Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth
the Texas Rangers play ball at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
Look for S to find recommended sights, activities, dining, and lodging.
S Sixth Floor Museum: Informative exhibits and intriguing artifacts tell the story of John F. Kennedy’s powerful political career and his family’s version of Camelot (click here).
S Perot Museum of Nature and Science: The stunning architectural design gets your attention while state-of-the-art scientific displays and interactive activities leave you amazed (click here).
S Mesquite Championship Rodeo: Top riders competing in classic events like bareback riding, team roping, bull riding, cowgirl barrel racing, saddle bronco riding, and steer wrestling (click here).
S Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District: The Stockyards now primarily serve as a cultural attraction, complete with saloons, historical museums, boutiques, a rodeo arena, and even some genuine livestock activity (click here).
S The Kimbell Art Museum: One of the finest art museums of its kind in the country, The Kimbell is brimming with significant and intriguing works of art from European classics to modern masters (click here).
S The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth: Stunning for its building alone, The Modern is a remarkable structure featuring more than 2,600 works of international modern art (click here).
S Billy Bob’s Texas: “The world’s largest honky-tonk,” boasts three acres of interior space featuring a ring for live (not mechanical) bull riding, oversize dance floor, an arcade and casino games, and 32 individual drink stations (click here).
S Downtown Denton: Courthouse square has become a destination—locals and visitors gravitate here to play on the lush tree-lined grounds, grab a bite at a trendy café, or enjoy local craft beer (click here).
S Dinosaur Valley State Park: This park features 100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in its limestone riverbeds (click here).
The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex packs a powerful one-two punch. These two heavyweight cities embody two sides of Texas: the Southern-fried glitzy lifestyle and the Wild West cattle-driving culture, respectively.
This perfect combination of uniquely Texas elements makes the Metroplex an ideal place to kick off a journey to the Lone Star State. Visitors can immerse themselves in all things Texas and have themselves a good ol’ time in the process. Stop by the Stockyards. Do the Dallas TV show museum. Buy those boots, hats, and belt buckles. And be sure to load up on the trinity of Texas cuisine—barbecue, Tex-Mex, and down-home Southern cookin’—at any of the dozens of top-notch restaurants throughout Dallas and Fort Worth. After soaking up the Metroplex, discover the genuine charm of the area’s outlying communities. Magnificent courthouses anchor downtown squares, which offer distinct Texas antiques, refurbished historic theaters, and perfect pecan pies.
Daily weather reports remind North Texans they’re still firmly planted on the southern edge of the Great Plains. Summertime highs regularly reach triple digits, and winters often bring subfreezing temperatures and snowstorms.
Fortunately, Texas’s version of the Twin Cities offers plenty of diversions from the weather. World-class art museums, professional sports teams, rodeos, and shopping are first-class attractions in the Metroplex, and side trips to charming nearby towns such as Waxahachie and Denton reveal the community spirit that migrated to the area with its proud pioneers. The region’s 30-plus lakes offer additional sources of entertainment and respite, an inviting option on a hot summer day.
The towering twin metro cities have cemented their reputations—Dallas as a financial hub of the South, and Fort Worth as an agricultural center of the West. Though the two are only separated by about 35 miles, their cultural differences are extensive, offering travelers to this region the best of both worlds: glitz and grit, The Big D and Cowtown, the Old South and the Wild West.
To get a true sense of the intriguing differences between Dallas and Fort Worth, plan to spend at least three or four days in the Metroplex; toss in another couple of days for side trips to nearby communities.
Dallas is a good place to start, and its downtown is a perfect jumping-off point. Spend the morning in the busy historic commercial district—check out the art deco skyscrapers and the original Neiman Marcus store—and use the afternoon to soak up local history in the West End district, including the essential Sixth Floor Museum. Afterward, drop by the Greenville entertainment district for dinner, clubbing, or live music.
Spend the following day absorbing Dallas culture at Fair Park and the Dallas Arts District. Fair Park, just a few minutes east of downtown, is home to several museums and the enormous State Fair of Texas each October. The arts district, meanwhile, features the must-see Dallas Museum of Art and several other notable cultural attractions.
If you have kids or are just playful by nature, plan to spend a day between Dallas and Fort Worth in Arlington, home to several amusement parks (the legendary Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor), Cowboys Stadium, and the Rangers’ Globe Life Park in Arlington.
The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District is an essential stop for any Texas traveler. Spend half a day absorbing the sights, sounds, and even the smells of the Livestock Exchange, Cowtown Coliseum, and Stockyards Museum. Plan to spend an entire day in the Fort Worth Cultural District, which includes the world-class Kimbell Art Museum as well as other essential attractions such as the Amon Carter Museum, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. If you still have time, visit the impressive Fort Worth Zoo.
Dallas’s sprawl has more in common with California cities than it does with fellow Texas metro areas like Houston. The outer-ring suburbs like Plano, Frisco, and Grand Prairie have become large cities unto themselves, with populations often surpassing Texas’s established mid-sized cities like Amarillo, Waco, and Laredo. Fortunately, most of Dallas’s cultural attractions and notable restaurants are centrally located—the following entries will help travelers get a lay of the land while exploring the central city.
For the most part, this is where the action is for travelers during the day. Downtown encompasses the arts district, JFK-related sites in the West End Historic District, and the major urban hotels and restaurants in the Main Street District. This is the best place to start making lodging arrangements, since the historic hotels are reasonably affordable and many cultural attractions are within walking distance. Much of downtown is quiet at night, which is good news for those who want to get a peaceful night of sleep or are traveling with children. However, if you’re looking to do some pub-crawling, the West End offers plenty of nightlife options.
Just east of downtown, Deep Ellum has undergone several changes in recent years. After having been an ultratrendy hipster district in the 1990s, most of its notable live music venues closed in the mid-2000s; the district became sketchy before experiencing a recent mini resurgence in reopened music clubs and restaurants. Regardless of the destination, there’s definitely an appeal to the area’s local history, evident in the architecture and signage reflecting its heritage as an African American hub of business and entertainment in the 1920s. The name Deep Ellum is attributed to the then-locals’ pronunciation of the words deep elm.
Just northeast of downtown are the Uptown and Oak Lawn neighborhoods, known primarily for their eclectic art galleries and architecture. Vintage streetcars along McKinney Avenue add to the charm. The area features a fascinating blend of historic mansions and ultramodern high-rise condos. Shopping and nightlife are big draws in Uptown’s West Village, and the Oak Lawn area is known for its scenic views along Turtle Creek, trendy gay bars, and chic restaurants.
One of Dallas’s most popular destinations for nightlife is Greenville Avenue, paralleling Central Expressway (U.S. 75). Just north of downtown and east of the Southern Methodist University campus, the district is referred to by locals as Upper Greenville and Lower Greenville (Mockingbird Lane is the dividing line).
Known for its high-end homes and residents, the Park Cities area (Highland Park and University Park) in north Dallas is the most exclusive part of town. Opulence exudes from the mansions and luxury hotels, making it an interesting destination for those who like to ogle the elite lifestyle through car windows. The tony Southern Methodist University to the east is home to George W. Bush’s presidential museum and library.
Since Fort Worth is much smaller than Dallas, its noteworthy neighborhoods and travel-related districts are within several miles of each other in the downtown area. Its comfortable environs also mean there aren’t any supersize suburbs looming on the outskirts of town. Visitors should consider getting a hotel near the Cultural District, since most of the city’s major attractions are concentrated there. That being said, historic Stockyards lodging is far more unique to Fort Worth (albeit slightly removed from the other travel destinations).
It has this name for a reason—Fort Worth culture takes center stage in this west-end district, from prestigious (Kimbell Art Museum) to contemporary (The Modern) to Western (Amon Carter Museum, Cowgirl Museum) to family (Science Museum). Plan to spend at least two days exploring this part of the city.
Just down the road from the Cultural District is Camp Bowie Boulevard, where most visitors grab a bite to eat between museum explorations. This historic roadway features more than 30 blocks of red-brick streets leading to shopping boutiques and some of the city’s most famous eateries, including Kincaid’s Hamburgers and Blue Bonnet Bakery.
Nothing says Fort Worth (or Texas) like a district dedicated entirely to cattle. The Stockyards, two miles north of downtown in a heritage village-type atmosphere, represent the heart of Fort Worth’s cultural history. Despite some touristy elements (Western-themed trinket shops, longhorn cattle photo ops), the Stockyards offer visitors a true sense of what the Wild West was like back in its heyday more than a century ago.
The 20-block Sundance Square district in the heart of downtown is filled with restaurants, theaters, art galleries, museums, specialty boutiques, and nightlife. The area is named for the Sundance Kid, who, along with fellow legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy, once hid out in Fort Worth. Most of Sundance Square’s remaining buildings, brick streets, and courtyards from the late 1800s have been restored, offering a glimpse into the city’s Wild West past in the shadow of its high-rise present.
the famous Chisholm Trail Mural by Richard Haas in Sundance Square
There are plenty of resources available to help make a trip to the Metroplex area hassle free. It may seem daunting to tackle the country’s sixth-largest city, but Dallas has several excellent information centers nearby where visitors can inquire about directions, equipment rental, and other travel-related assistance. Likewise, the region’s outlying smaller communities have visitors centers offering maps and advice for navigating rural areas.
A handy website to bookmark and phone number to mark down is Travelers Aid Dallas/Fort Worth (www.travelersaidfw.org, 972/973-4420). Rather than providing tips about where to go and how to get there, this service offers specific information about travel-related issues such as foreign-language translation, car seat rental, military assistance, crisis counseling, and emergency travel assistance. If you’re arriving by air, you may also want to jot down the info for DFW Airport Visitor Information (www.dfwairport.com, 972/574-3694), which provides information about transportation options from the airport and directions to Metroplex-area accommodations and attractions. For international travelers, the DFW Airport has a useful 24-hour foreign-exchange machine that handles 20 different currencies. Detailed information is available at 972/574-4754. Also, the Texas Department of Transportation provides emergency road condition information and suggested road-trip routing at www.txdot.gov and 800/452-9292.
For those who wish to drop by a facility and speak with someone face-to-face, there are several visitors centers throughout North Texas offering detailed maps, brochures, and local know-how about specific travel services in the area. Two of the most comprehensive services for travel in North Texas are located in small surrounding communities. They are the Dallas/Fort Worth Area Tourism Council (701 S. Main St., Grapevine, 817/329-2438, www.dfwandbeyond.com) and the Texas Historical Commission’s Lakes Trail Region office (116 W. Bridge St., Granbury, 817/573-1114, www.texaslakestrail.com).
Other North Texas travel centers focusing on specific cities include the Dallas Tourism Information Center (100 Houston St., in Dallas, 800/232-5527, www.tourtexas.com/dallas) and the Fort Worth Visitors Center (130 Exchange St., in the Fort Worth Stockyards, 817/624-4741, www.fortworth.com).
Texas is the land of wide-open spaces, so cars are the primary mode of transport. For those traveling to the Metroplex by auto from Houston, I-45 is the only major path. It’s a circa 250-mile drive, which means about 3.5 hours on weekends. The drive up I-35 from Austin is slightly closer (200 miles away), and shorter (about 3 hours on weekends). Add another 90 miles/minutes for San Antonio.
During the week, drivers should factor additional time (up to an hour) due to commuter traffic. Dallas has a (somewhat incomplete) loop, consisting of I-635 to the north and east, which morphs into I-20 to the south. Westward traffic to Fort Worth uses I-30 or I-20. The other major freeways in Dallas are I-35 (north-south) and Central Expressway (U.S. 75), which whizzes commuters northward, occasionally via subterranean methods, to the mega suburbs like Plano and Richardson.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (972/973-3112, www.dfwairport.com) is the world’s fourth-busiest passenger airport in operations and serves nearly 158,000 passengers daily going to more than 200 worldwide destinations. The city’s old airport now houses Southwest Airlines’ Love Field Airport (214/670-6080, www.dallaslovefield.com). It’s not nearly as overwhelming as DFW, but its smaller size also means fewer flight options are available. Also, the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport (940/855-3621, www.flywichitafalls.net), a joint military/civilian endeavor, is served by American Eagle, with four flights daily to DFW Airport.
Since the Metroplex is so spread out, renting a car is usually the best option to maximize flexibility while traveling. However, despite being newer Southern cities, Dallas and Fort Worth both have surprisingly popular and well-designed public transportation systems that cater mainly to commuters but offer visitor services as well. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit system (214/979-1111, www.DART.org) dashes among 13 area communities with rail, bus, and rideshare services. DART has a line to the DFW International Airport and also to Fort Worth via the Trinity Railway Express (T). Single-ride tickets are generally less than $5. The Fort Worth Transportation Authority (817/215-8600, www.the-t.com) provides transportation to the Stockyards and the Cultural District, with access to Dallas via the T.
Dallas (population 1,300,092) prospered and declined at different times compared to most other major U.S. cities, and its downtown buildings reflect these fluctuations. In the course of a single city block you’ll find everything from late 19th-century commercial structures to Classical Revival buildings to art deco office towers to 1950s modern architecture. Many of Dallas’s significant historical events occurred in the mid-20th century, evident in the locales associated with John F. Kennedy’s assassination and in Fair Park’s stunning edifices.
Downtown Dallas’s first transformation occurred in the late 1800s when the city became an increasingly important financial center. Intersecting railroads brought business to and from the city, and Dallas’s cotton exchange and agricultural equipment manufacturers added to the city’s growth. The city’s distinctive historic architecture is displayed in its buildings from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, which brought more than 50 new art deco structures to Fair Park as well as world-renowned science exhibits, music, and attractions for millions of visitors to experience. Dallas also has the distinction of introducing the convenience store to suburban America, with the Oak Cliff area south of downtown spawning the 7-Eleven chain (it offered milk and eggs on Sundays and evenings, when most grocery stores were closed).
The city is still often remembered as the site of John F. Kennedy’s shocking assassination on November 22, 1963, when shots were fired at the president’s motorcade in Dealey Plaza. The ramifications of the fatal gunshots would last for decades, as politicians and citizens deliberated over details while forming and debunking countless assassination conspiracy theories. Add to that the Dallas Cowboys and all the hoopla surrounding home games and the famous Dallas TV show, and the result is a fascinatingly diverse Southern city that Texas is proud to call its own.
TOP EXPERIENCE
The most-visited heritage attraction in North Texas is the Sixth Floor Museum (411 Elm St., 214/747-6660, www.jfk.org, Mon. noon-6pm, Tues.-Sun., 10am-6pm, $16 adults, $14 seniors and children ages 6-18). The museum is dedicated to the life, death, and legacy of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States. Upon entering the facility, visitors confront a dramatic quote from JFK: “History, after all, is the memory of a nation.” The museum proceeds to jog those memories with exhibits, artifacts, and films providing a slice of American life in the early 1960s and the subsequent impact of JFK’s assassination. The most intense and sobering area of the museum is the spot near the 6th-floor window where the fatal shots were allegedly fired. The area remains in its original setting as the school book depository, and its Plexiglas enclosure provides a somewhat creepy window to the afternoon of November 22, 1963. By the time most visitors leave, they’ve come away with a sense of how the world was affected by the actions in the building on that day, and ideally they’ve captured the spirit of Kennedy’s life to use in a positive way. Note: The museum offers an advance ticket entry option on its website, so consider reserving a spot ahead of time to avoid the occasional long lines.
One of the newest sites to lure visitors to Dallas is the impressive George W. Bush Presidential Center (2943 SMU Blvd., 214/200-4303, www.bushcenter.org, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm, $16 adults, $14 youth ages 13-17, $10 military and children ages 5-11) on the eastern edge of the Southern Methodist University campus. Opened to the public in May 2013, the center (sometimes referred to as the Bush Library) is dedicated to W’s life and presidency. Although the museum is recommended mostly for fans of the 43rd president, it’s still worth visiting as a cultural attraction. The innovative and effective use of video is notable—the ubiquitous coverage of the events of his presidency on 24-hour news channels at the time provides some compelling footage. The 9/11-related exhibits are undeniably powerful and emotional, and little details will put smiles on even the most cynical faces (e.g., a spirited written exchange between Bush and Bono, and a video montage of “the lighter moments of a presidency” hosted by the First Daughters). Other highlights include a full-scale Oval Office replica with a desk that visitors can pose behind for a photo, a giant-screened theater, and artifacts such as the gun that was found on Saddam Hussein upon his capture. Visitors are also encouraged to experience the challenges Bush faced as “the decider” by participating in an interactive activity called Decision Points, where they can use a sliding scale to indicate how much they agree with the expert advice being offered to the president. It’s an interesting and engaging way to consider the many disparate choices a president faces on a daily basis.
Another one of Dallas’s more recent cultural attractions is the compelling Perot Museum of Nature and Science (2201 N. Field St., 214/428-5555, www.perotmuseum.org, Mon.-Sat. 10am-7pm, Sun. noon-5pm, $19 adults, $13 seniors, $12 youth ages 2-17). The first thing visitors notice about the Perot is its stunning architectural design, a thoroughly modern structure with several jarring features (a glass rectangle affixed to the exterior wall, undulating wavelike patterns in the concrete exterior). The bold architecture is the work of Thom Mayne, who also designed a 54-foot, continuous-flow escalator with a dramatic window extending outside the building.
the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
The facility offers five floors with 11 permanent exhibit halls. The museum’s collection includes state-of-the-art learning kiosks and hands-on activities, and there are regular traveling exhibits offering hands-on ways to learn about scientific evidence, mathematical concepts, and natural history. This is the kind of museum that demands repeated visits due to the overwhelming number of exhibits and features, so don’t knock yourself out trying to experience everything in an afternoon. Instead, choose a couple areas of interest and focus your time there. For example, the natural science floor offers dinosaur fossils and fascinating exhibits dedicated to birds, including a flying game and a hawk’s-eye view. The science section provides areas for learning about physics via Legos, sound waves via musical instruments, and electricity via a circuit board. Consider devoting some extra time to the displays about the solar system and universe, and the exhibits dedicated to playing with light.
Fair Park (www.fairpark.org) makes things easy for visitors by concentrating its diverse and fascinating mix of museums, exhibit halls, parks, plazas, sports facilities, theaters, parking lots, and livestock facilities in one 300-acre complex. Fair Park was the site of the grand 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition, and it’s best known for its 100-plus years as the site of the gigantic State Fair of Texas each October. For those visiting Dallas any other time of the year, Fair Park still has plenty of entertaining attractions. The park’s centerpiece is the stunning Hall of State (3939 Grand Ave., 214/421-4500, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm, free), a National Historic Landmark building offering Texas history exhibits along with tours and stage performances providing additional insight into this remarkable art deco structure. Also on the grounds is the 1930 Cotton Bowl, the legendary stadium that served as the first home of the Dallas Cowboys and currently hosts the Cotton Bowl Classic and highly anticipated “Red River Rivalry”—the traditional University of Texas vs. University of Oklahoma football game each October (unless Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lures it to his team’s stadium). Of the museums in the Fair Park complex, the following are most notable.
the magnificent Hall of State in Dallas’s Fair Park
Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park (1462 First Ave., 469/554-7340, www.oceansofadventure.org, daily 9am-4:30pm, $8 adults, $6 seniors and children ages 3-11) houses thousands of aquatic animals selected with kids in mind, including marine and freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates, in its original art deco building from the Texas Centennial. The aquarium features a good sampling of some of the world’s more bizarre aquatic animals, such as the “fishing” anglerfish, poisonous stonefish, albino alligators, and species from popular movies and books. Kids and adults will also enjoy the daily fish feedings at Stingray Bay, where they can interact with rays and small sharks.
Texas Discovery Gardens (3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 214/428-7476, www.texasdiscoverygardens.org, daily 10am-5pm, $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 children ages 3-11) strives to teach ways to conserve nature in urban environments with a focus on sustainable and organic gardening. The site’s 7.5 acres includes the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium, where guests can meander down a canopy walkway as they view hundreds of free-flying tropical butterflies and plants.
