Sixteen rides, two roller coasters, carnival games, and souvenir and snack kiosks: Landry's restaurant group packs a lot into its post-Ike redo of Galveston's historic, 1130ft Pleasure Pier. Hours vary drastically by season, so call to verify if you'll be visiting outside of summer. For a lower-key but similar set up – with a no-admission, a la carte option – we prefer the Kemah Boardwalk.
Pleasure Pier
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.99 MILES
Dream of landing on the moon? You can’t get closer than the visitor center/museum alongside NASA's Johnson Space Center, where interactive displays…
1.16 MILES
This sumptuous Gothic mansion, built in the 1880s for the Gresham family, became home to the Catholic bishop of neighboring Sacred Heart Church in 1923…
1.36 MILES
Bordering the Strand, the residential East End Historic District has scores of pretty old houses, from simple cottages to Greek Revival mansions, some of…
0.68 MILES
Housed in the 1895 Galveston Orphans' Home, this excellent museum displays documents and artifacts from the Bryan family's collection, covering state and…
25.94 MILES
It's as impressive as it is sad: this never-used Saturn V rocket, a specimen of the most powerful rocket ever used by the US, which took astronauts to the…
4.44 MILES
Also called Apffel Park, this vast expanse of hard-packed sand is at the very far northeastern end of the island. On summer weekends, it hosts live…
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge
29.43 MILES
Of the three national wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast from Galveston to Louisiana, the 34,000-acre Anahuac has the best access – 50 miles northwest…
1.36 MILES
Strolling the historic Strand District will give you an appreciation of Galveston's glory days in the late-19th century. Commercial horse-drawn carriages…
Nearby attractions
0.47 MILES
Constructed in 1880 as a social club for the German residents of Galveston, the Garten Verein (garden club) dancing hall was once a center of the city's…
0.68 MILES
Housed in the 1895 Galveston Orphans' Home, this excellent museum displays documents and artifacts from the Bryan family's collection, covering state and…
0.86 MILES
The Galveston Island Visitors Center occupies most of the ground floor of this 1858 Italianate villa, while the remainder is reserved for private events.
0.87 MILES
One of the grandest mansions on the island, dating from 1895, this 28,000-sq-ft home still shines with the splendor of Galveston's heyday as an American…
5. Rosenberg Library Historical Collections
0.93 MILES
Housed on the 4th floor of this beautiful 1904 building, the oldest public library in continuous operation in Texas, is a collection of historical…
1.16 MILES
This sumptuous Gothic mansion, built in the 1880s for the Gresham family, became home to the Catholic bishop of neighboring Sacred Heart Church in 1923…
1.24 MILES
This 1874 bank building has undergone several name changes over the years, and the name on the marquee still belongs to the 1923 'United States National…
1.35 MILES
Housed in Galveston’s beautiful former Santa Fe Railroad Station, this little museum holds exhibits on train history and old rail cars as well as model…