Artsy Houston Weekend

For three months this spring, while the Metropolitan Museum in New York City renovates its galleries, Houston's Museum of Fine Arts is hosting 135 paintings by 19th- and 20th-century French artists. Major works by Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Gauguin, Picasso, and Matisse are among the highlights. It's the first time that the Met has lent out so many pieces, and Houston is the only U.S. city that will showcase them (after May 6, they move on to Berlin).

A number of hotels in the area are offering discounted rates paired with VIP tickets to the show, allowing guests to bypass the lines and granting untimed access to the paintings.

Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917, The Dancing Class, probably 1871, oil on wood. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art; H. O. Havemeyer Collection, bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929) [enlarge photo]

When: Through May 6, 2007.

Details: Hotel taxes are an additional 17 percent. The cost of two VIP tickets is included in each package at 17 percent off the regular price of $25 per person. For general guidelines on evaluating deals, click here.

Book By: No deadline; based on availability.

Contact: Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800/4HOUSTON, visithoustontexas.com.

Here's a rundown of the lodging options, in order of price:

At the Windsor Suites, a one-night stay with two tickets to the exhibition starts at about $89 per night. The Four Points by Sheraton has a one-night stay and two tickets from about $104 per night. At Holiday Inn Select Greenway, about five miles from the heart of Houston, a one-night stay with complimentary self-parking, full breakfast, free transportation within a three-mile radius, and two tickets to the exhibition starts at about $114 per night. A one-night stay at the chic 97-room Alden Hotel, with two tickets, starts at $165 per night.

The Hilton Americas-Houston, a giant convention hotel in downtown, offers a one-night stay and two tickets from $169 per night. A one-night stay at the intimate, European-style Lancaster Hotel and two tickets is about $169 per night. The Omni Houston Hotel, with 378 rooms and a pool, also offers a one-night stay and two tickets for about $169 per night. At the cheery, modern Hotel Derek in the Uptown Galleria area, a one-night stay with two tickets is about $175 per night. At the Crowne Plaza Downtown, near the theater district and major businesses, a one-night stay with overnight valet parking, breakfast buffet, two tickets, and two round-trip light-rail tokens is about $182 per night. The Sheraton Suites by the Galleria has a one-night stay in a suite, breakfast for two, complimentary overnight parking, and two tickets for about $199 per night. The quaint bed-and-breakfast Humble's Best Kept Secret Hideaway is in a northern suburb further from the museum than most of the other properties, and has a one-night stay with two tickets, chocolates, and a bottle of wine or champagne upon arrival from about $209 per night.

Getting There: The lowest round-trip fares we found for Houston in late February are $135 from New York City (Continental), $211 from Chicago (Delta), $231 from Los Angeles (Frontier), $285 from Phoenix (Continental) and $325 from Seattle (Continental).  

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