The African American Museum (3536 Grand Ave., 214/565-9026, www.aamdallas.org, Tues.-Fri. 11am-5pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, free) showcases African American artistic, cultural, and historical materials and features one of the largest African American folk art collections in the United States. The 38,000-square-foot structure is made of ivory stone and built in the shape of a cross. To evoke preindustrialized cultures of the African continent, the museum uses natural materials and design motifs throughout the building. Four galleries feature the cultural heritage of African American art and history along with a research library, theater, studio arts area, and classrooms. The museum’s permanent collections include African art, African American fine art, and historical and political archives.
Just a block from the Texas Discovery Gardens on the edge of Fair Park is the South Dallas Cultural Center (3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave., 214/939-2787, group tours 214/671-0058, Tues.-Fri. 1pm-9pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, free). The 18,000-square-foot center bills itself as “an Afro-centric venue that provides instruction and enrichment in the performing, literary, media, and visual arts.” Its programs and facilities showcase African culture through resources such as a visual arts gallery, 100-seat black box theater, studios for dance, arts, and photography, a digital recording studio, and a video production studio. Public tours of the South Dallas Cultural Center are available to small groups with advance appointment. The tours are free; however, donations are encouraged.
To experience the State Fair of Texas’s sacred trinity, you’ll need to (1) eat a corny dog while (2) watching the University of Texas vs. University of Oklahoma football game in the shadow of (3) Big Tex. Throw in some fried Twinkies and the country’s tallest Ferris wheel, and you have a cultural legacy befitting the Lone Star State.
Big Tex welcomes visitors to the State Fair.
This venerable autumn event—usually held the first three weeks of October—has been a Texas tradition since 1886, and during that time, it has experienced as many ups and downs as the old Comet roller coaster.
One of the highest peaks was in 1936, when Fair Park served as the site of Texas’s mammoth state centennial celebration, featuring science exhibits with items made from a crazy new product called “plastic.” The event’s edible fare is another custom, with bizarre fried items like cookies, candy bars, and even ice cream drawing people to brazenly sample the newest concoction.
For many, Big Tex is the ultimate representative of the State Fair of Texas. Brought on board in 1952, the big fella is a 52-foot-tall mechanical cowboy figure at the entrance of Fair Park who welcomes visitors with a huge “Howdy, folks!” Big Tex was originally a Santa Claus in Kerens, Texas, and was purchased for $750. After being outfitted with size 70 boots and a 75-gallon hat, Big Tex was transformed into the beloved Texas-size ambassador for the State Fair of Texas. In 2012, Big Tex caught on fire (the dramatic photos are still easy to find online), but he was replaced with a bigger, better (fire-resistant) version.
For the past decade or so, the fair has become best known for its featured fried food. Each year, vendors try to top previous experiments by introducing something even more outrageous than before. The additions have included fried Snickers, fried bacon, fried cola, and fried beer. Yum!
Bound by Elm, Market, Commerce, and Houston Streets, this area is actually divided into two separate parts: Founders Plaza and the Kennedy Memorial Plaza. Founders Plaza contains an open area with several historical monuments and a reconstruction of Dallas founder John Neely Bryan’s original log cabin. The Kennedy Memorial Plaza houses an unusual concrete structure surrounding a small JFK monument. Dallas residents tend to have a love/hate relationship with the structure, and each viewer interprets its meaning and value differently.
One of Dallas’s most beloved buildings stands on the western end of the Kennedy plaza: “Old Red,” the 70,580-square-foot 1892 Romanesque-style Dallas County Courthouse. The enormous and stately building served a variety of public functions throughout the 1900s, but efficiency concerns resulted in several remodelings. Old Red has been undergoing restoration for many years and reopened as the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture (100 S. Houston St., 214/757-1914, www.oldred.org, daily 9am-5pm, $10 adults, $8 students/seniors, $7 children ages 3-16). Its mission is to “inspire and educate visitors about the rich and varied cultural, economic, political and social history of the Dallas County area.”
The city’s crown jewel of cultural museums is the Dallas Museum of Art (1717 N. Harwood, 214/922-1200, www.dma.org, Tues.-Wed. and Fri.-Sun. 11am-5pm, Thurs. 11am-9pm, free), containing more than 24,000 works of world-class international art, from ancient to modern times. Anchoring the city’s arts district, the museum covers a lot of ground, from prehistoric Latin American ceramics and sculpture to work from contemporary artists such as Jackson Pollock and Tatsuo Miyajima. The museum’s highlight is its remarkable collection of European and impressionist art by Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Monet. Also of note is the facility’s impressive artwork from Africa, Asia, and the ancient Mediterranean, as well as the outdoor sculpture garden with water walls and contemporary benches. Make a point of visiting the museum’s Decorative Arts Wing, which features a re-created Mediterranean villa with lavish furniture and silver furnishings sharing space with masterpieces by Cézanne and Van Gogh. The museum also contains the Center for Creative Connections, an interactive space that engages visitors in the creative process by experiencing works of art in a more direct way.
Providing a downtown urban oasis of art and nature in the arts district is the impressive Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora St., 214/242-5100, www.nashersculpturecenter.org, Tues.-Sun. 11am-5pm, $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students, free on first Sat. and for members and children under 5). Directly across from the Dallas Museum of Art, the facility includes an elegant 54,000-square-foot building by architect Renzo Piano (known for designing Paris’s Georges Pompidou Center) featuring the contemporary art collection of philanthropist and collector Raymond Nasher. It’s worth making the trip to experience the stunning two-acre sculpture garden, created by landscape architect Peter Walker. The open-air environment offers a distinctive museum experience featuring internationally acclaimed artwork. The Nasher Collection is considered one of the primary collections of contemporary 20th-century sculpture in the world and is comprised of hundreds of works by internationally acclaimed artists. The facility is particularly proud of the depth of perspective it provides for prominent artists such as Henri Matisse (11 sculptures), Pablo Picasso (7), Raymond Duchamp-Villon (7), and Joan Miró (4).
The hit TV show Dallas, which became a worldwide phenomenon in the late 1970s and early 1980s, spawned an equally popular spectacle when tours opened at the show’s filming location, the mythical Southfork Ranch (3700 Hogge Rd., Parker, 972/442-7800, www.southforkranch.com, daily 9am-5pm, $15 adults, $13 seniors, $9 children ages 5-12). Thanks to international syndication, Dallas became synonymous with the state of Texas for millions of people around the globe. Whether this did more to help or hurt Texas’s reputation remains a topic of debate, but there’s no underestimating the pop culture marvel the show became. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that hordes of fans descend on Southfork annually to tour the famous Ewing Mansion and view memorabilia such as the gun that shot J. R., Lucy’s wedding dress, and Jock Ewing’s Lincoln Continental. From U.S. Highway 75 North, take exit 30 and drive east on FM 2514/Parker Road for six miles; turn right onto FM 2551 (Hogge Rd.) and look for the sign on the left.
On the southern edge of downtown, Dallas Heritage Village (1515 S. Harwood St., 214/421-5141, www.dallasheritagevillage.org, Tues.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. noon-4pm, $9 adults, $7 seniors, $5 children ages 4-12) is an outdoor museum devoted to the turn-of-the-20th-century’s architectural and cultural history. The heritage village is a living-history museum, meaning visitors will encounter people (employees) dressed in period costume discussing the significance of the structures or the time period they represent. Through these interpreters and by soaking up the surrounding scenery, visitors learn about North Texas life from roughly 1840 through 1910. The museum features 38 restored historic structures including Victorian homes, an antebellum mansion, a train depot, a barbershop, a school, a church, and several commercial buildings. The village sits on 13 wooded acres, which feel eerily uninhabited on slow days, and hosts events for children (summer camps, blacksmithing, theatrical performances, animal visits). There are also picnic areas and walking trails.
The Meadows Museum (Southern Methodist University campus, 5900 Bishop Blvd., 214/768-2516, www.meadowsmuseumdallas.org, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm, $12 adults, $8 seniors, $4 students) is best known for its enormous and impressive collection of Spanish art. The artwork and galleries were a gift to SMU from prominent Dallas businessman Algur Meadows, founder of the General American Oil Company of Texas. The museum includes work from the 15th through 20th centuries by some of the world’s foremost painters (who also happen to be Spanish), including El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Miró, and Picasso. The vast number of works by Goya is particularly noteworthy, as is the museum’s collection of 20th-century sculpture. Of note: The museum offers free admission on Thursday 5pm-8pm.
Although the Dallas Zoo (650 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway/I-35E, 469/554-7500, www.dallaszoo.com, daily 9am-4pm, $15 adults, $12 seniors and children ages 3-11, parking $8 per car) doesn’t have the same top-notch reputation as the Fort Worth Zoo, it’s still worth visiting. Beginning with the enormous giraffe sculpture at the front gate, it’s clear the zoo’s focus is on African animals, and they do a good job bringing the continent to life in their Giants of the Savanna and Wilds of Africa exhibits. Divided by geographical habitat, the Africa area features jungles of monkeys and gorillas (be sure to check out the gorilla conservation center). A monorail ride through woodland, river, and desert regions of the continent provides glimpses of wildebeests, gazelles, and many different bird species. Other areas of the zoo offer up close views of big cats, elephants, kangaroos, and reptiles, and there’s a special treat for those who’ve always wanted to ride a camel—camel rides! The children’s zoo is worth visiting if you have little ones in tow.
Not to be confused with the Dallas Aquarium in Fair Park, the Dallas World Aquarium (1801 N. Griffin St., 214/720-2224, www.dwazoo.com, daily 10am-5pm, $20.95 adults, $16.95 seniors, $14.95 children ages 2-12) is an interesting combination of aquarium and zoo, with monkeys scurrying overhead and sharks lurking nearby. Exotic plants and creatures from around the world add to the sense of being transported to another habitat, especially in the Orinoco—Secrets of the River rainforest exhibit with birds, bats, and reptiles in the company of a 40-foot waterfall. The aquarium’s highlight is a 22,000-gallon tunnel with a panoramic view of underwater reef life from the Continental Shelf. Be sure to attend a feeding event (schedules available at admission) or experience a colorful show by the Mayan Performance Troupe (seven times daily on weekends).
Overlooking scenic White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum (8525 Garland Rd., 214/515-6500, www.dallasarboretum.org, daily 9am-5pm, $15 adults, $12 seniors, $10 children ages 3-12) offers 66 acres of scenic grounds containing floral, herbal, and vegetable gardens. It’s particularly fetching March-May when the grounds have an iridescent green glow peppered by floral bursts of red, yellow, and white. Although spring is the best time of year for the vegetation, any season is a good time to escape the hustle, bustle, and concrete of urban life for the arboretum’s oasis of nature and peace. Also on-site are the Spanish colonial-style DeGolyer mansion and museum as well as the Camp Estate, both of which feature 17th- and 18th-century art and furniture.
Designed by noted architect Ricardo Legorreta, the Latino Cultural Center (2600 Live Oak, 214/671-0045, www.dallasculture.org, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, admission required for some events) is worth visiting for the building itself. Although the 27,000-square-foot facility doesn’t offer any large-scale exhibits, it includes a gallery dedicated to Latino art and a courtyard featuring sculptures from international and local artists. The center also has a 300-seat theater that hosts occasional cultural performances, and rooms are available for readings, workshops, lectures, and meetings related to Latino culture. Check the website for event listings.
Located at Dallas Love Field, the Frontiers of Flight Museum (6911 Lemmon Ave., 214/350-3600, www.flightmuseum.com, Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm, $10 adults, $8 children ages 3-17) features aircraft from roughly the past 100 years. The museum covers everything from early aircraft of the 1920s to jets and rockets of the first decade of the new millennium. Of particular interest is the Lighter than Air exhibit, which pays homage to the zeppelins and giant blimps of the past.
The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center (2301 Flora St., 214/670-3600, www.dallassymphony.com) in the Dallas Arts District is the city’s premier venue for the performing arts. In addition to housing the prestigious Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the impressive facility, with an auditorium designed by world-renowned architect I. M. Pei, also hosts touring shows for the cultured crowd, including a pops concert series and adult contemporary artists.
Another of the city’s highly respected performing arts organizations is the Dallas Opera (2403 Flora St., 214/443-1043, www.dallasopera.org), which performs its work at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The company, which performs several high-profile operas each year, has also presented many international stars in their American debuts, including Dame Joan Sutherland and Plácido Domingo.
The ornate Majestic Theatre (1925 Elm St., 214/670-3687, www.liveatthemajestic.com) is a 1921 vaudeville-era gem near the heart of downtown. The 1,700-seat Majestic stages national and local musical productions, dramatic plays, comedy shows, and concerts.
Nightlife in Dallas is a big ol’ happenin’ scene, and there are plenty of bars, dance clubs, and live music venues for any type of crowd. From Texas chic to student hangouts to gay bars, nightlife is one of the few cultural experiences in the Metroplex that’s far superior in Dallas than in Fort Worth. Like most happening entertainment centers, the bars and clubs in Dallas switch names and ownership quicker than a socialite changes trendy sunglasses, so be sure to consult the Dallas Observer (the city’s alternative weekly, published every Thursday) to keep up to speed on the latest developments in club names and trends.
One of the city’s consistently reliable nightlife areas is along Greenville Avenue paralleling Central Expressway (U.S. Hwy. 75). Just north of downtown near the Southern Methodist University campus, the district is referred to by locals as Upper Greenville and Lower Greenville (Mockingbird Lane is the dividing line). Both have essentially the same offerings, though Lower Greenville has a slightly more concentrated area of taverns, making it a better choice for facilitated barhopping or ale sipping.
Lower Greenville is anchored by the Granada Theater (3524 Greenville Ave., 214/824-9933, www.granadatheater.com), a 1930s movie venue featuring live music, better-than-average food, and occasional special events such as Dallas Mavericks playoff games projected on the big screen. Other options include grabbing a pint and some steak fries down the road at the Libertine Bar (2101 Greenville Ave., 214/824-7900, www.libertinebar.com) or comfy nearby pub Dubliner (2818 Greenville Ave., 214/818-0911, www.dallasdubliner.com).
The Granada Theater anchors the Lower Greenville area.
Upper Greenville (extending north of Mockingbird to I-635/LBJ Freeway) is also worth checking out, especially if you’re up for grabbing a beer in a comfortable environment where college kids tend to gravitate. The best of the bunch are just off Greenville on Yale and Dyer Streets. Milo Butterfinger’s (5645 Yale Blvd., 214/363-0660, www.milobutterfingers.com) features an impressive selection of draft brews, and the Ozona Bar & Grille (4615 Greenville Ave., 214/265-9105, www.ozonagrill.com) offers a comfy beer garden to kick back in and enjoy a cold one.
Although Deep Ellum was ultratrendy in the 1990s—a hipster district teeming with alternative-music venues and edgy nightclubs—the area has undergone several changes in recent years. After most of the notable live music venues closed in the mid-2000s, the district became pretty sketchy before experiencing a recent mini resurgence in reopened music clubs.
For live music, Deep Ellum’s stalwart is the Sons of Hermann Hall (3414 Elm St., 214/747-4422, www.sonsofhermann.com, Wed.-Sat.), a remarkable historic building that oozes character while Texas artists perform roots and country music on stage.
The biggest news to hit Deep Ellum in recent years was the somewhat-surprising reopening of former legendary nightclub Trees (2709 Elm St., 214/741-1122, www.treesdallas.com). Adding some randomness to the story is the person behind the reopening: former Vanilla Ice drummer Clint Barlow. Trees, named for the venue’s arbor-esque decor, opened in the same location and continues the same vibe as its previous existence: an alternative/rock live music venue that thrived in the mid- to late 1990s. Trees holds 500 people max, and hosts a range of musical performances, from indie touring acts like Cat Power to local rockers like the Toadies.
Another Deep Ellum institution is Double Wide (3510 Commerce St., 214/887-6510, www.double-wide.com), a white-trash-themed bar with a big ol’ silver tornado sculpture on the roof and offering bluesy and rough-around-the-edges rock bands and appropriately cheap beer in cans. Or you can edge your way into Elbow Room (3010 Gaston Ave., 214/828-9488, www.elbowroomdallas.com) for some tunes from its amazing jukebox, with a side of tasty food and shuffleboard.
Visitors looking for a true taste of Texas should definitely check out the legendary local branch of Houston’s “Urban Cowboy” locale, Gilley’s Dallas (1135 S. Lamar St., 214/421-2021, www.gilleysdallas.com). It’s the ultimate country and western honky-tonk for those who want to test their skills on the dance floor or the mechanical bull. Also worth checking out is the enormous and enormously entertaining Cowboys Red River Dancehall (10310 Technology Blvd. W., 214/352-1796, www.cowboysdancehall.com/dallas), near Arlington, and the modest and genuinely lowdown Adair’s Saloon in Deep Ellum (2624 Commerce St., 214/939-9900, www.adairssaloon.com).
If you’d rather shake your hips than scoot your boots, head to Lizard Lounge (2424 Swiss Ave., 214/826-4768, www.thelizardlounge.com), featuring nationally known DJs, electro, neo-Gothic, and plenty of party people. One of downtown’s best retro dance clubs is The Church (2424 Swiss Ave., 214/826-4769, www.thechurchdallas.com), featuring 1980s goth and industrial music. Dress accordingly.
Many of the city’s gay bars are located in the same block on Cedar Springs Road northwest of downtown. The Round-up Saloon (3912 Cedar Springs Rd., 214/522-9611, www.roundupsaloon.com) features gay country and western dancing, and JR’s Bar & Grill (3923 Cedar Springs Rd., 214/528-1004, www.jrsdallas.com) and Sue Ellen’s (3903 Cedar Springs Rd., 214/559-0707, www.sueellensdallas.com) are popular gay and lesbian bars with Dallas flavor.
Held each March, Savor Dallas (888/728-6747, www.savordallas.com) is a true feast for the senses, featuring a “wine stroll” in the arts district, celebrity chef cooking demos, and the International Grand Tasting, offering more than 500 wines and 50 chefs serving samples.
The Cinco de Mayo (214/650-8381) event in suburban Oak Cliff celebrates Mexico’s victory over France in 1862 and features “the Big parade,” carnival rides, food, and entertainment.
Each August, Taste of Dallas (www.tasteofdallas.org) features restaurants, retail booths, a Kids’ Taste Town, and multiple music stages at historic Fair Park.
The legendary State Fair of Texas (214/565-9931, www.bigtex.com), held at Fair Park for more than 70 years, runs from late September through early October and is an absolute must-see if you’re in the city at the time. Experience fried Twinkies, Big Tex, corny dogs, livestock shows, and the tallest Ferris wheel in the Western Hemisphere.
ZestFest (972/252-7476, www.zestfest.net), a spicy-food festival typically held each October, is now in suburban Irving. It offers plenty of spice for bold, flavor-seeking food enthusiasts. The festival features cooking demos by celebrity chefs, live music, and food samples.
The popular Trains at NorthPark (www.thetrainsatnorthpark.com) runs November-January at the NorthPark Center (1030 NorthPark Center). The event, completely redesigned with new trains and landscapes, features more than 35 toy trains and has been a holiday tradition delighting children and toy train lovers since 1987.
The Children’s Health Holiday Parade (www.dallaschildrensparade.com, 214/456-0113) features floats, marching bands, and Santa himself. This annual event, complete with reserved bleacher seating, is a Dallas holiday tradition.
Dallas takes its shopping very seriously. Although it doesn’t have many well-kept little secrets offering bargain leather goods or Mexican imports like some other Texas cities, it’s brimming with trendy boutiques and big-name department stores. In fact, Dallas claims to have more shopping centers per capita than anywhere else in the United States. Regardless, there are several alternatives to the generic shops found in most American cities.
