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Downtown (Central Business District) - Houston Hotels .com

Ringed by the Interstate 610 loop, Houston's central business district is hard to miss, since it boasts the nation's third tallest skyline. But the area didn't evolve from such impressive beginnings. Once the home of cannibals, visiting missionaries, and a hideout for pirates, humble Houston gained respectability when oil was discovered in the area in 1901. Fortunes were made and Houston's downtown area was quickly built up to become an influential financial powerhouse. The construction of Houston's port in the 1930s only cemented the city's status as a major business and financial center of the south.

Downtown Houston isn't just a hot-spot for business jockeys. Baseball, basketball, and hockey fans are learning to call this area their home-away-from-home, now that Houston's Astros (Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford St.), Rockets (Houston Toyota Center, 1510 Polk St.), and Aeros (Houston Toyota Center, 1510 Polk St.) have all relocated into downtown facilities. In addition, there's shopping to be had around these parts, from a mammoth Macy's department store (1110 Main St.) to The Shops at Houston Center (1200 McKinney St.). Plus, over seven miles of Houston's famous downtown skywalks and pedestrian tunnels, lined with shops and eateries, allow visitors to enjoy the city without suffering from summertime heat and humidity.

Visitors can also cool off to a whole new degree at Houston's Downtown Aquarium (410 Bagby St.), or if you're game to brave the heat, head to Street Market Square (900 through 1100 blocks on Main St.), Houston's newest landmark. This pedestrian-friendly plaza features water sculptures, delectable eateries, dancing fountains, and a healthy supply of bars and nightclubs for evening entertainment.

In terms of office square footage, downtown Houston is the seventh largest in the United States and has the fourth most concentrated skyline after New York City, Chicago, and Miami. Visitors with a taste for the cultural arts, will be pleased to know that Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines -- opera, ballet, music and theater. With 12,948 seats for live performances, Houston ranks second only behind New York City for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area.

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