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So any perceived lack of image is more on us than the city. And Houston is working hard to change that.

“If it wasn’t already taken, I would own the fact that Houston is the friendliest place on Earth,” Visit Houston president and CEO Mike Waterman says. “I’ve lived in 13 other cities and I’ve never lived in a city that was more welcoming. (But) our tagline is ‘The Culinary and Cultural Capital of the South.’

“I actually usually leave ‘The South’ part out. I honestly think we can compete at any level with New York, San Francisco or L.A. from a quality of product, quality of offering whether it’s a theatre, museum or restaurant.”

Yes, Waterman gets paid to promote his city, but he’s not wrong.

Houston, which was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 but has recovered nicely, has a wide range of offerings, something for just about everyone, which I got to see first-hand during a too-short three-day visit.

FEELING ARTSY?

Believe it or not, Houston is an arts hub that rivals some of the artsiest places in the U.S., with a world-class museum district (19 museums) and one of the coolest, quirkiest creative campuses anywhere, Sawyer Yards.

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH), a collection of nearly 70,000 works that was established in 1900, is a good place to start if you want to wander the district by foot. The MFAH is among the 10 biggest museums in the U.S. and well worth a visit.

Nearby is the Menil Collection, a formerly private collection of works that includes pieces by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol. It’s an eclectic collection that won’t necessarily appeal to everyone but it’s free to get in.