The mecca for serious shoppers is the original Neiman Marcus store in downtown Dallas (1618 Main St., 214/741-6911, www.neimanmarcus.com). Although it offers the same standard high-quality Neiman Marcus fare as others across the country, the items are housed inside the original department store building, and walking out of its doors onto the hustle and bustle of a busy downtown street is a rare New York City-style experience for shoppers in the South.
The Galleria (13350 Dallas Pkwy., 972/702-7100, www.galleriadallas.com) is impressive for its mammoth size and shopping options. A multilevel center with a hotel attached, the Galleria includes four-star restaurants, a year-round ice rink in the center, a five-theater cinema, and nearly 200 stores, including Saks Fifth Ave., Tiffany & Co., Gucci, and Nordstrom.
High-end stores are also the featured attraction at NorthPark Center (8687 N. Central Expy., 214/363-7441, www.northparkcenter.com), one of the country’s first upscale indoor malls, completed in 1965. NorthPark Center still continues this tradition, offering a mix of luxury retail and fine dining with spacious courtyards and lush landscaping.
Not surprisingly, Dallas has many stores offering Western wear, and the following locations provide plenty of options for a night out at a local honky-tonk. Although some of the city’s larger chains have closed, there are several smaller shops worth exploring for authentic cowboy gear. Chuck Norris endorses Wild Bill’s Western (311 N. Market St., 214/954-1050, www.wildbillswestern.com). On the upper end of the scale is the glitzy and high-quality Cowboy Cool (3699 McKinney Ave., 214/521-4500, www.cowboycool.com). Also worth visiting for affordable yet well-made cowboy gear—brand-name boots, shirts, hats, and jeans—is Cavender’s Boot City (2833 LBJ Freeway, 972/239-1375, www.cavenders.com).
Since it’s the sixth-largest city in the country, Dallas has a remarkable selection of spectator sports to keep fans entertained. All the major professional sporting leagues are represented—football, baseball, basketball, and hockey—and several urban and suburban parks offer visitors a chance to get outside for sporting activities of their own. It’s the rodeo, however, that sets Dallas’s sports apart from other metropolitan areas in the United States.
The Mesquite Championship Rodeo (1818 Rodeo Dr., 972/285-8777, www.mesquiterodeo.com, $10-40) is the real deal. Located in the suburb of Mesquite—roughly a 20-minute drive east of downtown Dallas—this is a big-time professional rodeo featuring the sport’s top riders with weekly broadcasts on the Nashville Network. The arena packs thousands of fans and families in a football-like environment every Friday and Saturday night early April-late September.
It’s well worth making a visit to experience this Western cultural tradition. Witness time-honored events such as bareback riding, bull riding, cowgirl barrel racing, team roping, saddle bronco riding, and steer wrestling along with rodeo clowns and plenty of cowboy activity. The arena is on I-635 just off the Military Parkway exit. The arena’s barbecue buffet is $8 for kids and $12.75 for adults.
The Dallas Cowboys, known by football fans as “America’s Team,” play August-December at the fancy $1 billion AT&T Stadium in Arlington (1 AT&T Way, 817/892-4000, www.dallascowboys.com). Texas-worthy amenities include seating capacity for 80,000 fans, a 60-yard-wide high-definition screen inside the world’s largest domed stadium (column-free interior). The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are still there, along with their skimpy outfits and big hair. Loyal fans pack the stadium on Sundays, with hopes that the Cowboys will find a way to get back to regular playoff contention like in the good ol’ glory days. With new quarterback Dak Prescott at the helm, those dreams are closer to becoming a reality.
The Texas Rangers play April-October at the Globe Life Park in Arlington (about 20 minutes west of town at the intersection of I-30 and Hwy. 157, 817/273-5100, www.texasrangers.com), one of Major League Baseball’s most pleasant and aesthetically enjoyable stadiums. The Rangers have come tantalizingly close to winning it all in the past decade, and their potent lineup and pitching staff give fans hope that the team will be competitive for years to come.
The Dallas Mavericks, one of the National Basketball Association’s consistently compelling teams, play November-April (and often even longer if they manage to make it to the playoffs) at American Airlines Center (on Victory Ave. off I-35E, just north of downtown, 214/665-4797, www.mavs.com).
Despite its warm climate, Dallas has a respected hockey team that takes to the ice October-mid-April. The Dallas Stars play at the American Airlines Center (on Victory Ave. off I-35E, just north of downtown, 214/467-8277, www.dallasstars.com).
Major League Soccer has a devoted fan base in the Metroplex, and FC Dallas (9200 World Cup Way, Frisco, 214/705-6700, www.fc.dallas.com) is the city’s popular franchise playing 30 miles north of downtown. FC Dallas’s (the FC stands for Futbol Club) season lasts April-October.
Dallas isn’t known for its abundance of green space, but the city boasts several nature and walking trails to help urban dwellers and visitors get a taste of the great outdoors. Most outlying communities have suburban parks, but the following sites offer hiking trails in relatively remote natural surroundings near downtown for jogging, biking, strolling, or people watching.
Boulder Park (3200 W. Redbird Ln., 214/670-4100) includes more than six miles of trails through trees and hilly terrain along Five Mile Creek southwest of downtown. Most of the trails have been created for bike use, with sections for beginners and others for advanced riders, but there is a soft-surface hiking trail for nature lovers. Maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association, this park is conveniently located near I-20 and Highway 67.
The L.B. Houston Nature Trail (between Dallas and Irving at Wildwood and California Crossing Rd., 214/670-6244) is a good place to spot wildlife among native plants and trees. The 300-acre area offers four unpaved hiking trails in a dense wilderness area along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The trails are in slightly flatter terrain than the hike and bike trails, but the natural surfaces render them virtually impassable after heavy rainfall.
White Rock Creek Greenbelt (Hillcrest and Valley View, 214/670-8895), northeast of downtown, is one of Dallas’s natural gems. A seven-mile paved hiking, bicycling, and jogging trail connects to a similar nine-mile trail that circles picturesque White Rock Lake.
Dallas has some of the finest restaurants in the Southwest, featuring an eclectic mix of cuisines. From regional fare like barbecue and Tex-Mex to fancier spots serving sushi, French, and Italian, there’s no shortage of good eats in Big D.
If you’re staying downtown (or even if you’re in the area), make a point to eat a meal at Wild Salsa (1800 Main St., 214/741-9453, www.wildsalsarestaurant.com, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-midnight, $10-23). This contemporary Mexican spot draws diners with its savory smells and cool vibe. Another bonus: The salsa immediately placed on the table upon arrival is indeed wild (in a good way), with tangy tomatillo and spicy jalapeño blending perfectly with the crispy-fresh tortilla chips. Enhance the craziness with a Wild Rita, an extremely flavorful cocktail with roasted pineapple juice and jalapeño-infused tequila. The food is amazing, too, with highlights ranging from hearty chicken-thigh enchiladas to taqueria-style tacos (the steak and al pastor pork are highly recommended).
Deep Ellum’s newest Mexican restaurant is Maracas (2914 Main St., 214/748-7140, Tues.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. 11am-9pm, Mon. 11am-2pm, $10-20). Live Latin music is on the menu at Maracas, and the food is just as commendable. Enchiladas are the specialty here, especially Jose’s combo (pulled pork, purple onions, pineapple, and cilantro). The savory brisket enchiladas are another flavorful favorite. Be forewarned: Maracas can get extremely loud—especially on weekend nights.
Noteworthy for its convenient West End location, RJ’s Mexican Cuisine (1701 N. Market St., 214/744-1420, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, $8-19) offers a slightly different take on standard Tex-Mex by adding spicy peppers and fresh vegetables to spruce up the tacos and quesadillas. There are even some unconventional Mexican options, such as barbecued ribs and tuna.
A favorite among locals is SGloria’s (3223 Lemmon Ave., 214/303-1166, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, $9-17), known throughout the city for its delectable Salvadoran and Mexican specialties. Start with the signature black bean dip (with tortilla chips) and continue with Latin American favorites like cheese pupusas, fried plantains, yucca, and empanadas. Top it all off with a horchata, a sweet Mexican cocktail that can double as a dessert.
Though many visitors are tempted by the flashy neon-lit Mexican restaurant across the street (Iron Cactus), they should resist the colorful lights and jump over to Sol Irlandes (1525 Main St., 214/744-9400, www.solirlandes.net, daily 11am-2am, $10-22). Try to arrive at happy hour for the $3 margaritas and appetizers, and settle in for a hearty bout of savory Mexican food, including chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce, tortilla soup, and fajitas that make it totally worth enduring the sizzling platter experience.
After spending a morning or afternoon working up a hearty appetite visiting Dallas’s downtown cultural sites, head directly to S Ellen’s Southern Kitchen (1718 N. Market St., 469/206-3339, www.ellenssouthernkitchen.com, Mon.-Thurs. 7am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 7am-10pm, Sun. 7am-2pm, $13-30). Ellen’s is an ideal place to sample quality comfort food in a comfortable environment. The menu’s down-home options are tantalizing, but several can be distinguished as the cream of the crop, including the delectable Cajun shrimp and grits (a savory blend of seasoned grilled shrimp and crumbled bacon atop cheesy, buttery grits) and the hearty meatloaf (topped with flavorful gravy and onions). Pair anything on the menu with a local beer or strong house-blend coffee. Bonus: Ellen’s serves breakfast all day, so if you’re in the mood for a big ol’ buttermilk pancake, go ahead and order a stack.
For those willing to spend a little extra money on a special downtown Dallas meal, consider Dakota’s (600 N. Akard St., 214/740-4001, www.dakotasrestaurant.com, Mon.-Fri. 11am-2:30pm and 5:30pm-10pm, Sat. 5pm-10:30pm, $16-36), a romantic spot featuring New American cuisine and steaks. The wild game mixed grill is a signature dish, and the cuts of beef are dazzling—particularly the bone-in rib eye. For a more affordable option, consider the fixed-price lunch or dinner menu, consisting of an appetizer, a choice of three entrées, and dessert. Reservations are recommended.
For those seeking something more casual—think shorts and beers—head directly to City Tavern (1402 Main St., 214/745-1402, www.citytaverndowntown.com, $9-24). Pub grub is the specialty here, so order a cheeseburger, chicken strips (doused in a flavorful buffalo sauce), and a big ol’ plate of fries. One of the Tavern’s specialties is fried pickles—prepared with a perfect ratio of crispy batter and pickle nugget.
If you’re in the mood for sushi, the best option downtown is Deep Ellum’s venerable S Deep Sushi (2624 Elm St., 214/651-1177, www.deepsushi.com, Mon.-Thurs. 10am-10pm, Fri. 10am-midnight, Sat. 5pm-midnight, Sun. 5-10pm, $7-17). The fresh tuna and spicy volcano roll are highly recommended, and even standard items like avocado-based rolls are bursting with flavor. Weekends are the best time to go, when you’ll get bonus enjoyment from the patio’s live music and lively pedestrian traffic.
Another good lunch option is Deep Ellum’s Murray Street Coffee Shop (103 Murray St., 214/655-2808, www.murraystreetcoffee.com, Mon.-Fri. 7am-4pm, Sat. 8am-4pm, $6-11). Although the premium coffees are the main draw, Murray Street’s tasty sandwiches and hummus are also nice ways to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown Dallas.
For a down-home experience, check out the laid-back Metropolitan Cafe (2030 Main St., 214/741-2233, Mon.-Fri. 8am-3pm, $9-25). This family-run operation (the owner is usually behind the register and serving food while his wife and mother run the kitchen) offers a genuine home-style experience, complete with legendary crab cakes (Wed.), hearty breakfasts, high-piled sandwiches, savory soups, and, perhaps best of all, cookies, cakes, and treats.
In the upscale range without being too high-end is YO Ranch Steakhouse (702 Ross Ave., 214/744-3287, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. 11am-9pm, $13-33). Located in the busy West End district, the YO has all the basic cuts of meat without the stuffy atmosphere of other steak restaurants. The buffalo filet mignon and bone-in rib eye are the most popular items on the menu for good reason—they’re delectable.
A commendable uptown steak house is Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille (2000 McKinney Ave., 214/855-5151, www.perryssteakhouse.com, Mon.-Fri. 11am-10pm, Sat. 4pm-10pm, Sun. 4pm-9pm, $14-35). All cuts of meat here are above average, but the filet mignon and pork chop are especially tasty. Fortunately, Perry’s pays close attention to the edible details (bread, sides—especially the crab cakes), which make it quite recommendable.
Since Oak Lawn is one of the tony parts of Dallas, it should come as no surprise that this is where some of the city’s most exquisite restaurants are located. For years, the über-exclusive Mansion on Turtle Creek (2821 Turtle Creek, 214/559-2100, Mon.-Fri. 11:30am-2pm and 6pm-10pm, Sat. 7-10:30am, 11am-2pm, and 6-10:30pm, Sun. 7-10:30am, 11am-2pm and 6pm-9:30pm, $22-47) represented the height of luxury, as Texas’s only five-star, five-diamond hotel and five-diamond restaurant. However, times have changed, and the Mansion is loosening up its black tie these days. Jackets are no longer required to partake of the restaurant’s famous Southwestern gourmet offerings; in fact, even (gulp) jeans are allowed in the main dining room. Of the many top-notch options, several are supremely spectacular: the filet of tenderloin au poivre, porcini-crusted filet mignon, and Niman Ranch lamb. This meal will set you back a pretty penny, but for some, it pays to dine finely among the elite. Reservations are recommended.
Technically located just north of Oak Lawn in the Park Cities area, the legendary S Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse (2202 Inwood, 214/357-7120, 24 hours daily, $10-19) is a must for those in search of authentic Texas-style barbecue. Traditional meats are the way to go here—try the triple crown of brisket, pork ribs, and sausage—and the sauce offers the perfect tangy topping that ties it all together. If that weren’t enough, the building itself provides an ideal atmosphere, with its smoke-drenched walls and old wooden school desks and picnic tables. There aren’t too many places like this outside the Lone Star State, and judging by the long lines of locals clamoring to get in for lunch each day, there aren’t many others quite as good in Dallas.
You’ll notice the brightly colored Cosmic Café (2912 Oak Lawn Ave., 214/521-6157, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-10:30pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. noon-10pm, $9-18) from blocks away, and the punchy flavors waiting inside will also get your attention. This vegetarian landmark offers excellent traditional Middle Eastern staples such as falafel, samosas, and hummus as well as flavorful sweet treats like brownies, homemade ice cream, and fruit smoothies.
For standard diner fare, check out Lucky’s (3531 Oak Lawn Ave., 214/522-3500, www.luckysdallas.com, daily 7am-10pm, $9-17), which offers sandwiches and burgers along with its big draw: chicken-fried steak topped with peppery cream gravy. Pour some of it on a mound of nearby homemade mashed potatoes, and you’ll be feeling lucky (and sleepy) for the rest of the afternoon.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Mia’s Tex-Mex (4322 Lemmon Ave., 214/526-1020, www.miastexmex.com, Tues.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-10:30pm, Sun.-Mon 11am-10pm, $8-17) drew huge crowds, including the cast of Dallas, along with legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry and many of his players. Though it’s since lost much of its star luster, Mia’s still serves some of the city’s most authentic and tasty Tex-Mex. Standard fare like enchiladas and chicken tacos are certainly worthwhile, but make a point of trying the perfectly battered and seasoned chiles rellenos or the tender brisket tacos for a truly distinctive Mexican-food experience.
One of Oak Lawn’s most popular Mexican restaurants is Herrera’s Cafe (3311 Sylvan Ave., 214/954-7180, Mon.-Fri. 11am-9pm, Sat.-Sun. 9am-9pm, $8-13). Don’t be dismayed by the sketchy exterior—the food awaiting within is high-quality authentic goodness. The salsa is spicy and garlicky, the cheese is gooey and satisfying, and the beef and chicken are tender and perfectly seasoned.
An ideal place to have a weekend morning brunch is Dream Café (2800 Routh St., 214/954-0486, www.thedreamcafe.com, daily 7am-3pm, $8-16), especially if you’re with the family. Kids will love the enormous playground, oatmeal, and French toast, while adults will savor the huevos rancheros, cheese grits, and the kids’ French toast leftovers. Healthy options abound at this comfortable location north of downtown.
Brunchers will also find home-style goodness in a casual environment at local chain Bread Winners Cafe and Bakery (3301 McKinney Ave., 214/754-4940, daily 7am-4pm and 5pm-9pm, $7-15), north of downtown. Snag a spot on the inviting brick courtyard patio and enjoy a cup o’ joe while you munch on a fresh pastry or wait for an inspired breakfast dish, like the popular smoked salmon scrambler and French ham Benedict.
For a feast of the senses, drop by El Ranchito Cafe & Club (610 W. Jefferson Blvd., 214/946-4238, Mon.-Thurs.11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11:30pm, Sun. 10am-10pm, $9-16), in Oak Cliff just south of downtown. From the colorful decor to brassy mariachi bands to the smells and tastes of savory Tex-Mex (emphasis on the Mex), you can’t go wrong here. If you’re feeling adventurous, try the house specialty of cabrito (goat), tender and flavorful meat that tastes surprisingly delicious paired with El Ranchito’s buttery tortillas and hearty salsa. The caldo de pollo (chicken soup) is also a nice option for lunch or dinner.
Another worthy Tex-Mex spot is Pepe’s & Mito’s Mexican Café (2911 Elm St., 214/741-1901, www.pepesandmitos.com, Mon.-Tues. 11am-3pm, Wed.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. 11am-5pm, $8-17), just east of downtown. This is a great place to stick with the classics—the chicken enchiladas in a tangy green tomatillo sauce, tacos with superbly seasoned beef, and better-than-they-have-to-be pinto beans.
Like most big cities, Dallas has a stunning range of hotels, from generic chains on equally uninspiring urban beltways to charmingly restored historic downtown gems. The Big D doesn’t have a long list of options for people interested in soaking up nightlife and responsibly hoofing it back to bed, but most of the best hotels (enchanting historic locales in the heart of the city) are a 10-minute cab ride from the city’s hopping entertainment districts. Not surprisingly, the alternatives for those keeping a close eye on their wallets are farthest away from many of the city’s main activities. Keep in mind, safe and affordable hotels in one of the nation’s largest cities will cost at least $130 a night, but it beats getting stuck in an anonymous (and ominous) location.
The Courtyard Dallas LBJ at Josey (2930 Forest Ln., 972/620-8000, www.marriott.com, $79 d) is a clean, reliable motel 12 miles north of downtown and 14 miles from the airport. The Courtyard features free Internet access, an outdoor pool, and a whirlpool, and its suites offer microwaves and mini-fridges. The adjacent Courtyard Café serves a hot breakfast daily.
For a slight step up, consider Hawthorn Suites (7880 Alpha Rd., 972/391-0000, www.staybridge.com, $89 d), which offers a “well-equipped kitchen” in every suite, free Wi-Fi, and an outdoor pool and whirlpool. The hotel is near the suburb of Richardson—an Uber to downtown Dallas is fairly reasonable (typically around $25).
If you want to avoid the chains, book a room at the Texas-based MCM Elegante (2330 W. Northwest Hwy., 214/351-4477, www.mcmelegantedallas.com, $89 d). The Elegante offers complimentary shuttle service to and from both DFW and Love Field airports, an outdoor splash pool and spa tub, and free wireless Internet access.
Just north of downtown near the comfy Oak Lawn neighborhood is the Holiday Inn Central Dallas (6070 N. Central Expy., 214/750-6060, www.ihg.com, $102 d). The 300 rooms feature the chain’s signature plush bedding along with free high-speed Internet access. Other amenities include a nice indoor/outdoor heated pool and a fitness center.
