HOUSTON HAS A BAD REP. TO THE uninitiated, America’s fourth largest city is a cultureless landscape of skyscrapers, cookie-cutter strip malls, born-yesterday suburbs and heat so oppressive that its inhabitants scurry through air-conditioned pedestrian tunnels (when they’re not in their air-conditioned cars). But if you visit in the fall links of london, you’ll find the climate temperate, and you’ll also learn that Houston is full of world-class art, architecture and restaurant destinations–and a great place to launch a business. (See our cover story for more.)

For starters, check into The Modern (Links of London Charms), a small, chic bed-and-breakfast located on a residential street six blocks from the Museum District. The rooms all boast Wi-Fi and iPod docking stations. If you’re not the B&B type, try the Museum District’s stylish Hotel ZaZa (Links of London Necklaces). The hotel offers postcard-perfect views of the downtown skyline from floor-to-ceiling windows in its north-facing rooms. Suites have names like Rock Star–think leather and mirrored walls–and Houston, We Have a Problem, where the decor is space-age chic. Nearby, visit the internationally renowned Menil Collection Links of London Bracelets, a museum that exhibits–free of charge–the private art collection of the late Dominique de Menil, heiress to a vast oil-services-equipment fortune. The eclectic art, which includes Byzantine and medieval works as well as paintings by 20th-century masters René Magritte, Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns, is showcased in a building designed by noted Italian architect Renzo Piano. Wander the Menil’s 30-acre campus and explore the main structure’s satellites, such as the stark, ecumenical Rothko Chapel, where 14 of the painter’s abstract works are displayed.