A Guide to Exploring Houston’s Cool, Walkable Museum District

Plan to spend most of your time in the main building and the Cy Twombly Gallery, two adjacent buildings designed by Renzo Piano that are themselves artworks. Their contemporary architecture contrasts uniquely with the surrounding streets’ abundance of 19th-century bungalows.

The main building stands out as the mother lode, especially for its surrealist masterworks by the likes of Max Ernst and Joan Miró. A visitor favorite: Ernst’s canny portrait of Dominique de Menil herself — it’s as if she’s watching over the gallery with pride. To deepen your understanding of what inspired the surrealists, wander into the cabinet of curiosities titled “Witnesses to a Surrealist Vision.” In this room, 150 specially curated artifacts, curios and objects from the past, including African masks, wood carvings from the Pacific Islands and musical instruments, reveal a common intelligence among early cultures, something that intrigued the surrealists. The room suggests how they borrowed shapes, subjects and themes from bygone times to create their own art.

The smaller Cy Twombly Gallery captivates with some of the abstract artist’s best work. Known for his large-scale paintings riddled with energetic scrawls and calligraphic marks, Twombly created an oeuvre that many find heart-opening and spiritual. Two quintessential pieces will catch your eye: Bay of Naples and Triumph of Galatea both portray pops of colors made with materials such as crayon, graphite and house paint. A bit like looking into the sky at the clouds or into infinity, such as the horizon over the sea, they have a mind-broadening effect.

End your visit with the traditional afternoon tea service at Bistro Menil, a European-inspired eatery that also serves brunch, lunch and dinner.

Day 2: Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

In the district’s Zone 2, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) offers a casual, hands-on, immersive experience. In a renovated warehouse with an industrial-chic vibe, HCCC celebrates artworks made from clay, fiber, glass, metal and wood. Though such creations were historically defined as artisan-made functional objects, the genre has evolved. Accordingly, this clever museum redefines “craft” to encompass imaginative works of contemporary and conceptual art, with its two main galleries showcasing revolving exhibits.

HCCC engages art aficionados of all ages through its artists-in-residence program. Once a year, the museum selects artists to work in its on-site studios, and visitors are free to converse with them while they create. You might see a ceramicist throwing clay on the wheel or a fiber artist weaving on a loom. 

Before leaving HCCC, unwind in its tranquil Craft Garden, an urban green space awash with plants used in making baskets, papers and textiles. They’re all labeled, with their use noted (ingredients for natural dyes come from indigo and turmeric plants, for example). The center often offers educational activities here, such as wool dying with natural colors. 

Director’s tip: Tackle craft projects of your own in the museum’s Hands-On Houston program on the first Saturday of each month, a wonderful activity for families and multigenerational groups. “The small projects always result in something to take home and cherish and, hopefully, spark children and adults to imagine how more of their material world is made,” says Perry Price, the museum’s executive director.