A surprisingly affordable and worthy option downtown is S Hotel Indigo (1933 Main St., 214/741-7700, www.ihg.com, $148 d), a 14-story National Historic Landmark that previously served as the Dallas Aristocrat and one of the original Hilton properties. Appealing to travelers who favor the “boutique concept,” the Indigo approach is somewhat refreshing, with seasonally updated color schemes and artwork. The hotel offers free wireless access, a fitness center, and guest rooms with hardwood-style flooring and spa-style showers. A breakfast package is available for $10 more per night.
Marriott City Center (650 N. Pearl St., 214/979-9000, www.marriott.com, $149 d) is a nice downtown option in the arts district. Business is a key term here—the “City Center” is an atrium with retail shops and an ice-skating rink, and the hotel itself is appealing in a corporate way, as opposed to family friendly (you won’t find a pool or free buffet or even complimentary Internet service). Notable amenities include an impressive gym facility, maps with suggested jogging routes, and live music during happy hour.
The only bad thing about Westin Park Central (12720 Merit Dr., 972/385-3000, www.westindallasparkcentral.com, $139 d) is its bizarrely isolated location. Despite being on a major freeway in a busy spot, the hotel itself is an urban island without walking access to restaurants or typical urban amenities. Once inside, however, you’ll have everything you need in a reliably high-quality package, including top-notch bedding, a free continental breakfast, Internet access, and a heated rooftop pool.
One of the best weekend options for budget-minded travelers is Hyatt House Dallas/Lincoln Park (8221 N. Central Expy., 214/696-1555, www.dallaslincolnpark.house.hyatt.com, $149 d). The 161 spacious rooms include kitchens, and the hotel offers a continental breakfast daily. In the heart of Dallas’s tony Park Cities area, Hyatt House is only 10 minutes north of downtown and within walking distance of the fancy NorthPark Center.
SpringHill Suites Downtown/West End (1907 N. Lamar St., 214/999-0500, www.marriott.com, $153 d) is in the heart of the historic West End and just blocks away from the city’s arts district. If you’re looking for a hotel among the bustle of an entertainment scene, this a good place to stay. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, and offer an ideal place to relax after a day of sightseeing and shopping. Amenities include an outdoor pool and free breakfast (a hot buffet or “Grab-n-Go” options).
Also notable is La Quinta Inn & Suites Downtown (302 S. Houston St., 214/761-9090, www.laquintadallasdowntown.com, $169 d). Located in a historic 1920s building, this is an inviting option in the downtown business district, providing a charming mix of old and new. The rooms are small, but the amenities are impressive, including a free breakfast buffet and complimentary Wi-Fi access. Note: Parking is available by valet only.
Don’t count out the Grand Hyatt DFW (2337 S. International Pkwy., 972/973-1234, www.granddfw.hyatt.com, $189 d). Sometimes you gotta get a hotel near the airport, or in this case, at the airport. Aside from offering the ultimate convenience to your flight (the hotel provides free transportation to all terminals via the airport’s high-speed train system or an ordinary ol’ shuttle bus), the Hyatt features Wi-Fi access, fancy rooms with quality bedding, granite-top desks, minibars, robes, and a free fitness center with heated pool.
The Fairmont Dallas (1717 N. Akard St., 866/540-4427, www.fairmont.com/dallas, $199 d) is a worthy downtown option. Near the business and arts districts, the Fairmont is somewhat slight on amenities (you have to pay for Internet access and breakfast), but its location is ideal for exploring Dallas by foot. And the hotel itself is stylish, with a fitness center, an outdoor pool, and an on-site Starbucks.
You can’t go wrong at the classic S Magnolia Hotel (1401 Commerce St., 214/915-6500, www.magnoliahoteldallas.com, $200 d), with its rich history, ornate furnishings, optimal location, and old-fashioned charm. The Magnolia played a vital role in Dallas’s history, and the legendary red-neon Pegasus atop the building is a treasured city landmark. The logo is from the once-dominant Magnolia Petroleum Company, which was headquartered in the hotel’s remarkable 1922 Renaissance Revival-style building. The Magnolia’s 330 guest rooms feature high ceilings, fine linens, oversize soaking tubs, refrigerators, and bathrobes. The hotel also provides some pretty amazing complimentary services, including breakfast at the Magnolia Court, afternoon cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and even nighttime cookies and milk in the Magnolia Club’s library.
S The Adolphus Hotel (1321 Commerce St., 214/742-8200, www.hoteladolphus.com, $229 d) is one of the best ways to experience Dallas. This beautiful baroque-style 1912 architectural gem from beer magnate Adolphus Busch welcomes visitors with an opulent lobby area, ornate furnishings, fancy bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, and excellent dining. This is an ideal way to experience upscale Dallas without spending like a socialite. Be sure to admire the hotel’s exterior facade, which features faces carved in stone and intricate design work. Take time to notice the exquisite woodwork and attention to detail around every corner—this is truly a step back in time to an era of craftsmanship and top-notch service. This quality is also evident in the guest rooms—the hotel has 432 available—which feature antique furnishings and separate sitting areas, as well as minibars and walk-in closets. Walls display European lithographs, and feather pillows, deep tubs, and brass-accented fixtures add to the hotel’s luxurious feel. Just to top things off, tea is served in the stately Lobby Living Room while beautiful music emanates from an authentic 1893 Victorian Steinway grand piano, reportedly destined for the Titanic (according to the bellhop who bore an uncanny resemblance to Elvis).
the historic Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas
The Highland (5300 E. Mockingbird Ln., 214/520-7969, www.thehighlanddallas.com, $229 d) is pretty fancy but worth the extra money for the memorable experience. From the time you enter the spacious and impressive lobby, it’s evident this is a hotel that pays attention to details—color schemes, geometric patterns, and open atmospheres are prevalent themes throughout the entire building, including the nearly 200 guest rooms. The rooms offer minibars, marble bathroom vanities, and bathrobes. The hotel hosts complimentary evening wine hours and serves light fare in the lobby lounge; its restaurant Knife was once a famous Polynesian spot where celebs such as Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas, and Mickey Mantle sampled the bar’s inventive cocktails.
The swanky and über-urban Hotel ZaZa (2332 Leonard St., 214/468-8399, www.hotelzaza.com, $369 d) offers spacious, chic rooms with minibars, luxury bedding, and “sensual lighting.” The ZaSpa provides body therapies and a tropical pool, and the Dragonfly Restaurant features global cuisine. The hotel’s “custom-designed concept suites” include free Wi-Fi access and daily coffee services. On weekends, the hotel shows classic movies projected on a large screen near its outdoor patio.
The Warwick Melrose Hotel (3015 Oak Lawn Ave., 214/521-5151, www.warwickmelrosedallas.com, $309 d) is a 1924 historic Dallas landmark in the city’s fashionable Oak Lawn area north of downtown. The Melrose’s clean comfort and style is apparent in each of its 184 distinct extra-large guest rooms featuring mahogany furnishings, minibars, marble baths, terry-cloth robes, and incredible views of the downtown skyline. The Melrose has attracted international celebrities for eight decades and has a reputation as one of the city’s best hotels. Its award-winning Landmark Restaurant specializes in spectacular Asian food, and its comfy Library Bar is a Dallas tradition offering 100 types of martinis along with live entertainment and late-night dining.
The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek (2821 Turtle Creek Blvd., 214/559-2100, www.mansiononturtlecreek.com, $306 d) provides lavish accommodations and has a worldwide reputation for its luxury. If you’re looking to splurge on an elegant place in Dallas, this is as sophisticated as it gets. Rooms feature European-style decor containing original artwork, antiques, 480-thread-count linens, fresh-cut flowers, walk-in closets, marble baths, robes, and slippers, along with French doors opening onto private balconies. As expected with a luxury hotel, the Southwestern cuisine-themed restaurant is exquisite and consistently named one of the top hotel restaurants in the country. The bar offers casual dining surrounded by a hunting-themed decor, and the hotel’s Promenade restaurant serves breakfast overlooking the lush landscaped grounds.
Just 10 miles southwest of Dallas, Cedar Hill State Park (1570 FM 1382, Cedar Hill, 972/291-3900, www.tpwd.state.tx.us) is a 1,826-acre urban nature preserve on the 7,500-acre Joe Pool Reservoir. The 355 rural wooded campsites have water and electricity, and the park’s facilities include restrooms with showers, four miles of hiking/backpacking trails, and 10 miles of mountain bike trails.
Other nearby camping options include Dallas Hi-Ho (18 miles south of town in Glenn Heights, 877/619-3900, www.hihorvpark.com), which offers full hookups for motor homes and spots for trailers, “fifth wheels,” campers, and tents. Additional considerations include Dallas/Arlington KOA (2715 S. Cooper, 817/277-6600, www.koa.com), and Dallas Northeast Campground (903/527-3615, www.dallasnortheastcampground.com) in Caddo Mills. Both offer RV hookups, cabins, and swimming.
The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has handy visitor information booths to help fresh arrivals get oriented, but it’s worth stopping by the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau (800/232-5527, www.visitdallas.com) information centers to get personalized information and maps. The main info center is housed in the city’s landmark downtown “Old Red” Courthouse (100 S. Houston St., 214/571-1301, daily 9am-5pm) and features Internet terminals and touch-screen computer information kiosks.
Entertainment and events are covered in several Dallas publications. The metro daily Dallas Morning News is one of the country’s most esteemed newspapers and offers thorough coverage of local, state, national, and international news. The best bet for cultural events is the Dallas Observer, the city’s weekly alternative paper published every Thursday.
Dallas is served by the enormous Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (972/973-3112, www.dfwairport.com) and the smaller Dallas Love Field (214/670-6080, www.dallas-lovefield.com).
Downtown Dallas is accessible from DFW via DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) and on the Trinity Railway Express (T) train Monday-Saturday. To take the T, purchase tickets (roughly $3-5) from a vending machine on the train platform.
If you’re not taking a rideshare service, cabs are still a reliable way to get from the airport to a Metroplex destination, but it will cost at least $35 for the service. Another more-affordable option (averaging around $25) is the Super Shuttle (817/329-2000, www.supershuttle.com), available from DFW at all hours but occasionally sluggish depending on the number of passengers along for the ride and their destinations. In addition, many airport-area hotels offer pickup and drop-off services.
Dallas Love Field is more centrally located but is limited in flight options since only Southwest Airlines and one regional airline currently serve it. Love Field is about seven miles northwest of downtown, and local transportation is offered by taxi (approximately $25 to downtown) and the Super Shuttle.
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART, 1401 Pacific Ave., 214/979-1111, www.dart.org) system operates a bus service throughout the city and will provide personal assistance (how to get from Point A to Point B) Monday-Friday 6am-8pm and Sat.-Sun. 8am-5pm. The basic single-ride fare for most local trips is $2, and all-day passes are available for $5. Maps and schedules can be found at DART transit centers, libraries, and city hall.
Otherwise, Dallas’s main bus activity is at the Greyhound Bus Terminal (205 S. Lamar, 214/849-6831) at Union Station, its main downtown train station. Union Station is also serviced by Amtrak’s Texas Eagle and is connected to the DART system.
DART (214/979-1111, www.dart.org) offers public transportation in and among 13 Dallas-area communities with rail, bus, and rideshare services. In addition to its airport line, DART provides service to Fort Worth via the T (817/215-8600, www.the-t.com).
The perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of the Big D is a trip to a small nearby community. Most of these outlying towns began as humble villages out in the country, far removed from the hectic workaday world. Now that they’re filled with commuters, they’ve taken on more of a suburban feel, but their downtowns retain the quaint appeal of their days as mercantile centers and seats of government. You won’t find historic courthouses or antiques shops in all of these communities, however. Arlington’s big draw is amusement, and it’s available in droves at Cowboys Stadium, the Six Flags amusement park, and the Texas Rangers ballpark.
Arlington is all about thrills. Whether it’s the fluttering sensation in the belly from a roller coaster at Six Flags or the rush of adrenaline that comes with a home run at the Rangers’ ballpark, Arlington (population 388,125) is a great setting for fun and games. This supersize suburb, occasionally referred to as the “Midway of the Metroplex,” is also home to a science center and country music revue, allowing visitors to set up stakes in Arlington for several days’ worth of family fun, with side trips to the Metroplex for big-city activities (Dallas and Fort Worth are each 15 miles away on I-30). There is no shortage of hotels near these attractions or major roadways to accommodate those plans.
Arlington received a major cultural (and economic) boon in 2009 with the state-of-the-art AT&T Stadium (925 N. Collins St., 817/892-4161, http://stadium.dallascowboys.com). Constructed for a “mere” $1.2 billion, the 660,800-square-foot home of the Dallas Cowboys is the largest domed structure in the world. Cynically referred to as the Taj Mahal of stadiums (or a monument to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’s ego), the stadium is a marvel to behold. Looming on the horizon like a massive spaceship, it features a retractable roof, luxury suites, and, perhaps most impressive/garish of all, a 60-yard-wide video screen suspended over the field. The stadium’s oversize price tag was paid for by city sales tax, which increased by one-half of a percent, an increase in Arlington’s hotel occupancy and car rental taxes, and hundreds of millions from the City of Arlington, the NFL, and Jones himself.
For Cowboys (and fancy stadium) fans, the self-guided tour ($17.50) is worth doing, especially to see the locker rooms and toss a football around on the field. For $10 more, you can see the luxury suites and press boxes with a knowledgeable and entertaining guide. Tours are held Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 11am-5pm.
The Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park (1000 Ballpark Way, 817/273-5100, www.rangers.mlb.com) is a great place to catch a ball game—even if you’re not a big baseball fan (the season runs April-early October). The stadium opened in 1994 and was designed to capture classic aesthetic elements of old-time ballparks while offering modern amenities. It succeeds on both counts.
Unlike many urban stadiums, Globe Life Park sits alone atop a hill surrounded by natural features and parking lots. The 10-minute walk to the front gates takes visitors past lakes and a decked-out miniature stadium used for Little League games and other events. The surrounding greenery is a welcome contrast to the concrete walls and bus exhaust outside baseball stadiums in other metropolitan environments. The exterior of Globe Life Park is decorated with relief sculptures depicting Texana scenes such as longhorn cattle, the Alamo, and oil wells.
The most rewarding aspect of the ballpark is the immediate sense of delight experienced upon ascending the walkway into the heart of the stadium—the natural green grass, royal blue sky, and sharp sounds of wooden bats and leather gloves make up a baseball fan’s Field of Dreams. An extra bonus is the nook-and-cranny-filled outfield underneath deliberately toned-down flat-board advertising (sans flashing neon lights or garish beer billboards). Since the Rangers played in a couple of World Series during the past decade, the stadium has become a popular destination for regional sports fans, a rarity in this football-obsessed city and state.
Named for the six “national” flags that have flown over Texas during its history, Six Flags Over Texas (I-30 at Hwy. 360, 817/530-6000, www.sixflags.com/overtexas, daily 10am-11pm in summer, weekends in spring/fall, $58, parking $18.52) has been the king of Texas amusement parks since 1961, when oil tycoon Angus G. Wynne Jr. was so inspired by a visit to Disneyland he commissioned a similar park for the Lone Star State. Six Flags has evolved over the years by keeping up to speed on the latest roller coasters, rides, and other amusement park diversions. The park celebrated the highly anticipated return of the Texas Giant roller coaster, with a state-of-the-art track of steel fabrication, the steepest drop of any wooden coaster in the world (79 degrees), and a record-breaking bank of 95 degrees, steeper than any other wooden coaster on the planet—all in trains that pay homage to the iconic 1961 Cadillac Deville. Other thrill-providers that elicit loud screams (and long lines) are the mammoth 245-foot Titan, the 315-foot Superman Tower of Power, and the famous Batman, Joker, and Mr. Freeze. Six Flags also includes traditional amusement park activities such as theatrical shows, family events, and seasonal festivities in addition to the requisite cotton candy, hot dogs, and lemonade stands.
Just across the street, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (1800 E. Lamar Blvd., 817/640-8900, www.sixflags.com, daily 10:30am-7pm in summer, weekends in spring/fall, $30-35, parking $10) bills itself as the largest water park in the Southwest. The park’s 47 acres are overflowing with water rides, slides, and pools. Millions of gallons of water propel, glide, and douse visitors on more than a dozen rides. Highlights include the Tornado’s funnel-shaped waterfall ride, the Black Hole’s gushing water tubes, the amusing and appropriately named Mega Wedgie, the 12 levels of activity in Surf Lagoon, and the Bubba Tub inner-tube ride.
One of Arlington’s newest cultural attractions is The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame (621 Six Flags Dr., 817/385-8215, www.bowlingmuseum.com, Tues.-Sat. 9:30am-5pm, $9.50 adults, $7.50 seniors and children ages 4-18). The fancy, 18,000-square-foot museum is part of the massive International Bowling Campus. So why is the center of the bowling universe in Arlington? To be close to all the sports fans and tourists in Fun City, apparently. Though bowling doesn’t always get a fair shake as a competitive sport, a visit to the museum and hall of fame will make visitors start taking it much more seriously. Exhibits showcase the sport’s past, including a reference to an Egyptian grave from 3200 BC that appeared to include objects for an early form of bowling. It also offers plenty of fun interactive kiosks and games, references to bowling in popular culture a (surprisingly) fascinating exhibit about the process of making a bowling pin and ball, and a fun mini-lane where visitors can knock down some real pins.
After a full day in the sun waiting in lines to get on rides and waterslides, treat yourself to the cool, dark Planetarium at UT Arlington (700 Planetarium Pl., 817/272-1183, www.uta.edu/planetarium, open daily, show times vary, $6 adults, $4 seniors and children ages 18 and under). The planetarium boasts a 60-foot-diameter dome and was upgraded to become the only planetarium in the state with a Digistar 4 system with DLP projectors, offering a surprisingly realistic experience of viewing stars as they appear in the night sky. Audiences are transported to various otherworldly locales through shows such as Spacepark 360, Stars of the Pharaohs, and Wonders of the Universe.
On a much smaller scale is River Legacy Living Science Center (703 NW Green Oaks Blvd., 817/860-6752, www.riverlegacy.org, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm, $2 admission), a popular family destination featuring interactive exhibits with a focus on regional flora and fauna. Visitors experience the North Texas natural environment through the center’s terrariums, aquariums, and a simulated raft ride on the Trinity River. Also on the grounds is a 950-acre nature park with educational and recreational activities and hiking and biking trails along the banks of the Trinity River. The park is home to a bizarre fungus known as the devil’s cigar that breaks open with a hiss to issue “smoke” (a cloud of spores).
When someone mentions bowling, do you immediately think of the Dallas suburbs? Well, you should.
The city of Arlington has become the center of the bowling universe. The International Bowling Campus—the sport’s educational, governing, and testing center—set up its pins in Fun City to be in proximity to high-profile tourist destinations like Six Flags Over Texas, Cowboys Stadium, and Globe Life Park. This major move to the Lone Star State carried some controversy, however, since the sport’s previous headquarters were located in traditional bowling hotbeds—the blue-collar, beer-brewing cities of Milwaukee and St. Louis.
Arlington’s International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame
When the campus opened in 2010, representatives proudly announced that “for the first time in the 5,000-year history of the sport, the bowling industry is united under one roof.” The massive complex includes a collection of organizations you probably never even knew existed: the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame, the International Training and Research Center, the National Headquarters for Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America, and the United States Bowling Congress. This is where bowling’s best and brightest minds gather to study scientific aspects of the sport, share knowledge with casual and die-hard fans, and test new equipment.
Perhaps most significantly, the campus is home to the new and expanded International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. The state-of-the-art museum offers interactive displays and exhibits along with distinctive items from bowling’s various eras dating to 3200 BC.
According to the International Bowling Campus, there are more than 69 million bowlers in the United States alone. These facilities in Arlington are expected to draw many of them for bouts of bowling-related brainstorming.
