Start from 71 curated places around Galveston, TX, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Gaido's Seafood Restaurant
Family-run Gulf seafood institution on the Seawall since 1911, recently named a James Beard American Classic. The hand-shucked oysters, broiled snapper, and bread pudding are the dishes locals order; the giant fiberglass crab on the roof is the landmark.
Number 13 Prime Steak and Seafood
Marina-side prime steakhouse at Pelican Rest with a Wine Spectator-recognized list and floor-to-ceiling glass on the channel. It's the special-occasion room locals book for anniversaries and the only place on the island doing dry-aged beef seriously.
Trails & outdoors
Galveston Island State Park
2,000-acre state park spanning the island from beach to bay with about four miles of interconnected trails through coastal prairie, salt marsh, and restored seagrass beds. The bay-side trails see fewer visitors and more birds than the beach side.
Lafitte's Cove Nature Preserve
Free 20-acre West End migratory-bird preserve with boardwalks crossing ponds and a wooded ridge that lights up during spring migration with warblers, vireos, and orioles. Wheelchair-accessible boardwalk loop, no admission fee.
Things to do
Aquarium at Moody Gardens
1.5-million-gallon marine pyramid with a glass walk-through tunnel, a penguin colony, a stingray touch tank, and shark tanks at scale. The newer renovations made it the most modern aquarium between Houston and the coast.
Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens
Glass pyramid stocked with free-flying tropical birds, a sloth or two, fish-filled lagoons, and orchids, set up so you walk paths through the canopy and the floor. The cooler half-day to pair with the aquarium next door.
Landmarks & sights
The Strand Historic District
A National Historic Landmark district of three- and four-story Victorian commercial buildings that survived the 1900 Storm and Hurricane Ike, now lined with galleries, cafes, and antique shops. Walk the brick sidewalks between 20th and 25th and you cover most of what locals show out-of-town friends in one easy loop.
1892 Bishop's Palace
Nicholas Clayton's Chateauesque masterpiece in the East End, built in stone and steel for railroad attorney Walter Gresham and one of the few buildings to come through the 1900 Storm intact. The audio tour walks you through the octagonal mahogany stairwell, sienna marble columns, and a fireplace mantel reportedly bought at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.