I have a newsflash for all of you Houstonians looking for an amazing day or night out with your significant other – DINNER AND A MOVIE DATES ARE SO 2017! Move over sushi and superheroes, back off Hibachi and hot romance…it’s time to put your walking shoes on, grab your love, and hit the town! Listen up, ladies — our town has some amazing places to go on a fabulous date without sitting in a crowded theater! So try them all out, okay?

1. Skip bar hopping – go museum hopping! – Houston is home to some of the most AMAZING museums in the country! Take advantage and visit as many of them as you can. Here are just a few of our local museums that you and your date can hit up :: The Menil Collection, The Houston Museum of Natural Science, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Museum of African American Culture, and The Jung Center. These are just a few! Plus, there are several restaurants within walking distance – grab some food to-go and eat your lunch on a park bench in between visits!

2. Hit up The Escape Game – Want to put your brain to work and have fun doing it? The Escape Game is the perfect spot for a challenging, yet social night out; we especially love it when we want a group date night! I love how their adventures bring epic stories to life in a one-of-a-kind tactile experience. Enter one of their immersive worlds and recover a priceless work of art, find lost gold or break out of prison. But you gotta move fast! Your team will have one hour to complete the mission and escape. I think it’s also such a great place to make memories that you will look back on and talk about for years to come. Will you be the hero?

3. Visit the Orange Show Monument – Nestled in Houston’s East End, this attraction is sure to be a day-date favorite! The outdoor area of the Orange Show is described on the official website as being maze-like in design and includes an oasis, a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum, a gift shop, and several upper decks. This place is a visual treat and sure to leave all of your dinner and movie date nights in the dust!

4. Take a cooking class! – Not all dates should involve sightseeing, so step out of your comfort zone and sign up for one of the many cooking classes being offered in the Houston area. Here are some classes you can sign up for ASAP – Well Done Cooking Classes, Sur la table, and urbanCHEF!

5. Walk around the Houston Arboretum – This beautiful park has so many programs to sign up for and participate in, you won’t ever want to leave! This is one of my favorite places to visit with my love. We never get bored with this place, and we are always checking the calendar to see what events are coming up next! They even have food and wine nights! Check it out!

6. Take a ride on the Hermann Park train and pedal boats! – We go to Hermann Park at least once a month, and we never have the same experience twice! We love to ride the train and take the pedal boats out for a spin with or without our son. The park is gorgeous and offers so many activities for an exciting outdoors date – pack a romantic picnic, soft blanket, and spend the whole day holding hands and lounging around the beautiful park!

7. Watch the bats whisk into the night over on Waugh Drive Bridge! – Located near Buffalo Bayou, these bats venture out into the night-sky each night searching for food – it is truly an amazing sight to see and something my husband and I love to do several times a year. It is simply spectacular! We also love this area in general – The Sabine Promenade is beautiful at night!

Skip all of those crowded theaters and restaurants that require reservations and have awful wait-times…and visit any of the beautiful and local hangouts mentioned above that truly make our city spectacular! Oh, and if you need a babysitter for your amazing date, check out this post for our list of local Parent’s Night Out locations too!

Where are some of your favorite date day or night places here in the Houston area?