Locals love North Arlington’s Mariano’s Hacienda Arlington (2614 Majesty Dr., 817/640-5118, www.marianosrestaurants.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, $10-21), with its tender brisket tacos, spicy Texas Torpedos (stuffed jalapeños), and charmingly dated ’70s ambience. Even more impressive, however, is the restaurant owner’s claim to fame as inventor of the world’s first frozen margarita machine (inspired by a Slurpee machine at the local 7-Eleven store and now housed at the Smithsonian).
Closer to the theme parks is Mercado Juarez Restaurant (2222 Miller Rd., 817/649-0307, www.mercadojuarez.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-9:30pm, Fri.-Sat.11am-10:30pm, $7-18), a local chain that’s earned raves from Dallasites for decades. Known for its distinctive mesquite-fired grill, Mercado Juarez serves up some of the Metroplex’s best carne guisada. Wrap it up in a freshly made tortilla with the restaurant’s signature warm salsa picante for a classic Tex-Mex flavor combo.
The charming Southern Recipes Grill (2715 N. Collins St. 817/469-9878, Mon.-Fri. 11am-9pm, Sat. 8am-9pm, Sun. 8am-4pm, $11-28) is a great place to go if you’re looking to unwind with a substantial meal after a day full of amusement. Waitstaff keep things casual here. If you’ve never tried a chicken-fried steak, this is a good place to start, and if you’re already a CFS connoisseur, you won’t be disappointed. Locals drop in for the black-eyed peas alone.
Arlington’s best choice for moderate rates is Quality Inn & Suites (2626 E. Randol Mill Rd., 817/649-0147, www.qualityinn.com, $71 d). The hotel is within a few miles of Hurricane Harbor, Six Flags Over Texas, and Globe Life Park and features a complimentary breakfast, a pool, and rooms with fridges and microwaves.
A bit closer to Six Flags is the clean and comfortable Wingate Inn (1024 Brookhollow Plaza Dr., 817/640-8686, www.wingateinnarlington.com, $99 d), which offers complimentary trolley passes to Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, Globe Life Park, and the airport. The hotel also has an outdoor pool and an indoor spa tub, offers free Wi-Fi, and features a complimentary continental breakfast each morning.
If you’re looking for a quality independent lodging option, head straight to Blue Cypress Hotel (117 S. Watson Rd, 800/896-1534, www.bluecypresshotel.us, $119 d). In a city filled with chain hotels and restaurants, it’s nice to sometimes go somewhere that’s not surrounded with corporate logos or taglines. Blue Cypress’s amenities include free Wi-Fi, a complimentary breakfast buffet, and rooms with fridges and microwaves.
The Hilton Arlington (2401 E. Lamar Blvd., 817/640-3322, www.hilton.com, $165 d) is slightly more expensive but offers a step up in the quality of amenities and service. The Hilton provides complimentary transportation to and from the airport and shuttle service within a three-mile radius of the hotel (covering all the major tourist attractions—Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, Globe Life Park). The hotel’s outdoor pool includes a splash area for kids and an outdoor lap section for adults.
The Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Visitor Information Center (1905 E. Randol Mill Rd., 817/461-3888, www.arlington.org, Mon.-Sat. 9am-5pm) provides maps, brochures, and additional information about accommodations and restaurants in the area.
The Trolley (817/504-9744, www.arlingtontrolley.com) is a free shuttle service running among Arlington’s major hotels and attractions. It occasionally runs a bit slow, but it’s hard to complain when the service is complimentary. Uber and cabs are always an option for those who can’t stand the idea of being on their feet another 20 or 30 minutes.
Arlington is geographically closer to Fort Worth, but it’s often aligned with Dallas due to the Cowboys connection. For those looking to drive here from Dallas or Fort Worth, simply hop on I-30 or I-20 for the circa 30-minute drive, depending on the time of day. For those visiting from Houston or Austin/San Antonio, head north on I-45 or I-35, respectively, until you reach I-20. Take Highway 360 north to access all the action (sports facilities, Six Flags, etc.).
In some ways, Waxahachie (population 33,384) is the opposite of Arlington. It’s a quintessentially quaint town (proof: it’s known as the “Gingerbread Capital of Texas”) and, as such, is appropriately chock-full o’ rich history and charming heritage tourism attractions. About 30 miles south of Dallas, Waxahachie’s name originates from an Indian word meaning “cow” or “buffalo.” Prosperity from the area’s rich cotton farming industry in the early 1900s resulted in the construction of the attractive downtown buildings and the cotton barons’ glamorous Victorian “gingerbread” homes. The city’s crown jewel is the enormous and stunning 1897 Ellis County Courthouse, one of nearly 300 Waxahachie structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town’s true Texana appeal has resulted in numerous movies being filmed here, including Bonnie and Clyde, Places in the Heart, and Tender Mercies.
The nine-story, red granite and sandstone Ellis County Courthouse (101 W. Main St., 972/825-5000, Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm) is an architectural masterpiece that is well worth making the 30-minute drive from Dallas to see. Designed in the Romanesque Revival style, this 1897 building is a true sight to behold—ornate nooks and crannies give way to massive architectural design features, and the entire castle-like element of the edifice is awe-inspiring. One of the building’s fascinating pieces of folklore involves a face carved atop the sandstone columns. The face begins as an attractive homage to a woman, rumored to be the granddaughter of the stone carver’s landlord, but becomes progressively more grotesque, apparently reflecting the unrequited attraction she felt for him. The interior of the building is also a visual spectacle, with intricate detailing, historically accurate color schemes, and ornate woodwork.
Across the street from the courthouse is the Ellis County Museum (201 S. College St., 972/937-0681, www.rootsweb.com/~txecm, Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, free). Housed in a historic 1889 Masonic temple, the museum contains exhibits depicting everyday life in the Waxahachie area from the mid-1880s to the early 1900s.
Each June, Waxahachie’s Gingerbread Trail Tour of Homes (972/937-0681) celebrates the city’s architectural legacy by showcasing historic commercial and community sites. One of the featured attractions is the 1902 Chautauqua Auditorium, an octagonal, 2,500-seat, open-air pavilion built in conjunction with the late-1800s adult education movement in Chautauqua, New York. Other Gingerbread Trail events include an arts and crafts show, street dance, and performances on the downtown square.
A good spot to soak up local flavor is Catfish Plantation (814 Water St., 972/937-9468, www.catfishplantation.com, Wed.-Fri. 5pm-9pm, Sat. 11am-9pm, Sun. 11am-8pm, $11-17). Located in one of the city’s trademark Victorian gingerbread homes, the Catfish Plantation is perhaps known better as a haunted house than a restaurant. Although the Cajun specialties and cornmeal-battered catfish fillets are legendary, it’s the three resident ghosts that supposedly slam doors, play pianos, and knock on walls that garner the most attention.
A popular place to dine in the historic downtown district is The Dove’s Nest (105 W. Jefferson St., 972/938-3683, www.thedovesnestrestaurant.com, Mon.-Sat. 11am-2pm, $10-22). Fancy sandwiches are the specialty here, from portabella veggie to ham and jam (as in smoked ham and peach habanero jam) to pulled pork barbecue. Locals have rewarded its efforts by making the restaurant a source of hometown pride.
Despite being a not-so-big city, one of Waxahachie’s least-expensive yet decent options is La Quinta Inn (311 Stadium Dr., 972/937-5525, www.laquintawaxahachie.com, $99 d), which includes a free continental breakfast, free Wi-Fi, and an outdoor pool.
Slightly more expensive and upscale is the Hampton Inn & Suites (2010 Civic Center Dr., 972/923-0666, www.hilton.com, $129 d), offering a free hot breakfast and studio suites.
Even more expensive is Holiday Inn Express (984 U.S. Hwy. 287 Bypass W., 972/938-3300, $140 d). This nice, new hotel handles the basics effectively with above-average service and amenities, including free buffet breakfast, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a free daily cocktail hour.
The Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce/Convention and Visitors Bureau (102 YMCA Dr., 972/937-2390, www.waxahachiechamber.com) is a good place to drop by to speak with someone in person about area restaurants and attractions and to pick up maps and brochures.
Waxahachie is about 30 miles/minutes south of Dallas via I-35. Visitors should take the U.S. Highway 287 Business exit (aka Main Street) and head east for a couple miles to reach the historic downtown area. From Houston, take I-45 north for three hours, then take the U.S. Highway 287 exit west to reach town (about 15 minutes).
Located 31 miles north of Dallas off U.S. Highway 75, this town of 162,898 residents was named for Collin McKinney, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and author of a bill establishing North Texas’s counties. For more than a century, McKinney primarily served as an agribusiness center (cattle, corn, horses, wheat), but by the mid-1980s it had become a commuter center for residents working in Dallas. It’s currently home to nearly 300 businesses, including Collin County Community College, and is one of the fastest-growing cities of its size in Texas, largely due to its proximity to the Metroplex and outlying supersize suburbs like Plano, where many people commute from the comparatively appealing small-town atmosphere.
McKinney’s Historic Courthouse Square has more than 100 shops—primarily antiques stores, art galleries, restaurants, and specialty spots. The Old Collin County Courthouse, the centerpiece of this downtown historic district, was built in 1874 and remodeled nearly 50 years later to include its current neoclassical facade. Just off the square is the North Texas History Center (300 E. Virginia St., 972/542-9457, www.thenthc.org, Tues. and Thurs. 11am-3pm, free), offering occasional exhibits related to the pioneer settlers and agricultural heritage of the region. Housed in a remarkable 1911 U.S. post office made of limestone with Italianate detailing, the museum is known for its stunning 1934 Works Progress Administration-painted mural and hidden walkways and peepholes once used by postal inspectors.
The Heard-Craig House Historic Center (205 W. Hunt St., 972/569-6909, www.heardcraig.org, Tues. and Thurs. at 1pm, $10 for two plus tea) showcases the life of an affluent owner of a downtown mercantile store from the early 20th century. The Heard family’s hospitality made this residence a center of social, business, art, and literary activities. Heard constructed the 7,000-square-foot mansion in 1900, and his family resided in the home for 70 years. Painstakingly restored, the grand home is now open for general visitation, guided tours, and private events. Tours are offered on Tuesday and Thursday at 1pm and by appointment.
McKinney has several top-notch Mexican restaurants, and one of the city’s finest is El Juarez Mexican Restaurant (311 E. Louisiana St., 972/548-9181, www.eljuarez.com, Tues.-Sun. 9:30am-9:30pm, $11-20). El Juarez has lured families, antiquers, and businesspeople to its cantina-esque location on the downtown square for several decades. Traditional Tex-Mex is the main draw here—you can’t go wrong with the chicken enchiladas, fajitas, or carne guisada.
Cristina’s Fine Mexican Restaurant (216 E. Virginia St., 214/544-2800, www.cristinasmex.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-10pm, $12-22) lives up to its name. The vibe at this regional suburban chain is semi-fancy, which can be a nice change of pace from the typically loud and distracting cantina-style restaurants. And the food is top-notch, with suggested items ranging from chicken flautas to chiles rellenos to the superb sopapillas.
A bed-and-breakfast is an ideal place to spend the night in a historic spot like McKinney, and one of the town’s best-regarded establishments is the Chaska House (716 W. Main St., 972/937-3390, www.chaskabb.com, $165-195). The 1900 Revival-style home is brimming with Southern historical charm, and its romantic ambience and quality amenities are extremely commendable.
For budget-minded travelers, McKinney’s Super 8 Motel (910 N. Central Expy., 972/548-8880, www.super8.com, $53 d) is a decent option with a free continental breakfast. Comfort Suites (1590 N. Central Expy., 972/548-9595, www.choicehotels.com, $86 d) has spacious suites with microwaves, fridges, free Wi-Fi, and free breakfast for a step up from the moderate-range options.
Also worth considering is Best Western McKinney Inn & Suites (480 Wilson Creek Blvd., 972/548-3000, www.bestwestern.com, $112 d), offering a complimentary deluxe breakfast and newspaper, an outdoor pool and indoor spa, and free Internet access.
For information on McKinney’s restaurants, accommodations, and events, drop by the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Visitor Information Center (1575 Heritage Dr., Ste. 100, 888/649-8499, www.visitmckinney.com, Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm).
Fort Worth is the quintessential Texas city—it has a compelling heritage, dynamic culture, and true grit. With a comfortably sized population of more than 833,319, it’s easy to get around, which is handy considering there are several days’ worth of activities and attractions to experience.
A big part of the city’s appeal is its rich history, which began in 1849 when it was established as a military post on the Texas frontier. By the 1860s, Fort Worth was the main destination for cattle drives, which originated on large South Texas ranches and moved along legendary routes like the Chisholm Trail. The city’s historical heyday was during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when railroads transformed Fort Worth into a major cattle industry town with a railhead, extensive stockyards, and beef-packing facilities. Although the city would continue to grow as an agricultural center, the stockyards remained the most prominent feature of its cultural identity.
The area where most of the activity took place serves primarily as a tourist hub these days, but there’s still some honest-to-goodness cowboy-related business in the Stockyards. Livestock auctions are held weekly, and there’s a rodeo each weekend night at the legendary Cowtown Coliseum. Culture of a completely different variety lies just a few miles down the road, where a collection of world-class museums (The Kimbell, The Modern, The Carter) showcase fascinating artwork from Texas and throughout the world.
TOP EXPERIENCE
Nothing says Fort Worth (or Texas) like a district dedicated entirely to cattle. The Stockyards, two miles north of downtown in a heritage village-type atmosphere, represent the heart of Fort Worth’s cultural history. Make no mistake, this is genuine cowboy stuff—livestock pens, saloons, a rodeo arena, and dozens of other historic structures tell the stories of the cattle drives and the rugged trail hands that followed their trampled tracks 100-plus years ago. Despite some touristy elements (Western-themed trinket shops, longhorn cattle photo ops), the Stockyards offer visitors a true sense of what the Wild West was like back in its heyday.
A good place to start is the Fort Worth Visitor Information Center (130 E. Exchange Ave., 817/625-9715, www.stockyardsstation.com, open daily), a half mile past the giant Fort Worth Stockyards sign that spans Exchange Avenue just off Main Street. Friendly and helpful staff will point out buildings and provide information about guided tours of the district. Across the street, the stately 1902 Livestock Exchange Building (131 E. Exchange Ave.) captures the business side of Fort Worth’s agricultural activity from a historical and modern perspective. Make a point to step out the back door to check out the pens holding a fascinating herd of longhorns with their impressively shaped namesake horns. Inside the Exchange Building is the small Stockyards Museum (817/625-5087, www.stockyardsmuseum.org, Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, $2 for ages 11 and up), which showcases artifacts and documents related to the area’s agricultural heritage. Next door, the understated grandeur of the 1908 Cowtown Coliseum (121 E. Exchange Ave., 817/625-1025, www.cowtowncoliseum.com) is a perfect backdrop for one of the world’s oldest indoor rodeo arenas. It’s still home to the Stockyards Championship Rodeo (Fri.-Sat. at 8pm) and occasionally Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show (Sat. afternoons), featuring trick roping, shooting, and riding as well as cowboy songs and entertainment. Check the coliseum’s website for dates and times. Another worthy activity is the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (817/625-7245, www.gvrr.com), a rustic train ride running most weekends throughout the year between the Stockyard Station and the outlying community of Grapevine.
The Stockyards’ daily cattle drives (11:30am and 4pm) showcase a dozen magnificent longhorn cattle sauntering and clip-clopping down the main drag accompanied by period-costumed drivers. The event offers a nice touch of living history, but don’t feel compelled to plan your day around the five-minute occurrence.
the daily cattle drive in Fort Worth’s Stockyards
To make the most of your trip to the Stockyards, visit on a weekend evening for a full slate of events: a stroll through Exchange Avenue’s Western shops, a hearty meal at a steak house, a rodeo at the Coliseum, and top it all off with a whiskey or cold beer at the legendary White Elephant Saloon.
The cream of the crop in the Fort Worth Cultural District is The Kimbell Art Museum (3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., 817/332-8451, www.kimbellart.org, Tues.-Thurs. and Sat. 10am-5pm, Fri. noon-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm, free for permanent collection; varying fees for traveling exhibits), which regularly receives accolades for being one of the finest art museums of its kind in the country. Fort Worth entrepreneur Kay Kimbell donated his art collection and entire personal fortune to the Kimbell Art Foundation, which opened the museum in 1972.
the renowned Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth
Brimming with significant and intriguing works of art, The Kimbell offers a rewarding visual experience that resonates with visitors long after departing. The Louis I. Kahn-designed building truly enhances the experience by bathing the museum’s concrete walls and artwork with indirect natural light emanating from gently sloping overhead barrel-vault arches.
The works contained within range in period from antiquity to the 20th century. The most memorable pieces are from modern notables such as Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, and Matisse. Though lacking in great number, the museum’s collection of older European masters is also significant, including masterpieces from El Greco, Rubens, and Rembrandt, as well as an impressive collection of Asian art.
The Kimbell also regularly hosts world-class traveling exhibits highlighting masterworks of painting and sculpture from premier collections. In addition, the museum hosts arts-related lectures, seminars, films, and musical performances throughout the year.
The Kimbell recently opened a long-awaited expansion, allowing more of its permanent collection to be exhibited. Although it was considered a daunting task to “compete” with the museum’s existing architectural brilliance, locals immediately praised the glass, concrete, and wood addition.
Like the Kimbell, The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St., 817/738 9215, www.themodern.org, Tues.-Sun. 10am-5pm, Thurs. until 8pm, $10 ages 13-59, $4 students and seniors) is stunning for its building alone. Designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, The Modern is a remarkable structure that appears to float upon a placid pond. Gazing upon the building’s dramatic concrete and glass exterior—one of the best views is from the café’s patio—reveals the intricate plan and attention to detail (notice how the pool reflects dancing splashes of gilded sunlight onto the underside of the museum’s concrete roof).
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The visual delights are equally amazing inside, where more than 2,600 significant works of international modern art, from compelling abstract expressionism to recognized pop art to abstract figurative sculpture, await around each corner of Tadao’s own architectural masterpiece. Andy Warhol’s familiar silkscreen shares space with Donald Judd’s highly stylized artwork, and major traveling exhibits offer even more contemporary imagery.
Another of the city’s world-class attractions is the Amon Carter Museum (3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., 817/738-1933, www.cartermuseum.org, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Thurs. until 8pm, Sun. noon-5pm, free). Although it’s grounded in Western art, The Carter covers an impressive range of high-quality American art, from sculptures to paintings to photographs. Through his friendship with Will Rogers, Carter developed an interest in the work of legendary Western artists Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, and his extensive collection of their art is the basis for the museum.
The remainder of the collection is perhaps even more noteworthy. The photography, in particular, is stunning—the black-and-white images of American life are especially profound and gripping, and the paintings are just as mesmerizing, especially the selections from Georgia O’Keeffe, Thomas Eakins, and Winslow Homer. The Carter has a reputation for having one of the foremost collections of American artwork. A visit to the museum confirms this distinctive status.
The most family-friendly destination in the Cultural District is the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (1600 Gendy St., 817/255 9300, www.fwmuseum.org, Mon-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm, $15 adults, $14 seniors, $12 children ages 2-18). The bold, blocky, colorful museum building is an innovative work of architecture designed by the highly acclaimed architectural firm Legorreta + Legorreta of Mexico City. The architect describes the 166,000-square-foot facility as “a very happy environment—a building for kids, young people, and adults” with Latin American-based design elements such as bright colors (deep red, yellow, bright pink), courtyards, and extensive use of glass.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
The museum’s collections and exhibits are equally compelling. Home to more than 175,000 historical and scientific objects with an emphasis on Texas and the Southwest, the museum showcases cultural heritage, botany, entomology, zoology, and paleontology. Popular attractions include the fascinating Cattle Raisers Museum, dinosaur dig/laboratory, the Children’s Museum, and IMAX movies.
