Galveston
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📷 TheAustinMan· CC BY-SA 3.0Welcome to Galveston | Bienvenido a Galveston (English | Spanish)
About
Galveston is a resort city and port on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It encompasses 211.31 square miles (547.3 km2) on Galveston Island and Pelican Island. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 53,695, making it the second-largest municipality in Galveston County, where it also serves as the county seat. Located at the southern end of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, Galveston sits on the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Wikipedia →Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Galveston, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.
Why visit
Galveston is the easy island escape from Houston; broad Gulf beaches, the Pleasure Pier amusement park, the historic Strand for shopping and Mardi Gras crowds (huge here), and Moody Gardens' rainforest pyramid. Walk the Bishop's Palace, Ashton Villa, and the East End mansions for Gilded Age architecture. Spring (March to May) and fall (September to October) are best; warm but not punishing, and the seas are calmer.
When to avoid
June through November is hurricane season; watch forecasts and don't book unrefundable trips during peak (August to October). Mid-summer beach water can be brown from Mississippi outflow and Sargassum-strewn. The seawall traffic is brutal on weekends. Many waterfront hotels look better online than in person; pick the East End or West Beach for nicer stays.
Hot humid summer
From June through September Galveston turns sticky and tropical; daytime highs of 31 to 33°C with humidity often above 80%, warm Gulf water (29°C), and afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricane season runs through November with peak activity August to October. Sea breezes off the Gulf temper the worst of it; locals head to the water early and again at sunset. Mosquitoes are aggressive at dusk; bring repellent.
Mild rainy winter
From December through February Galveston stays mild but damp; daytime highs of 16 to 18°C, nights down to 8 to 10°C, with frequent gray drizzle and occasional cold-front blasts that drop temperatures into the single digits for a day. Snow is essentially unheard of. The seawall is wonderfully empty, the historic district peaceful, and Mardi Gras (February) brings the city back to life with parades and parties.
The next week in Galveston
7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).
Today
Overcast
28° / 23°
UV Very high
Sat
Overcast
28° / 22°
UV High
Sun
Drizzle
26° / 24°
1.6 mm
UV High
Mon
Thunderstorm
27° / 26°
1.1 mm
UV High
Tue
Thunderstorm
27° / 26°
UV Very high
Wed
Drizzle
27° / 24°
2.4 mm
UV Moderate
In May 16
JFMAMJJASOND
Air quality
No monitoring station within 25 km.
Weather
35° / 10°
Typical high / low
4 mm rainfall this month
Daylight
13.6h
06:27 – 20:03local
Year-round climate
Monthly highs, lows, and rainfall (long-term averages, NASA POWER).
Airports near Galveston
2 commercial airports within 100 km. Closest is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) at 60 km.
Getting around Galveston
Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.
Local transit operators
AmtrakFlixbusB MetroGalveston Island TransitGreyhoundTornado BusRedCoachOmnibus ExpressGulf Coast Transit District
Operators and modes aggregated by TransitLand from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications (subway / tram / rail / bus / etc) come from each feed’s GTFS route_type codes.
Sister cities
Sources
This page blends public reference data, climate/elevation services, and personal notes. Travel requirements can change, so visa and entry details should be checked again before booking.
- Wikipedia →
Summary, canonical article, and some image fallbacks.
- Wikidata →
Population, area, image, coordinates, and linked identifiers where available.
- NASA POWER →
Monthly temperature and rainfall climatology.
- Open-Meteo historical weather →
1991-2020 temperature and precipitation cross-check for compact climate fields.
- Open-Elevation →
Coordinate-based elevation backfill.
- tz database →
Coordinate-based IANA timezone lookup.
- City flag source →
Public domain, Unknown authorUnknown author.
- Site credits →
Global source notes, map tiles, flags, licenses, and attribution policy.