Ice at the Galleria, Houston

As mall patrons pass bearing shopping bags and food court treats, skaters sail across a blanket of ice in a rink that has rested on the ground level of the Galleria for more than 30 years. Olympian ice skater Evan Lysacek noted in his 2011 article, 10 Great Places to Ice Skate in the USA, the awe-inducing sights granted by the towering atrium above the rink, a feature that gives the confines a spacious feel. The frozen pond offers skaters weekend jam sessions with a live DJ, and enables nonskaters to watch the twirling action from platforms located on the second story.