Make a point of visiting the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame (1720 Gendy St., 817/336-4475, www.cowgirl.net, Tues.-Sun. 10am-5pm, $10 adults, $8 children ages 4-12 and seniors). Housed in a 33,000-square-foot building designed to mirror Fort Worth’s historic Cowtown structures, the museum showcases the important role women played in the American West.
Its origins date to 1975 in the Panhandle community of Hereford, where the small National Cowgirl Hall of Fame honored pioneers, artists, writers, tribal leaders, social activists, and modern ranchers and rodeo cowgirls. These attributes became the basis for the current facility.
Visually stunning in its design and layout, the museum’s interior is a dazzling spectacle of open spaces, bright colors, and a 45-foot-high domed rotunda housing the impressive Hall of Fame honoree exhibits, which display changing images on glass screens. Although the museum makes a point of celebrating the heroines it honors, there’s also a lot of fun to be had. Check out the media and fashion displays, and be sure to stop by the simulated bronco-riding exhibit, where visitors are filmed. The resulting digital movie clips are available on the museum’s website.
The Will Rogers Memorial Center (3401 W. Lancaster Ave., 817/392-7469, www.fortworthtexas.org, open to the public weekdays and for equestrian events on weekends, free) presides over the Cultural District with its colossal art deco tower. Named by Fort Worth civic pioneer Amon Carter for his friend Will Rogers (the famous cowboy performer), the stately art deco buildings remain significant attractions in the district. The coliseum and auditorium appropriately represent Cowtown culture with livestock shows and theatrical events.
Be sure to note the magnificent architectural elements throughout the complex, including the coliseum’s innovative girder support system allowing unobstructed views and the nearly 200-foot-tall decorative tower. A bronze bust of Rogers in the facility’s lobby is the subject of a popular local legend that claims rodeo cowboys have rubbed a dent into the statue’s nose while attempting to bestow Rogers’s good fortune on their performance. Although the nose bears a notable impression, it’s really there from the statue being accidentally dropped during installation.
Set aside an afternoon to experience the remarkable Fort Worth Zoo (1989 Colonial Pkwy., 817/759-7555, www.fortworthzoo.com, daily 10am-5pm, winter months until 4pm, $14 adults, $10 children ages 3-12 and seniors), considered one of the country’s premier zoos, and for good reason. This sprawling eight-acre complex feels less like a zoo and more like a collection of habitats, with exotic African and Asian creatures (elephants, rhinos, monkeys, lions, tigers, giraffes, zebras, hippopotamuses) often lounging a hundred feet away from visitors with only a pond between man and beast.
Bamboo and tropical trees are everywhere, giving the impression of walking through jungle trails to hunt down the next attraction. Many exhibits, including the World of Primates, include large Plexiglas windows offering views so close, you can practically feel the beasts’ breath. Kids will love seeing parakeets crawl onto their seed-on-a-stick treat (available for a buck each), and adults will be fascinated with the prehistoric marvel and grace of exotic elephants, wrinkly rhinos, and hefty hippos. The Meerkat Mounds are popular, and the Texas Wild! exhibit is a good way to get a handle on the impressive variety of creatures crawling around the Lone Star State.
Experience the sensory delight of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden (3220 Botanic Dr., 817/871-7686, www.fwbg.org, daily 8am-5pm, Main Garden free, Japanese Garden $7 adults, $5 seniors and children ages 4-12), with 2,500 species of native and exotic plants on display in 21 gardens throughout 109 acres of Trinity Park. Most of the garden has a tropical feel, with waterfalls, ponds, and lushly surrounded pathways offering visitors a welcome respite from the nearby urban environment. The Latin American tropics are highlighted in a 10,000-square-foot glass conservatory with more than 2,500 plants. Other areas worth meandering through are the sweetly scented Rose Garden and the artfully designed Japanese Garden. The garden center and conservatory are open at different times during the week and throughout the year, and various fees apply for different gardens; visit the website for specific information.
The 35-block Sundance Square Downtown Entertainment District (817/255-5700, www.sundancesquare.com) is filled with restaurants, theaters, art galleries, museums, specialty boutiques, and nightlife. The area is named for the Sundance Kid, who, along with fellow legendary outlaw Butch Cassidy, reportedly conducted business out in Fort Worth. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Fort Worth’s downtown area was filled with saloons, gambling parlors, and dance halls, drawing a rough-and-tumble mix of cattlemen and outlaws. Many of Sundance Square’s remaining buildings, brick streets, and courtyards from that period have been restored, offering a glimpse into the city’s Wild West past. Of particular note are the 1895 Tarrant County Courthouse (100 E. Weatherford St.), 1889 Land Title Building (111 E. 4th St.), 1901 Knights of Pythias Castle Hall (315 Main St.), and circa 1902 Jett Building (400 Main St.), the last featuring an enormous and legendary Chisholm Trail Mural spanning the building’s southern facade.
the Tarrant County Courthouse in the Sundance Square district
If you’re downtown, be sure to walk through the Fort Worth Water Gardens (1502 Commerce St., 817/392-7111), a remarkable urban park with water cascading, flowing, bubbling, and sparkling in every direction. Designed by famed New York architect Philip Johnson (who also designed the Amon Carter Museum), the Water Gardens are a perfect oasis in a hot, dry, Western town like Fort Worth. Visitors, residents, and nearby office employees gaze upon the pleasant fountains and flowing water as it channels throughout this architectural marvel, which opened in 1974. The open nature of the park has had its drawbacks, however. Over the years, several people have died at the Water Gardens, prompting a major renovation in 2007, with significant enhancements and changes such as interpretive plaques, additional railings, warning signs, seats, and barriers around the pools.
Ten miles northwest of downtown, the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge (9601 Fossil Ridge Rd., 817/392-7410, www.fwnaturecenter.org, daily 8am-5pm, summer hours until 7pm, $5 adults, $3 seniors, $2 children ages 3-17) offers 3,600 acres of wilderness, primarily forests, prairies, and wetlands. Residents and visitors can experience the natural side of North Texas through more than 20 miles of hiking trails, an interpretive center, and occasional sightings of bison and white-tailed deer. The refuge is two miles past the Lake Worth bridge on Jacksboro Highway (Hwy. 199).
Families will enjoy the Log Cabin Village (2100 Log Cabin Village Ln., 817/392-5881, www.logcabinvillage.org, Tues.-Fri. 9am-4pm, Sat.-Sun. 1pm-5pm, $5.50 adults, $5 children ages 4-17 and seniors), featuring seven authentic pioneer homes built during the mid-19th century and moved to the current site in the 1950s. The site’s exhibits include a water-powered gristmill, one-room schoolhouse, and blacksmith shop. Historical interpreters depict the lifestyle of the pioneers who settled in the area.
The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame (128 E. Exchange, 817/626-7131, www.texascowboyhalloffame.org, Mon.-Thurs. 10am-6pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am-7pm, Sun. 11am-5pm, $6 adults, $5 students ages 13-17 and seniors, $3 children ages 5-12) is conveniently located in one of the Stockyards District’s historic barns. The museum features impressive exhibits with cowboy and Chisholm Trail memorabilia, a sizable antique carriage collection, and a hall of fame honoring dozens of famous cowboys and cowgirls from Texas.
In the historic Sundance Square district, the Sid Richardson Museum (309 Main St., 888/332-6554, www.sidrichardsonmuseum.org, Mon.-Thurs. 9am-5pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-8pm, Sun. noon-5pm, free) offers free tours of its remarkable Western art collection. Highlights include paintings of the Old West by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and other artists in the collection of legendary Texas oilman and philanthropist Sid W. Richardson.
If you’ve ever dreamed of making billions of dollars in mere minutes, visit “the money factory,” aka the Western Currency Facility Tour and Visitor Center (9000 Blue Mound Rd., 817/231-4000, www.moneyfactory.gov, Tues.-Fri. 8:30am-5:30pm, free). An elevated walkway over the production floor allows visitors to preside over millions of freshly printed bills as part of a 45-minute tour including interactive exhibits and an informative theater film. Tours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and be sure to allow 30 minutes for everyone to make it through the not-surprisingly heavy security.
The Texas Civil War Museum (760 Jim Wright Freeway N., 817/246-2323, www.texascivilwarmuseum.com, Tues.-Sat. 10am-5pm, $6 adults, $3 students ages 7-12) is one of the largest Civil War museums in the country. Boasting more than 15,000 square feet of exhibits, the museum contains three major galleries: a Civil War collection, Victorian dress collection, and United Daughters of the Confederacy Texas Confederate collection. Appropriately, the Union exhibits are displayed on the museum’s north side, while the Confederate items are in the Southern portion of the building. Incidentally, if you’d like to hear more than you ever planned to know about the “War Between the States,” be sure to ask the friendly docent a question. Any question.
The National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum (3400 Mount Vernon Ave., 817/534-8801, www.cowboysofcolor.org, Wed.-Sat. 10am-6pm, $6 adults, $4 seniors, $3 students ages 6 and up) highlights the important contributions of the state’s ethnically diverse cowboys and other prominent African Americans. Featured exhibits showcase the frontier-era black servicemen known as Buffalo Soldiers, early African American flying pioneer Bessie Coleman, and significant achievements of Native Americans and Hispanics in Texas history.
Nearly two dozen bronze markers, known as the Heritage Trails, are scattered throughout downtown Fort Worth, offering a historical tour of the people and events that shaped the city’s history. Notable markers include JFK, Gamblers & Gunfights, and Architectural Diversity. For more information about the markers and a map of their locations, visit www.fortworthheritagetrails.com.
Nightlife in Fort Worth is generally separated into two hubs of activity: the Stockyards (historic locales) and Sundance Square (historic and hipper locales). Though the Stockyards’ saloons are more touristy, you’re more likely to have a memorable experience there—even if those memories are of saddle-shaped barstools, period-dressed waitstaff, and longhorns mounted on every wall. Sundance Square draws a younger professional crowd, and even though the bars are somewhat generic, they’re more active and open later. For craft beer, fine food, and plenty of beards, head to the Near Southside district. If you’re in search of higher culture, the magnificent Bass Performance Hall is a worthy destination even if you’re not attending a show.
For upscale entertainment, it doesn’t get much classier than the remarkable Bass Performance Hall (525 Commerce St., 877/212-4280, www.basshall.com). Billed as the last great performance hall built in the 20th century, this stately facility is reminiscent of the classic European opera houses. Architectural features include two enormous angels (48 feet tall) sculpted from Texas limestone on the building’s facade and a colorfully painted 80-foot-diameter “Great Dome” above the concert theater. Bass is home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Visit the website for information about touring shows.
The improvisational comedy group Four Day Weekend (312 Houston St., 817/226-4329, www.fourdayweekend.com, shows Fri.-Sat. 7:30pm and 10pm, $20) traffics in interactive entertainment. The audience is invited to become part of the hilarity by submitting ideas for improv routines or by joining the cast on stage for short ad-lib routines. Video, music, and the cast’s sharp skills enhance this unpredictable experience.
The most famous of Fort Worth’s entertainment venues is Billy Bob’s Texas (2520 Rodeo Plaza, 817/624-7117, www.billybobstexas.com, Mon.-Sat. 11am-2am, Sun. noon-2am, varying cover charge), billed as “the world’s largest honky-tonk.” Just a block north of the main drag in the Stockyards District, Billy Bob’s has to be seen to be believed. From the outside, it looks like an enormous arena, and the three acres of interior space are reminiscent of a cavernous Las Vegas casino. There’s a bull ring for live bull riding (no mechanical knockoffs here), a Texas-worthy oversize dance floor, a live music venue, arcade and casino games, a monstrous gift shop, and 32 individual bar stations. Concerts are held on weekends, as are the bull-riding events. Despite being a bit overboard on the over-the-top Texas atmosphere, Billy Bob’s is nevertheless worth visiting just to enjoy a cold Lone Star draft, people watching, and the distinction of experiencing the world’s largest honky-tonk.
This is a great place to spend a night on the town in Fort Worth. Several area saloons are legendary turn-of-the-20th-century watering holes, where cattlemen bellied up to the bar after a long day of trail driving.
Be sure to catch a glimpse of the boot-scootin’ regulars as they two-step and waltz to traditional country and western swing music at notable Stockyards nightlife venues such as the White Elephant Saloon (106 E. Exchange Ave., 817/624-8273, www.whiteelephantsaloon.com). This venerable watering hole is known as the district’s most historic saloon and dance hall, and features live music every night of the week. Also worth moseying into is the Longhorn Saloon (121 W. Exchange Ave., 817/386-5962, www.longhornsaloonfortworth.com, closed Wed.), a genuine Western bar that’s hosted legendary musicians like Hank Williams and Bob Wills. Another worthy venue is Pearl’s Dance Hall & Saloon (302 W. Exchange Ave., 817/624-2800, www.pearlsdancehall.com, Wed. and Fri.-Sat. 6pm-midnight), a former bordello commissioned by Buffalo Bill Cody that’s been beautifully restored.
Fort Worth’s White Elephant Saloon
As its name implies, Fort Worth’s Near Southside district is extremely close to downtown—just south of it, in fact. The district is anchored by Magnolia Street, with its charming homes and historic buildings from the early 1900s serving as restaurants, galleries, and studios.
Over the past few years, the area has transformed from a run-down sketchy area to a revitalized haven for artists and foodies. Along with this crowd comes craft brewers and the devotees who sample their evolving creations. In Fort Worth, Magnolia Street is an epicenter for the brewing scene, offering locals and visitors an ideal place to spend a night or three exploring the wares.
A good starting place is the Bearded Lady (1229 7th Ave., 817/349-9832), located in a comfy 100-year-old bungalow. There are beards aplenty on most of the men here, and they’re accompanied by smiles of satisfaction due to the enviable beer selection (top-notch local breweries, regional favorites, and rare national varieties) and incredible food. Order a Steampipe Black IPA made by neighboring Hop Fusion Ale Works accompanied by the bar’s famous Lust Burger, a poblano-and-feta-stuffed masterpiece topped with fried leeks that was recently named Texas Monthly’s third-best burger in the state.
Just down the street is Brewed (801 W. Magnolia Ave., 817/945-154, www.brewedfw.com), offering a compelling combination of high-quality beers, coffees, and locally sourced food. Do it right by ordering a local Rahr & Sons brew on tap along with some duck-fat fries. Top it off with a rich cold-brewed coffee on tap.
The Stockyards have the history, but Sundance Square has the downtown crowd. This comfortably sized area (20 blocks) has an active nightlife scene with plenty of live music venues, dance clubs, and beer joints. Among the best is the Red Goose Saloon (306 Houston St., 817/332-4343), a gently worn club with two hoppin’ areas inside. Downstairs is a traditional bar with reasonable prices and a welcoming atmosphere. Upstairs is the dance floor, with a rowdy crowd and fun beats. For an amazing beer selection, head directly to Flying Saucer (111 E. 3rd St., 817/336-7470, www.beerknurd.com), a laid-back place with more than 100 beers on tap, upper and lower beer gardens, and live local music a couple nights a week. If you’re looking for a roomy place to watch a ball game with nightly drink specials, try Fox and Hound (604 Main St., 817/338-9200).
The Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show and Rodeo (817/877-2400, www.fwssr.com) is one of the largest events of its kind in Texas. Dating to 1896, this annual 17-day event in January is highlighted by an “all-Western” parade (no motor vehicles allowed) through downtown. Other events include nightly rodeos, cowboy competitions, commercial exhibits, and auctions; most events take place at the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.
Held each February, the Last Great Gunfight (817/624-8273) is about as Wild West as it gets. In 1887, Luke Short, owner of the White Elephant Saloon, outdrew ex-Fort Worth marshal Jim “Longhair” Courtright on the street in front of the saloon. Deemed the town’s last significant duel of its kind, the event is reenacted annually in front of the White Elephant.
Mayfest (817/332-1055, www.mayfest.org), which actually begins in late April, is Fort Worth’s annual celebration of spring, complete with arts, crafts, live music, sporting events, and food at Trinity Park near the Cultural District.
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (817/738-6536, www.cliburn.org) celebrates Fort Worth native Van Cliburn’s victory at the first Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1958. First held in 1962 and repeated every four years since, the Van Cliburn competition is considered one of the world’s most prestigious classical piano contests.
Fort Worth’s Juneteenth Celebration (214/353-4445), like others throughout the Lone Star State, celebrates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, belatedly resulting in the freeing of 250,000 slaves in Texas. Fort Worth’s annual event features daylong activities including a downtown parade along with hundreds of vendors lining the streets, as well as cultural activities, carnival rides, and live music.
The city’s Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival (800/433-5747, www.redsteagallcowboygathering.com) features three days of cowboy poetry, rodeos, campfire songs, children’s events, and a chuckwagon competition, all named for the venerable country and western entertainer.
The National Cutting Horse Association (817/244-6188, www.nchacutting.com) hosts an annual event where sports, music, and media icons ride horseback at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, followed by an after-party concert, dinner, and silent auction.
Not surprisingly, Fort Worth has an impressive collection of authentic Western wear and leather goods (boots, saddles, etc.) in addition to several chic cowboy boutiques. Once again, the two main areas of activity are the Stockyards and Sundance Square.
The Stockyards and Western wear fit together like leg and denim. A stroll through the district will take you past plenty of shops offering cowboy duds, but two of the most noteworthy are Cavender’s (2601 N. Main St., 817/625-2391, www.cavenders.com) and Maverick Western Wear (100 E. Exchange Ave., 800/282-1315, www.maverickwesternwear.com). Both have authentic selections such as jeans, bolo ties, Western shirts, and vests.
For leather goods, including custom-made boots, saddles, hats, and tack, one of the best options in the entire city is M.L. Leddy’s Boots & Saddlery (2455 N. Main St., 888/565-2668, www.leddys.com). Other leather and Western goods are available at Ponder Boot Co. (2358 N. Main St., 817/626-3523, www.ponderboot.com).
In addition to its top-notch nightlife and restaurants, Sundance Square is a hot spot for shopping. Granted, you’ll find some familiar stuff—trendy clothing shops and artsy boutiques—but there are several stores that are good ambassadors of Fort Worth. Perhaps most noteworthy is Leddy’s Ranch (410 Houston St., 817/336-0800, www.leddys.com), a family business that started in the Stockyards more than 85 years ago. The Sundance Square location deviates slightly from its traditional-minded Stockyards store by offering fashions for cutting-edge cowgirls plus an impressive assortment of jewelry and antiques. Another Cowtown-worthy venue is Retro Cowboy (406 Houston St., 817/338-1194, www.ponderboot.com), a retail outpost with Western clothing, gifts, and memorabilia. For real vintage gear, be sure to drop by Peter Brothers Hats (909 Houston St., 817/335-1715), an old-school haberdashery that’s been in the same location since 1911.
Although most of Fort Worth’s authentic and interesting Western shops are in the Stockyards, there are several other spots around town worth visiting for deals and different selections. Most notable is the Justin Boot Co. Factory Outlet (717 W. Vickery Blvd., 817/885-8089, www.justinboots.com), where bargains are the draw. Expect 30-40 percent off retail prices for cowboy boots, casual chukkas, steel-toed work boots, or classic lace-up ropers. Another popular destination for shoppers seeking treasures at affordable prices is Cavender’s Boot City (857 W. Pipeline Rd., 817/589-2180), a large-scale Western wear store with a special concentration on boots.
Unless you’re a vegetarian, eating a steak is almost mandatory on a visit to Cowtown, and the city has plenty of fine options to choose from, particularly in the Stockyards. Once you’ve had your fill of steak, order more meat at a legendary barbecue joint or burger counter. If you’re still hankering for a big plate of local goodness, drop by one of Fort Worth’s fine Tex-Mex establishments for a beef taco. When in Cowtown . . . .
