The city is named after Sam Houston, the military commander-turned-politician who led the battle for Texas’s independence from Mexico. In addition to serving as the first president of the Texas Republic, Houston opposed secession, was an honorary member of the Cherokee nation, and once beat a U.S. congressman with his cane for calling him a fraud.

Despite rough waters early on, today, Houston is one of the busiest port cities in the nation. Its 25-mile long system of commercial docks is one of the largest in the country and brings in more foreign tonnage per year than any other port.

In 1935, local businessman Will Horwitz built an underground tunnel that connected three of his downtown movie theaters. Inspired by the passageways beneath Rockefeller Center in New York, the tunnels included a penny arcade, shops, and a wine tavern. Over the next few decades, private companies added to the tunnels, creating a system that today spans six miles and connects 95 city blocks.

Subversive art and car culture collide at Houston’s Art Car Museum. Also known as “Garage Mahal,” the museum features a rotating cast of decked-out autos, including a cockroach-themed “Roachster” and a trippy six-wheeled space buggy.

Houston is also home to the National Museum of Funeral History, where you can see exhibits dedicated to the history of embalming, the deaths of popes, presidential funerals, and mourning in the 19^th century. You will also be happy to know the museum is available for private rental.

The nickname “Bayou City” may seem at odds with Houston’s urban sprawl. Nevertheless, the city is crisscrossed with bayous, rivers, and other waterways—more than 2500 miles worth.

If you are strolling along the river, walk beneath the Preston Street bridge, and you see a red button, go ahead and push it. It’ll cause bubbles to erupt from the bayou nearby. The project, called the Big Bubble, is a creative way to aerate the water and to startle other pedestrians as well as kayakers.