Galveston

Beach life is the main reason most people come. Sand runs most of the 50km length of the island's Gulf side: the busy stretch below the Seawall, family beaches with facilities at Stewart Beach and East Beach, and quieter, wider sand toward the West End and Galveston Island State Park. From late May to October the Gulf is very warm, often 29°C or more in high summer, and the swimming season runs long.

What the water is not is clear. Silt from the big Texas rivers keeps it brown-green and murky, sargassum seaweed washes up in heavy drifts in some summers, and rip currents form beside the rock groynes and jetties, so swim near a lifeguard stand. The beach is flat, wide and easy rather than beautiful. It suits families and anyone who wants warm water close to the room more than people looking for a postcard shoreline.

Eating here centres on Gulf seafood: oysters raw or chargrilled, shrimp boiled, fried or in gumbo, red snapper and flounder, often eaten in waterfront dining rooms on the Seawall or by the harbour. Texas staples fill in the rest, with Tex-Mex, barbecue and po'boys showing the Louisiana influence along this coast. The historic downtown around the Strand has the more interesting independent places and a few cafés and bakeries.

It is a small island city, though, and a lot of the offer is fried platters and chain-style family dining for beach visitors. The range is narrow, there is little fine dining and not much beyond seafood and Texas comfort food, so this is a place to eat well and simply by the water rather than a reason to travel for food.

Galveston was Texas's richest port in the late 19th century, and its architecture shows it. The Strand and Postoffice Street keep long rows of cast-iron and brick Victorian commercial buildings, and the East End and Silk Stocking districts are lined with raised wooden houses with deep porches. The grandest houses are open to visit: Bishop's Palace, a stone Gothic mansion, along with Moody Mansion and Ashton Villa.

The Great Storm of 1900, which killed thousands and led to the Seawall and the raising of the whole island, runs through the city's story and its small museums. At the harbour you can board the Elissa, an 1877 iron barque, at the Texas Seaport Museum, and the Ocean Star tells the story of offshore oil drilling. It is a rewarding day or two of history and architecture rather than a city with museums of the first rank.

Going out happens in two places. Downtown, the Strand and Postoffice Street have pubs, wine bars and a few cocktail spots in the old Victorian buildings. Along the Seawall there are open-air beach bars and patios that fill on summer weekends with day-trippers from Houston. There is very little club life, and on weeknights and outside the warm months the island goes to bed early.

The exception is Mardi Gras, a long-standing island tradition with parades and street parties downtown that draw large crowds over its two weekends. The rest of the year, a night out here means a drink by the water rather than a late one.

The island is flat, low and made of sand, marsh and bay, so the outdoors is about water and birds rather than landscape. Galveston sits on one of North America's great migration flyways, and in spring the woodlots, wetlands and mudflats fill with warblers, shorebirds, herons and spoonbills. Bolivar Flats across the ship channel and the sanctuaries at High Island are famous among birdwatchers.

Galveston Island State Park has marsh trails and paddling routes on the bay side, and fishing from piers, jetties and charter boats is a big local pastime. Dolphins often follow the free ferry to Bolivar. There is no hiking to speak of and no relief at all, and the humid heat of high summer pushes outdoor plans to early morning. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.

Most day trips head north to the Houston area. Space Center Houston, the visitor centre at NASA's Johnson Space Center, is about 45 minutes away by car and is the obvious outing. Houston itself, about an hour away, adds a large Museum District with the Museum of Fine Arts and the Menil Collection, along with the Rothko Chapel. On the way, the old fishing town of Kemah has a waterfront boardwalk, and the San Jacinto Monument marks the battle that won Texas its independence.

In the other direction, the free ferry crosses to the Bolivar Peninsula and its small beach communities. Beyond these, the flat coastal plain has little to visit within two hours, and nearly every outing needs a car.

Galveston works mostly as a family beach resort, and much of the island is set up for it. Moody Gardens has glass pyramids holding an aquarium, an indoor rainforest and a science discovery centre, which make for a good plan on rainy or very hot days. There is also a large waterpark, and a pier off the Seawall carries a funfair with rides and a roller coaster. Stewart Beach has lifeguards, showers and shallow, warm water, and the free ferry ride to Bolivar, often with dolphins alongside, is a favourite.

Space Center Houston is within easy reach for older children. The downsides are the humid summer heat, rip currents near the jetties, and the fact that families will need a car to get between the attractions.

The island is long and narrow, and its attractions are strung out along the Seawall and the bay. The historic downtown around the Strand is compact and pleasant to walk, and a heritage trolley and a modest island bus service link it with parts of the Seawall. Beyond that, public transport is thin. To reach Moody Gardens, the West End beaches or the state park, most visitors drive.

There is no passenger rail to the island, and getting here from Houston's airports normally means a car, a shuttle or a long taxi ride. Cycling along the flat Seawall is an easy way to cover the beachfront, but summer heat limits it.

Shopping here is browsing more than buying. The Strand and Postoffice Street have antique shops, art galleries, home-decor boutiques and sweet shops in their Victorian storefronts, and the downtown art walks bring out local galleries. Along the Seawall, beach shops sell swimwear, T-shirts and shell souvenirs. There are no department stores or flagship streets, and anyone after fashion or a real mall heads to Houston.

For a US beach destination, Galveston is reasonably priced. There are plenty of motels, mid-range hotels and rental beach houses, the public beaches are free, and seafood platters and Tex-Mex are fairly priced. Even so, eating out and rooms cost what they do across the United States, tips and tax add to every bill, and Seawall hotels charge much more on summer weekends and during Mardi Gras. The car that most visitors need is a cost of its own. Weekdays and the cooler months are noticeably cheaper.

The centrepiece is the Grand 1894 Opera House on Postoffice Street, a restored Victorian theatre that hosts touring musicals, comedians, concerts and Christmas-season shows through the year. It is a lovely room to see a show in. It is also home to the Galveston Symphony Orchestra, a long-standing community orchestra that plays a modest season of classical and pops concerts.

Beyond that there is a small community theatre scene, and cover bands play in the downtown bars and on the beachfront patios. There is no professional opera company or major theatre on the island, so someone planning a vacation around performances will find an evening or two here rather than a reason to come.

There is no bathing or spa tradition here. Wellness means a massage at one of the larger resort hotels on the Seawall or by the bay, or a day spa downtown. What the island does offer is pace: outside summer weekends, Galveston is easygoing, with long bike rides along the Seawall, porch-lined streets in the East End and quiet evenings. It is a place to slow down, not a place to come for treatments.