montrose neighborhood. Chef Hugo Ortega is a five time James Beard Awards finalist and his robust menu is authentic to his Mexico City roots. Expertly mixed scratch margaritas and very friendly, prompt service is expected here. Try his two other dining spots, the Backstreet Cafe located in a historic 1930s home and Caraco, a culinary celebration of Mexico’s coastal states and the fresh fish and seafood harvested there, like wood-roasted Gulf oysters with chipotle butter. Each restaurant serves a popular weekend brunch, so call ahead to reserve a table. www.hugosrestaurant.net, www.backstreetcafe.net, www.caraco.net.

You’ll think you’re on the 1977 movie set of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” when you arrive at James Turrell’s dramatic “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace – one of 73 of his Skyspace installations worldwide – on the campus of Rice University. It’s an enormous outdoor pyramid constructed of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel that accommodates up to 120 people between two levels. Turrell built the structure in 2012 and equipped it with a stunning multi-colored LED light sequence that projects onto its ceiling and through an aperture in the 72-foot roof just before sunrise and sunset. If you’re lucky, you may be treated to an impromptu classical concert by students of Rice’s neighboring Shepherd School of Music, as the acoustics have been perfectly designed for performances. You’ll experience the subtly changing beauty of nature in rare quiet contemplation: no cellphones or cameras are allowed. Learn more and reserve a seat at www.skyspace.rice.edu.

Although it’s a 25-mile drive from downtown Houston, it’s well worth the time to visit Space Center Houston, the official visitor’s center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, home to our nation’s astronaut corps. Skip the lines and get a timed ticket for a 90-minute tram ride through the 1,600 acre Rocket Park, where the actual Saturn V rocket is on display and see the real Apollo 17 spacecraft, which returned from the moon in 1972. www.visitnasa.com.

Attending a concert in the architecturally magnificent Jones Hall, home of the Houston Symphony, is to experience one of the world’s acoustically exceptional concert halls, this year celebrating 50 years. Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will join the orchestra in concert there on Super Bowl eve, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. If you’re in Houston on Feb. 9, you can watch Stephen Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning “E.T.” on a giant screen as the symphony performs the movie’s score live. For ticket information, visit www.houstonsymphony.org.

This is a city that loves live jazz. Cezanne is an intimate 40-seat spot for the true connoisseur who comes to listen to nationally acclaimed talent. You can dance and dine on exceptional hand-thrown pizza at Sambuca, sidle up to one of the last remaining piano bars in Houston at Caps Piano Bar – or stand in on Monday nights, when the mic is open. www.capspianobar.com, www.cezannejazz.com, www.houston.sambucarestaurant.com.

If you want to try out your new boots on a fun – and crowded –dance floor, find one of the city’s best nightclubs on the lower level of the Omni Hotel Houston. From 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night, DJs play hot dance tunes from the past three decades. www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Houston/Dining/BlackSwan.aspx

Downtown, one of the most interesting ways to spend a few hours is on a guided tour of Houston’s underground tunnels – a 7-mile subterranean system that connects 77 downtown buildings 20 feet below the earth’s surface. Not only will you find shops and restaurants, but great public art deco treasures, world renown architecture, history, and the tallest building in Texas, too. Put on some comfortable shoes and contact www.urbanadventures.com for tour times and details.

Shopping doesn’t get any more exclusive than the lavish Galleria in Uptown Houston. Galleria is one of the largest shopping centers in the United States and a virtual who’s who roster of chic retailers, including Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Chanel, Henry Bendel, Prada and Tiffany and Co. In 2.4 million square feet of space, there are 400 stores alongside 16 restaurants and for those whose pocketbooks are a bit more restrained, H&M, Gap, Banana Republic and J. Crew also have a presence. At the middle of it all is a permanent ice rink where you can learn to skate, hold a birthday party … or just take a break from spending your inheritance. See who else has a store at www.simon.com/mall/the-galleria.

To stay up to date on Houston, how to get around when you’re there, 18 vacation itineraries designed by interest, coupons, dining discounts and a free, downloadable visitors guide, go to www.visithoustontexas.com.

Robyn Roehm Cannon is a travel and lifestyle writer who divides her time between Spokane and Seattle and loves to explore great American cities. Contact her at www.robyncannon.com