Although the Stockyards have plenty of good steak restaurants to choose from, one of the best traditional options is S Cattlemen’s Steakhouse (2458 N. Main St., 817/624-3945, www.cattlemenssteakhouse.com, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-10:30pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. noon-9pm, $17-38). Immediately upon entering the weighty doors of this legendary establishment, there’s no denying Cattlemen’s is all about the beef. The enormous photos of stately bulls adorning the walls and the sound of clanging steak knives are forebearers of the feast that awaits. The popular Rose o’ Texas tenderloin is a prime cut of savory charcoal-broiled beef, and the rib eye steaks offer a joyful jolt of succulent flavor. Order the fresh sautéed mushrooms for a perfect flavorful accompaniment, and try to save room for blueberry cobbler.
Just down the street, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro (2406 N. Main St., 817/740-8810, www.lonesomedovebistro.com, Mon.-Sat. 11:30am-2:30pm and 5pm-11pm, $21-40) offers steaks and Southwestern fare with an eclectic twist. Esteemed chef (and native Texan) Tim Love focuses on steak and wild game, and the results are a true Texas original. It’s the only place in the country where can you order huge cuts of Texas steer, grilled Texas quail quesadillas, or braised boar ribs seasoned with inventive rubs or sauces containing European influences. Even the buffalo burgers are exquisite. Food Network fans take note: Chef Love was one of the few competitors on Iron Chef America to defeat the esteemed Masaharu Morimoto (in a chile competition). Reservations are recommended.
A new kid on the culinary block in the Stockyards is actually a legendary veteran of Texas barbecue. Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (301 Stockyards Blvd., 817/626-6464, www.coopersbbqfortworth.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-8:30pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-9:30pm, $11-39) is an outpost of the original location in Llano, considered by many barbecue aficionados to be among the best in Texas. The similarities to the Llano location are numerous, including the primary focus on quality meats (as opposed to ambience). The signature “big chop” is a must—it’s an enormously thick hunk of savory pork with a perfect mixture of flavors from the salt-and-pepper rub and slow-smoked pit. The tender brisket and beef ribs taste like prime rib, and there’s even cabrito (goat) and ham on the menu.
One of the most famous Tex-Mex restaurants in the Metroplex is S Joe T. Garcia’s (2201 N. Commerce St., 817/626-4356, www.joets.com, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-2:30pm, 5-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. 11am-10pm, $8-17). Originally a small room with seating for 16, Joe’s has evolved into a gigantic multiwinged facility that accommodates more than 1,000. Even so, there’s still usually a line out the door, though it moves pretty quickly. There are no menus for dinner, only a choice between two equally tasty options: the enchilada and taco plate combo or the equally satisfying fajitas. Lunch offers more to choose from, and it’s all just as good, including chiles rellenos, tamales, and flautas. Make sure you don’t fill up on the premeal tortillas and butter (or thick chips), and be prepared to bring cash, since Joe T. does not accept credit cards.
Joe T. Garcia’s in Fort Worth is a legendary Tex-Mex restaurant.
Just across the street from Billy Bob’s is Los Vaqueros (2629 N. Main St., 817/624-1511, www.losvaqueros.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-10pm, $9-19), another enormous (yet less legendary) Fort Worth locale in a charming historic building. The food is standard Tex-Mex fare, with tacos and enchiladas among the best options. Complete your meal with an order of sopapillas, thin puffy pastries dusted with cinnamon and sugar and served with honey.
If you’re looking for a fine steak dinner downtown, head straight to Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House (812 Main St., 817/877-3999, www.delfriscos.com/fort-worth, Mon.-Thurs. 4:30pm-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 4:30pm-11pm, Sun. 4:30pm-9pm, $24-39). Though it’s Chicago-based, everything else about this place is pure Texas, from the huge cuts of succulent meat to the Wild West decor to the colossal chocolate cake. Reservations are recommended.
For those in search of something a bit more upscale, consider Grace (777 Main St., 817/877-3388, www.gracefortworth.com, daily 4pm-10pm, $14-33). This is a great spot for drinks and appetizers, since Grace has developed a well-earned reputation for its quality cocktails and soups. The entrées are also top-notch, but sometimes an appealing dining experience consists of nothing more than an Old-Fashioned (or two), a mushroom and cognac soup, and a side of bacon-wrapped onions.
Southwestern cuisine is the main draw at SReata (310 Houston St., 817/336-1009, www.reata.net, daily 11am-2:30pm and 5pm-10pm, $14-33). The Reata is a rare small-town-to-big-city import (the original is in the West Texas town of Alpine), but the food has become a Fort Worth tradition with cuisine inspired by regional cowboy cooking: Tenderloin tamales, barbecue shrimp enchiladas, and smoked jalapeño quail are signature dishes that don’t appear on menus in most other cities. Reservations are recommended.
Another erstwhile Texas/American tradition is barbecue, and one of the city’s favorite proprietors is Riscky’s (300 Main St., 817/877-3306, www.risckys.com, Tues.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun.-Mon. 11am-9pm, $11-22). On historic Sundance Square, Riscky’s offers traditional barbecue (brisket, sausage, chicken), but its biggest draw are the giant beef ribs smoked over a wood fire and rubbed with “Riscky’s Dust,” a concoction of nearly 20 spices.
One of the only notable downtown Latin American restaurants is la perla (910 Houston St., 817/882-8108, Mon.-Thurs. 4pm-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 4pm-midnight, $9-19), offering reliably tasty cuisine. Locals love the empanadas and fresh guacamole, and you can’t go wrong with the street tacos and tortilla soup.
A few miles away from the Cultural District, Angelo’s Barbecue (2533 White Settlement Rd., 817/332-0357, www.angelosbbq.com, Mon.-Wed. 11am-9pm, Thurs.-Sat. 11am-10pm, $11-20) is certainly worth the short drive. This no-frills joint appropriately focuses on the food, a rich, hickory-smoked Texas-style barbecue accompanied by a tangy sauce and savory rub. The brisket is especially tender, and traditional sides like potato salad and coleslaw balance the strong flavors with sweet undertones. Wash it all down with a signature (and gigantic) frosty mug of beer.
Similar yet less rustic is Railhead Smokehouse (2900 Montgomery St., 817/738-9808, www.railheadonline.com, Mon.-Sat. 11am-9pm, $10-22), where ribs and brisket are the top draws. Eschew the usual side dishes for Railhead’s top-notch fries, and, if the weather’s cooperating, enjoy your plate of smoked and fried goodness on the wholesome outdoor patio. Worth noting: Members of the military receive 50 percent off.
Long lines form early at S Kincaid’s (4901 Camp Bowie Blvd., 817/732-2881, Mon.-Sat. 11am-8pm, Sun. 11am-3pm, $7-13), which, according to the reputable surveys noted inside, serves the best burger in the country. That may be a stretch, but they certainly are juicy, flavorful, and immensely satisfying burgers worth waiting 20 minutes in line for. Kincaid’s started as a grocery store in 1946, and it retains its old-school charm with produce shelves doubling as countertops and picnic tables near the street-side windows. Instead of fries or onion rings, consider ordering the homemade deviled eggs or jalapeño halves stuffed with pimento cheese.
Kincaid’s serves some of the best burgers in Texas.
For those in search of a big ol’ burger and a craft draft within walking distance of the museums, mosey a half mile over to Rodeo Goat (2836 Bledsoe St., 817/877-4628, www.rodeogoat.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-midnight, $9-18). Burgers are about the only thing on the menu (besides an impressive selection of local and national independent brews), but that’s all you’ll need. Keep it simple with a Blue Goat (a beef, chicken, veggie, or quinoa burger topped with bleu cheese crumbles, caramelized onions, and garlic mayo) or go nuts with toppings ranging from brisket chili to grilled peaches to green chile chutney.
Just a hop, skip, and jump away from the museums is the venerable Paris Coffee Shop (700 W. Magnolia Ave., 817/335-2041, www.pariscoffeeshop.net, Mon.-Fri. 6am-2:30pm, Sat. 6am-11am, $6-13). The historic building radiates old-urban charm, and the sandwiches are all above average. Locals make a point of stopping by for breakfast—especially the biscuits and gravy—and the Thursday lunch special (delectable home-style chicken and dumplings). Customers are wise to save room for the hearty fruit pies.
For a down-home Tex-Mex experience, head to La Familia (841 Foch St., 817/870-2002, Tues.-Thurs. 11am-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-9:30pm, $11-23). Located in an unassuming strip mall just a few blocks east of the Cultural District’s unofficial boundaries, La Familia welcomes guests with hearty handshakes and hellos. Be sure to check out the specials scribbled on pieces of butcher paper posted near the front door. The margaritas are highly recommended (they’re served with a flaming sugar cube), and you can’t go wrong with most of the entrées, though locals tend to gravitate toward the taco plates and beef enchiladas.
Far more Mex than Tex is Tortaco (910 Currie St., 682/990-0735, www.tortaco.com, Mon.-Tues. 11am-2:30pm, Wed.-Thurs. and Sun. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-1am, $11-29). Instead of cheese and beef, think truffle steak, burnt-end brisket, and crab. The tequila list here is impressive, and although there are many entrées representing interior Mexico, there are still some traditional options for those in search of Tex-Mex, including carne asada (albeit coupled with a tasty slice of grilled pineapple).
Just a mile south of downtown is a stretch of fun and funky eateries in century-old homes and office buildings well worth exploring. Local establishments are on Magnolia’s menu, offering everything from vegan to upscale urban fare to trendy tacos. And beer—plenty of locally crafted beer. The following are among the most popular and highly regarded of the bunch.
Avoiding animal products in Cowtown is a hefty challenge, but vegans and vegetarians now have a habitat at the Spiral Diner & Bakery (1314 W. Magnolia Ave., 817/332-8834, www.spiraldiner.com, Tues.-Sat. 11am-10pm, Sun. 9am-5pm, $10-22). Spiral’s is immediately welcoming (omnivores will also enjoy the flavorful options), and the ’50s diner decor offers a fun experience. Instead of a standard veggie burger, opt for a McNut burger; enhance chips and salsa with a nacho dish using cashew “cheez” sauce; and spice up ordinary pasta by sampling the tasty curry noodles.
For a different twist on a typical Mexican meal in Fort Worth, head to Yucatan Taco Stand (909 W. Magnolia Ave., 817/924-8646, www.yucatantacostand.com, Sun.-Thurs. 10am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-midnight, $10-24). Don’t let the counter service fool you: This is quality fare from way south of the border. Start things off with a hefty margarita accompanied by lightly seasoned chips and salsa. Be sure to save room for a burrito bowl, filled with tasty goodness of your choice, from pork to seafood to garlic to peppers.
Authentic Italian meals aren’t always easy to find in Texas, but if you’re willing to endure a few quirks, you’ll be duly rewarded by Nonna Tata (1400 W. Magnolia Ave., 817/332-0250, Tues.-Fri. 11am-3pm and 5:30pm-8:30pm, $13-32). First, you’ll have to come prepared: Bring cash, wine, and a willingness to dine in a tiny establishment only on weekdays. Also, you can expect at least a 30-minute wait (reservations are not accepted). Even with these limitations, Nonna Tata remains a popular and highly regarded restaurant thanks to its spectacular food. Start things off with the antipasti platter (an amazing board full of Italian meats and cheeses) and continue with one of the restaurant’s seasonal specialties (pumpkin soup) or one of the tantalizing seafood dishes (calamari or shrimp—served with a homemade pasta and fresh pesto). If you still have room for dessert, be sure to order the terrific tiramisu.
Offering the basics at a bargain price is Microtel Inns & Suites (3740 Tanacross Dr., 817/222-3740, www.fortworthmicrotel.com, $65 d). Amenities include a free continental breakfast, free Internet access, and a fitness center.
One of the best sub-$100 deals in town is Quality Inn & Suites (2700 S. Cherry Ln., 817/560-4180, www.qualityinn.com, $55 d). For that minor price, consider these major features: free full hot breakfast; free manager’s reception (Mon.-Thurs. evenings) with beer, wine, hot snacks, and homemade cookies; free barbecue get-together in the ranch house living room (Thurs.); free Wi-Fi access; and outdoor pool and sundeck.
Seven miles from downtown, the Fairfield Inn (3701 NE Loop 820, 817/232-5700, www.fairfieldinn.com, $89 d) offers a complimentary breakfast and has an indoor pool and spa. The Fairfield includes an exercise room and mini suites with a private spa, microwave, and refrigerator.
Though it’s a few miles from the downtown activity and on a strangely isolated parcel of land off the freeway, there’s much to like about Country Inn & Suites (2200 Mercado Dr., 817/831-9200, www.countryinns.com, $100 d). Amenities include suites with a small sink, refrigerator, microwave, and separate room with couch (these are the standard rooms, not an upgrade), as well as free high-speed Internet access, complimentary breakfast, a heated outdoor pool and Jacuzzi, a fitness center, and pet-friendly rooms. Of note: The only other nearby establishment is a Tex-Mex restaurant (Mercado Juarez Café) immediately adjacent to the hotel, which happens to be excelente.
Just a few miles up the road from the Stockyards is Hilton Garden Inn (4400 North Freeway, 214/637-9000, www.hiltongardeninn.com, $135 d), a comfortable family-friendly option. Guests are greeted with warm cookies and cold fruit at the front desk, and the lobby area is stocked with board games. The indoor and outdoor pools and hot tub provide a relaxing way to wind down after a day of sightseeing. Amenities include free Internet access and microwaves and refrigerators in all rooms.
Farther southwest of town is Holiday Inn Express (4609 Citylake Blvd. W., 817/292-4900, www.hiexpress.com, $135 d). Nothing too fancy here, but it’s fairly new and offers reliable services such as free Internet access, an outdoor pool and hot tub, a fitness center, and a free hot breakfast bar.
Just a few miles away from the Cultural District’s attractions is Residence Inn (2500 Museum Way, 817/885-8250, www.residenceinn.com, $161 d), offering complimentary hot breakfasts, free drinks during “hospitality hour” (Mon.-Thurs.), an outdoor sports court and pool, and a whirlpool. The large suites feature separate living and sleeping areas and stocked kitchens.
A nice downtown option with easy access to most of the city’s attractions is Holiday Inn Express (1111 W. Lancaster Ave., 817/698-9595, www.hiexpress.com, $162 d). Amenities include complimentary shuttle services anywhere within a three-mile radius of the hotel, an indoor pool and whirlpool, a fitness center, free high-speed Internet access, and a free hot breakfast bar.
One of the best deals for those looking to stay in a fancy downtown hotel is the S Hilton Fort Worth (815 Main St., 817/870-2100, www.hilton.com, $169 d). The Hilton is registered as a National Historic Landmark and has the distinction of being the place where President John F. Kennedy spent his final night (he was assassinated in Dallas the following morning). The hotel’s large rooms offer all the standard amenities, with the small yet valued bonus of including two complimentary bottled waters daily.
Another popular downtown option is the Worthington Renaissance (200 Main St., 817/870-1000, www.renaissancehotels.com, $189 d), which overlooks Sundance Square. It features an indoor pool, spa tub, and sauna, massage services, and rooms equipped with minibars.
For those seeking top-notch accommodations near the convention center, there’s the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa (1701 Commerce St., 817/335-7000, www.sheratonfortworth.com, $209 d). This remodeled hotel features rooms with 32-inch HD televisions and wireless Internet access, and the hotel’s signature spa, including an indoor heated pool, sauna, whirlpool, and fitness center.
One of Fort Worth’s newest downtown hotels is the stunning Omni Fort Worth (1300 Houston St., 817/535-6664, www.omnihotels.com, $229 d). Adjacent to the Fort Worth Convention Center, the Omni has a true Texas feel, with Lone Star-themed art and bedding (saddle-blanket throws and stitched pillows). Amenities include a full American breakfast, a fitness center, a full-service spa, and Internet access.
Fort Worth’s most elegant downtown option is the beautiful Ashton Hotel (610 Main St., 817/332-0100, www.theashtonhotel.com, $229 d). Renovated to its historic grandeur, the Ashton features designer bedding and furniture along with minibars, custom robes, and, perhaps most luxurious for parents, babysitting services. Reduced prices are available with 14-day advance purchases, and increased prices are available for parking and breakfast packages.
Directly in the middle of all the Stockyards activity atop a small hill overlooking Exchange Avenue is Hyatt Place Fort Worth Stockyards (132 E. Exchange Ave., 817/626-6000, www.hyatt.com, $245 d). Amenities include a complimentary continental breakfast each morning, an outdoor heated pool, free Wi-Fi, and rooms with 42-inch panel HDTVs.
If you’re planning to plunk down $300 for a night in the Stockyards, you may as well go whole hog and do it right at the historic Stockyards Hotel (109 E. Exchange Ave., 800/423-8471, www.stockyardshotel.com, $299 d). Once a hideout for notorious gangsters Bonnie and Clyde, the Stockyards Hotel revels in its heritage, with different Western themes in each room (plus tasty snack baskets) and the charm that comes with a 1907 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In a historic neighborhood south of downtown is the charming Texas White House (1417 8th Ave., 800/279-6491, www.texaswhitehouse.com, $149-200). The friendly folks here proudly offer three large rooms in the main house with full private bathrooms and two suites in the carriage house with a fireplace, whirlpool tubs, and sauna. On-site massage services are available, and a tasty breakfast (fancy egg dishes, homemade pastries, fresh fruit) at a time of your choosing starts the day off right. Additional services include early coffee service to your room, free soft drinks, afternoon snacks, and complimentary wine in the hallway. Bonus: The trendy Magnolia Street is just a couple blocks away, offering amazing bar and restaurant options in cozy 100-year-old bungalows.
the Texas White House
More historic hotel than typical bed-and-breakfast, Miss Molly’s (109 W. Exchange Ave., 817/626-1522, www.missmollyshotel.com, $100-175) is one of the more colorful lodging options in the Stockyards. A former brothel, Miss Molly’s was built nearly 100 years ago and reflects Fort Worth’s colorful cowboy history in its seven rooms furnished with Old West antiques. Incidentally, Miss Molly’s has a reputation for hosting paranormal activity—which can either be fascinating or frightening, depending on the traveler—including ghost sightings and unexplained sounds.
Just six miles southwest of town is Benbrook Lake (817/292-2400, www.recreation.gov), where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers six public campgrounds offering sites for utility hookups and primitive camping.
The Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau operates several visitor information centers (The Stockyards: 130 E. Exchange Ave., 817/624-4741; and Sundance Square: 508 Main St., 817/698-3300, www.fortworth.com). Friendly and helpful staff members provide information and literature about attractions throughout the city. Pick up brochures and maps while viewing cowboy gear and historic Western artifacts.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (972/973-3112, www.dfwairport.com) is located exactly between Dallas and Fort Worth, so Fort Worth visitors arriving by air can take a shuttle service or taxi to their destination for a somewhat reasonable ($50-ish) charge. It’s the world’s fourth-busiest passenger airport in operations and serves nearly 158,000 passengers daily to more than 200 worldwide destinations. Upon arrival in Fort Worth, visitors can move around town rather swiftly on the Trinity Railway Express transit system, known as “the T,” (817/215-8600, www.trinityrailwayexpress.org), but a car is perhaps the best option for getting to and from restaurants, attractions, and hotels more conveniently.
Unlike Dallas, Fort Worth’s modest size doesn’t prompt visitors to seek a respite from the busy metropolis. Regardless, a couple of its outlying communities offer distinctive characteristics worthy of a day trip. Denton contains a compelling mix of student life and historical charm, and Glen Rose draws visitors from across the state in search of dinosaur tracks and exotic animals.
Located 35 miles north of the Metroplex, Denton (population 113,383) encompasses an intriguing combination of old and new. The charming historic downtown courthouse and surrounding Main Street district offer an interesting juxtaposition to the rollicking Texas Motor Speedway and fresh faces at the University of North Texas and the Texas Woman’s University. The universities play a major role in Denton’s identity, with a sizable portion of the city’s population consisting of college students. The University of North Texas has developed a nationally respected reputation for its premier jazz music program, and Texas Woman’s University (yep, it’s woman, not women) is one of the country’s largest university primarily for . . . women.
