During the holiday season, most travelers think of such cities as New York, Chicago, Minneapolis or Philadelphia as places to enjoy holiday lights, the arts and an interesting shopping experience.

But Houston, a Texas city of almost 2 million residents and a metropolitan area that contains more people than Minnesota, has much to offer as well.

According to the Houston Visitors and Convention Bureau, downtown's new retail core at Main Street Square features Macy's, The Shops at Houston Center, the new Houston Pavilions, and a new urban park called Discovery Green.

Colorful candy canes, snowflakes and festive trees with jeweled red, green, and white lights illuminate Main Street Square while Discovery green is being transformed into a winter wonderland that includes a 7,200-square foot outdoor ice skating rink.

The city features a variety of arts events for the holidays including A Christmas Carol, the Twelve Ways of Christmas, The Nutcracker, the Mayor's Holiday Celebration on Dec. 5, the musical White Christmas, the downtown holiday walk and rail tour, Candlelight Tours in the Park, pops concerts and festive lights.

In order to draw visitors, Houston is offering a variety of packages including a bed and breakfast getaway and a deluxe room and party package.

For information on these specials and details on all the holiday events, visit www.visithoustontexas.com.

Houston, named after Texas patriot Sam Houston, was founded more than 60 years ago by brothers Augustus and John Allen, who paid $1.40 per acre for 6,642 acres of land near Buffalo Bayou. According to the visitor's bureau, the town was marketed first to land-hungry citizens in the East and in Europe. Houston was the seat of the Republic of Texas for three years until the capital was moved to Austin, after residents decided that a port was needed for livestock and crops.

In addition to being a major energy center and with the port still an important part of the economy, Houston also relies on technology, telecommunications, the Johnson Space Center, health care and international commerce.

Sports fans can see the Houston Astros baseball team, the Houston Texans in the NFL, and the Houston Rockets of the NBA in state-of-the-art stadiums and arenas.