GOING GREEN:

• By ROXANNE C. HARE
• Special sections editor
• Published: Apr 27, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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If you’re a regular visitor to Houston and haven’t been there in a few months, you may be surprised to see what awaits you now: Discovery Green.

What is Discovery Green? It used to be 12 acres of parking lot, according to Lindsey Brown, director of marketing for the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

But not anymore. Now the area is a massive attraction that appeals to both tourists and locals alike.

Activities such as horseshoes, croquet, motorized boat rides through a lake and running trails – which are free – have transformed this area from drab to fab.

“It’s great for families,” Brown said, adding that in the winter, the lake will be frozen for ice skating.

Brown said the location can’t be beat.

“It’s in a space downtown that’s literally in front of the Convention Center, walking distance from the Toyota Center where the Houston Rockets play, and near Minute Maid Park where the Houston Astros play,” Brown said. “It’s walking distance from a bunch of hotels. It’s really enhancing our downtown package for visitors.”

One of the highlights of the new area is the upscale restaurant The Grove, founded by Robert Del Grande, who opened Café Annie in Houston 25 years ago.

“It’s a huge deal,” Brown said, calling The Grove a “destination restaurant.”

There is also a bar associated with it called the Treehouse, which has a separate entrance upstairs.

Brown said the outdoor seating makes it special.

“You can literally reach up and touch branches of trees,” she said.

If you’re planning a trip, the weekend of May 10 would be a good one to shoot for, when the Art Car Parade rolls through town. The event features more than 250,000 spectators witness to people’s outlandish car creations. Usually there are at least 250 cars in the event, with entries from more than 20 states and even some from Canada.