Denton is proud of its cultural and architectural heritage, including its association with the Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street program and its impressive number of buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors flock to the courthouse square to browse the antiques shops, art galleries, gift boutiques, and restaurants. Presiding over all the activity is the majestic 1896 Denton County Courthouse (110 W. Hickory St.), featuring massive limestone walls and a prominent clock tower. Over the past decade, the courthouse square has become a major destination for Dentonites—primarily due to the energetic mix of restaurants, bars, and shops in historic retail buildings surrounding the restored courthouse. Locals, students, and visitors gravitate to the courthouse square to play on the lush tree-lined grounds, grab a bite to eat at a trendy café, or enjoy a local craft beer from a balcony overlooking the entire enjoyable scene. During the day, visitors can step inside the courthouse to check out the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum (940/349-2850, www.dentoncounty.com/chos, Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm, free), recalling the town’s history through exhibits showcasing historical pottery, pressed blue glass, weaponry, and dolls.
One of Denton’s most popular attractions is the University of North Texas Sky Theatre Planetarium (1704 W. Mulberry St., 940/369-8213, www.skytheater.unt.edu, Sat. at 2pm and 8pm, $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 children ages 11 and under). The 40-foot domed theater features a projection system that reproduces the night sky with digital precision, and the planetarium’s seating and technology make visitors feel like they’re traveling to nearby stars on a celestial roller coaster ride. The facility presents educational and entertainment-oriented features for the general public and UNT students. While on campus, check out a completely different dramatic experience at the nearby Campus Theatre (214 W. Hickory St., 940/382-1915, www.campustheatre.com), a beautifully renovated 1940s art deco movie house staging live productions throughout the year.
For the ultimate downtown Denton experience, head directly to S Barley & Board (100 W. Oak St., 940/566-3900, www.barleyandboard.com, Sun.-Thurs. 11am-11pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-midnight, $9-19), which is located in a prime spot overlooking the bustling courthouse square. The B&B burger is one of the most popular items here—the hearty ground beef is topped with a perfect blend of grilled onions and sweet pickles. The toothpick fries are a nice change of pace, and the craft beer selection is extremely impressive.
If you have a hankerin’ for a meat sandwich, head directly to Rooster’s Roadhouse (113 Industrial St., 940/382-4227, www.roosters-roadhouse.com, Sun.-Tues. 11am-10pm, Wed.-Sat. 11am-11pm, $9-19). The burgers and sliced beef brisket sandwich are extremely satisfying, and the heaping helpings of side items (beans, coleslaw, potato salad) will have you gladly loosening your belt a notch afterward. Don’t forget to order a fried pickle.
Just southeast of downtown is the festive and fantastic Fuzzy’s Taco Shop (115 Industrial St., 940/380-8226, www.fuzzystacoshop.com, Sun.-Tues. 6:30am-10pm, Wed.-Thurs. 6:30am-11pm, Fri.-Sat. 7am-2am, $6-14), a minor statewide chain. Be sure to order one of Fuzzy’s Baja tacos—the tempura fish and shrimp are especially tasty—with feta and garlic sauce. The queso here is legendary, and the corn tortillas are muy bien.
Another downtown favorite is Mi Casita (110 N. Carroll Blvd., 940/891-1900, www.micasitafood.com, Mon.-Sat. 7am-9pm, $7-15). College students line up for the bargain lunch specials, featuring tacos, nachos, and burritos for a measly $4. The hearty breakfast tacos are also worth sampling, and there’s no need to worry about long lines of students in the morning.
Since Denton is a college town, there are more hotel options than normal for a city of its size. Even the budget options are clean and dependable. Days Inn (4211 N. I-35, 940/383-1471, www.daysinn.com, $69 d) offers the basic amenities at an affordable price. For just a bit more, the Quality Inn & Suites (1500 Dallas Dr., 940/387-3511, www.choicehotels.com, $69 d) provides a free hot breakfast, free Internet access, and microwaves and refrigerators in every room. At the (slightly) higher end of the chain is Denton’s Comfort Suites (1100 N. I-35E, 940/898-8510, www.choicehotels.com, $76 d), which offers an indoor heated pool, complimentary Wi-Fi access, and a free hot breakfast.
Denton’s tree-lined streets and collegiate atmosphere make it a good place to consider staying at a bed-and-breakfast, and one of the best choices available is the Heritage Inns (815 N. Locust St., 888/565-6414, www.theheritageinns.com, $125). The Cluster consists of three separate houses, and each room features a queen-size bed and private bath. Guests can have a full breakfast in the dining room or privately in bed. The B&B is just down the road from Denton’s courthouse square, which is well worth the walk after a hearty Italian meal in the downstairs restaurant.
For information on lodging, dining, events, and points of interest, visit the Denton Chamber of Commerce (414 W. Parkway St., 888/381-1818, www.discoverdenton.com, Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm).
For interstate nerds (is there even such a thing?), Denton represents the northern origin point of the split between I-35 West and I-35 East. So, if you’re visiting from the Fort Worth area, head north on I-35W; if you’re in Dallas, take I-35E. Denton is about 30 minutes from Fort Worth and 45 minutes from Dallas.
About 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, Glen Rose (population 2,580) is a popular getaway for Metroplex residents. Community members joke that humans are latecomers to this region, since evidence of dinosaurs from 100 million years ago is pressed into the area’s limestone riverbeds.
By the early 1900s, the town was known for its abundant mineral springs, which attracted doctors and “healers.” A modest population increase in the 1980s occurred thanks to the construction of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant, which became the county’s largest employer and main source of tax revenue. One of the community’s biggest draws these days is its natural attractions—particularly a wildlife center, fossil park, and camping.
The Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (2155 County Rd. 2008, 254/897-2960, www.fossilrim.org, free, animal feed bags $7) features some of the planet’s most endangered animals along with more than 60 other species on 2,700 acres of protected grasslands. The emphasis is on African animals such as the rhinoceros, giraffe, cheetah, gazelle, and zebra. Fossil Rim’s 1,800 acres of open space allow visitors to get close-up experiences with the animals through a self-guided 9.5-mile driving tour.
Along the way are an education center, restaurant, petting pasture, nature store, playground, and picnic areas. The animals, with the exception of the carnivores, rhinos, and a few others, are free to roam across the hilly savannas. Fossil Rim also offers guided tours, mountain bike tours, and hiking tours, and guests can stay overnight at The Lodge or the Foothills Safari Camp. The center’s hours of operation and admission fees vary widely throughout the year, so check the website to see what to expect.
Thousands of visitors annually flock to Dinosaur Valley State Park (254/897-4588, www.tpwd.state.tx.us, daily 8am-5pm, $5 ages 13 and older) to see the 100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in its limestone riverbeds. This picturesque park along the Paluxy River contains some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in Texas. This is where the world’s first tracks were found of the sauropod, a plant-eating reptile weighing 30 tons and measuring more than 60 feet long.
Dinosaur Valley State Park
Not as impressive in size yet still fascinating from a paleontological perspective are the tracks from two other creatures from the same era—the duckbilled dinosaurs (a mere 30 feet long) and the 12-foot-tall meat-eating theropods. Dinosaur Valley also includes nature trails and areas for camping and picnicking. The park is approximately five miles west of Glen Rose on U.S. Highway 67 and FM 205 on Park Road 59.
A good spot filled with local flavor is Hammond’s BBQ (1106 NE Big Bend Trail, 254/897-3008, www.hammondsbbq.com, Wed. and Sun. 11am-3pm, Thurs.-Sat. 11am-8pm, $8-19). Although Hammond’s has had the misfortune of burning to the ground three times, locals have been fortunate to have it rebuilt each time. Demand is high for these perfectly smoked meats, including savory sausage and tender brisket.
For a fancier dining experience, consider Inn On The River (205 SW Barnard St., 254/897-2929, open Fri. and Sat. night, $14-36). The restaurant at this popular bed-and-breakfast, a former “health sanitarium” from the 1920s, offers an ever-changing elegant four-course dinner served every Friday and Saturday night. Seatings are available at 6pm and 8pm.
Glen Rose is a bed-and-breakfast kind of town, but for those who appreciate the familiarity of a standard hotel, try Glen Rose Inn and Suites (300 SW Big Bend Trail, 254/897-2940, $79 d) or Americas Best Value Inn & Suites (1614 NE Big Bend Trail, 254/897-2111, www.americasbestvalueinn.com, $89 d), featuring a pool, a fitness center, and Internet access.
One of Glen Rose’s most popular lodging options is Country Woods Inn (420 Grand Ave., 254/897-4586, www.countrywoodsinn.com, $175), which bucks the B&B trend with its kid-friendly approach. Barnyard animals, campfire circles, and walking trails share the 40 wooded acres with century-old guesthouses, charming cabins, a railroad car, and the main lodge. You haven’t had this much fun since summer camp!
Another good choice is The Hideaway Ranch and Retreat (Private Rd. 1250, Bluff Dale, 254/823-6606, www.thehideawayranch.com, $149-179). Nestled among 155 acres of oak-laden countryside, The Hideaway offers secluded cabins with amenities such as private hot tubs, fully furnished kitchens, and outdoor grills. Activities on the property include horseback riding, swimming, hiking, and fishing.
For those willing to shell out the extra money, consider the beautiful Inn On The River (205 SW Barnard St., 254/897-2929, www.innontheriver.com, $159-179). Built in 1919, the site was originally part of a complex known as Dr. Snyder’s Drugless Health Sanitarium, where “Doctor” Snyder, “the magnetic healer,” treated patients/guests with mineral waters believed to have curing powers. Whatever the medical outcome, guests were pampered with luxurious accommodations and delectable meals. Those traditions continue at the meticulously restored current complex.
Contact the Glen Rose Convention and Visitors Bureau (1505 NE Big Bend Trail, 254/897-3081, www.glenrosetexas.net, Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm) for printed and in-person information about local events, attractions, dining, and lodging.
Glen Rose isn’t close to a major freeway, and that’s part of its charm. To get there from Fort Worth, take I-35W south to Alvarado for about 30 minutes, then head west on U.S. Highway 67 for another 30 minutes until you reach Glen Rose.
Wichita Falls (population 104,710) isn’t really en route to anywhere, but its history as a rough-and-tumble railroad and oil town make it a worthwhile place to visit if you’re willing to undertake the nearly two-hour drive from the Metroplex.
In 1882, the first railroad arrived in Wichita Falls, and the discovery of oil 20 years later established the town as a petroleum headquarters for this region of North Texas. The rugged nature of the agricultural and industrial base brought with it some unsavory characters, and their Wild West exploits in Wichita Falls’s growing number of saloons earned the town the nickname “Whiskeytaw Falls.” This legacy lives on in the form of the “red draw,” a dubious concoction consisting of beer and tomato juice, still available at many local watering holes. Oil and agriculture remain important elements of Wichita Falls’s economy, as does Sheppard Air Force Base, which hosts the only NATO pilot training program in the world.
Naturally, when visitors come to Wichita Falls, they ask, “Where are the falls?” For an entire century the answer was “Well . . . they’re gone.” Indeed, the town’s namesake five-foot-high waterfall on the Big Wichita River was washed away in a flood in 1886. One hundred years later, the town (over)compensated by constructing the 54-foot multilevel cascading Wichita Falls Waterfall (940/716-5500) on the south bank of the river. Visitors to the falls, located just north of town adjacent to I-44 South, can also experience the trails, playground, pool, and pavilions at the adjacent Lucy Park.
Believe it or not, Wichita Falls is home to the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum (708 8th St., 940/264-8123, www.pwhf.org, Tues.-Sat. 10am-6pm, $3 adults, $2 seniors and military). Located on the 1st floor of a big ol’ blue office tower (known locally as Big Blue, natch), the museum showcases dozens of wrestling greats from across the country. The museum relocated from New York to Wichita Falls in late 2016 because, according to the museum’s website, Texas has “tons of wrestling history,” including Paul Boesch, The Funks, Stan Hansen, The Freebirds, and, “of course, The Von Erichs.” Step into the ring and check ’em all out!
In the former downtown Union Station building, the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum (500 9th St., 940/723-2661, www.wfrrm.com, Sat. 11am-3pm, $2) is a showplace for railcars and memorabilia associated with “The Katy” (the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad). The museum’s vintage equipment includes a 100-year-old Fort Worth & Denver steam locomotive (one of only three in existence), a diesel switch engine, a baggage car, a post office car, two World War II troop sleepers, and several cabooses.
On the banks of Sikes Lake, the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University (2 Eureka Circle, 940/397-8900, www.wfmamsu.org, Tues.-Fri. 10am-5pm, Sat. 1pm-5pm, free) offers a combination of art, science, and regional history. Renovated in 2010, the facility features works of regional artists during the university’s academic year, with an emphasis on student art from May through July. The museum also houses a planetarium and a hands-on science center for children.
On 15 acres in Lucy Park, the River Bend Nature Center (2200 3rd St., 940/767-0843, www.riverbendnaturecenter.org, Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. noon-4pm, $5) is an environmental education center featuring a remarkable butterfly conservatory (Thurs.-Sat. 10am-4pm, Sun. noon-4pm). Also on the grounds are a wetland pond habitat, a bird habitat, bird-watching opportunities, a weather station, and a one-mile interpretive nature trail.
Approximately 14 miles southeast of Wichita Falls, Lake Arrowhead State Park (229 Park Rd. 63, 940/528-2211, www.tpwd.state.tx.us, $3 ages 13 and older) is centered on a reservoir on the Little Wichita River. Located on a former oil field, the lake literally reflects the site’s past by retaining several of the oil derricks. Local anglers claim they’re the best spots to catch crappie, perch, and bass. Built primarily as a water supply by the City of Wichita Falls, the lake is also a major recreational site for the North Central Plains. The park offers campsites, restrooms with showers, a boat ramp, an 18-hole disc golf course, fishing, swimming, and waterskiing.
Wichita Falls residents are proud of their city’s performing arts groups, including the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra (Wichita Falls Memorial Auditorium, 1300 7th St., 940/723-6202, www.wfso.org), which features more than 70 members who perform a full season of concerts each year. The group also offers a popular Children’s Concert Series. Also noteworthy is the Wichita Falls Ballet Theatre (3412 Buchanan St., 940/322-2552, www.wichitafallsballettheatre.org). The company performs traditional ballets such as The Nutcracker and hosts guest performers and school demonstrations. The Wichita Theatre Performing Arts Centre (10th and Indiana, 940/723-9037, www.wichitatheatre.com) is a 1908 historic landmark featuring family-friendly live concerts, touring shows, musical dramas, performing arts, and film events.
the Wichita Theatre Performing Arts Centre
Wichita Falls no longer revels in its former reputation as a hard-drinkin’ town of rough characters, but there are still several worthy watering holes in town. Those looking for an authentic local experience should drop by the Bar L Drive Inn (908 13th St., 940/322-0003), a tiny downtown spot that claims to have invented the “red draw,” a legendary local concoction consisting of beer and tomato juice.
Another favorite hangout for locals is the less charming but equally friendly Iron Horse the Pub (615 8th St., 940/767-9488), which features live music most weekends and serves cold beers along with darts and pool.
For a neighborhood pub experience—albeit a neighborhood across from a shopping mall—drop by Toby’s Restaurant & Bar (2617 Plaza Pkwy., 940/691-5621), where you’ll find 50 beers to choose from, televised sports, lots of military folks, and decent pub grub.
The city’s best-known event is the Hotter ’n Hell One Hundred (www.hh100.org), where bicycle racers and fitness-oriented endurance riders come to Wichita Falls each August from across the country to sweat, race, and sweat some more.
Each June, the city hosts professional circuit rodeo as part of the Red River Rodeo (940/592-2156). Held at the Wichita County Mounted Patrol Arena, the event draws nearly 10,000 people for the traditional rodeo attractions and a post-show dance.
Perhaps the most venerable of Wichita Falls’s restaurants is S Casa Manana (609 8th St., 940/723-5661, Mon.-Sat. 11am-7:30pm, $8-15), a downtown institution that opened in 1947. The most popular item on the menu is the red soft taco, featuring a rich chile sauce that enhances the seasoned beef or chicken.
Another popular Mexican restaurant is El Gordo’s (513 Scott Ave., 940/322-6251, Mon.-Sat. 11am-9pm, $8-14), adjacent to McBride Land and Cattle Co. It’s known primarily for its delectable chiles rellenos and cheese enchiladas.
The McBride family is associated with good cookin’ in Wichita Falls, especially when it comes to preparing quality meats. One of the best places to get a steak in town is Fat McBride’s Steakhouse (4537 Maplewood Ave., 940/696-0250, Sun.-Fri. 11am-2pm and 5pm-9pm, Sat. 11am-10pm, $17-32). The saddle blanket sirloin (14 or 16 ounces) is a good choice, as are the ribs and brisket. Be sure to stick with the meat dishes since the Mexican plates don’t quite make the grade. The other respected family eatery is McBride Land and Cattle Co. (501 Scott St., 940/322-2516, Mon.-Fri. 11am-1:30pm and 5pm-10pm, Sat.-Sun. 5pm-10pm, $15-29), where the food and atmosphere are truly Texan. Enjoy a hearty steak with all the fixins along with the mounted animal heads and an enormous fireplace.
For traditional Texas barbecue, locals line up downtown at the small yet satisfying Branding Iron (104 E. Scott Ave., 940/723-0338, Mon.-Thurs. 11am-3pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-8pm, $10-18), where you can get a tasty lunch—the smoked turkey and spicy sausage are favorites—for under 10 bucks.
One of the least expensive lodging options in Wichita Falls is the Regency Inn & Suites (1601 8th St., 940/322-1182, www.budgethost.com, $54 d). On the western edge of downtown, this modest hotel offers 40 rooms, each including a microwave, fridge, and free wireless service. For a big step up in quality, the Fairfield Inn (4414 Westgate Dr., 940/691-1066, www.marriott.com, $85 d) has an indoor pool and Jacuzzi, a free buffet breakfast, free wireless service, and complimentary access to a nearby Gold’s Gym.
South of Wichita Falls’s “urban” core, Lexington Suites (1917 Elmwood Ave., 940/692-7900, www.lexingtonhotels.com, $69 d) offers various room options, ranging from basic (all rooms have a fridge, microwave, and sofa) to fancy (fireplaces and balconies). The hotel offers free breakfast and wireless service.
Homewood Suites (2675 Plaza Pkwy., 940/691-4663, www.hilton.com, $119 d) is on a lake near Midwestern State University. All rooms have fully equipped kitchens (with full-size refrigerators) and Internet access, and the hotel features an indoor heated pool and a free hot breakfast.
The best place for camping in Wichita Falls is Lake Arrowhead State Park (229 Park Rd. 63, 940/528-2211, www.tpwd.state.tx.us). Another option is the Wichita Bend RV Park (300 Central Freeway, 940/761-7490, $17 nightly fee), just a few miles northwest of downtown. The park is on the Wichita River adjacent to Lucy Park and offers 28 sites with hookups (no tents) along with a pool and nature trails.
Drop by the Wichita Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau (1000 5th St., 800/799-6732, www.wichitafalls.org) for basic information for travelers, even though it caters more to conventions than individuals. Visitors will find an abundance of helpful travel-related information—brochures, maps, personal suggestions—at the Texas Travel Information Center (900 Central Freeway/I-44, 940/723-7931).
Apparently, it’s possible to fly to Wichita Falls (see info below), but the vast majority of visitors travel here by car. For those en route from the Metroplex, take I-35W northbound from Fort Worth for about 10 miles before heading westward on U.S. Highway 287, which will take you directly to Wichita Falls in about 90 minutes.
The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport (940/855-3621, www.flywichitafalls.net), a joint military/civilian endeavor, is served by American Eagle, with four flights daily to the DFW airport.