Denim and diamonds define the Dallas decor, skyline, and attitude. Rugged western virility coupled with cosmopolitan offerings create the city’s truly Texan aura. Big Tex, an enormous cowboy float in Fair Park, welcomes visitors to one of the country’s finest collections of Asian art and a slew of restaurants. While the intrigue surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy haunts the city to this day, Dallas views itself as a city imbued with a maverick’s spirit where, even though an urban landscape has replaced the sprawling plains, “the people still swagger and the frontier still calls.”
Downtown Dallas is bounded by The Mixer, a highway loop formed by the intersections of I-30, I-35E, I-45, U.S. 175, and U.S. 75. North of downtown are the ritzy residential and shopping districts of Turtle Creek, Oaklawn, Highland Park, and University Park, as well as the Lower Greenville entertainment district. East of downtown are Deep Ellum, Fair Park, and White Rock Lake. The I-635 loop surrounds Dallas. The lateral highways I-20, I-30, and Hwy. 183 run east to Fort Worth. Beware of ravenous parking meters, which demand feeding until 10pm.
Cheap hotel lodgings in Dallas are nearly impossible to come by; big events like college football’s Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1, 2008) and the state fair held every October exacerbate the lodging problem. Look within 10 mi. of downtown along three of the major roads for inexpensive motels: north of downtown on U.S. 75, north along I-35, and east of I-30.
Dallas boasts that it has more restaurants per capita than New York City. The city offers eclectic dining options, coupling urban delights with tried-and-true Texan fare. For the lowdown on dining options, pick up “Startime,” in the Friday Star-Telegram. Stock up on produce at the farmers’ market, which takes place three blocks below Taylor St. downtown. (☎939-2808. Open daily 7am-6pm.)
Attractions in Dallas tend to be overpriced; admission-weary travelers may wish to take to the streets. Downtown’s monuments to capitalism span a century of architecture, from Art Deco to I.M. Pei. Thanks to fountains, plenty of shade, and the Light Rail, these sights are surprisingly pedestrian-friendly.
Jfk Sights. John F. Kennedy’s motorcade was passing through Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 1963 when bullets, most likely from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building, mortally wounded the president. Today, in that same building, the 6th Floor Museum traces the events of the assassination and the subsequent investigations, theories, and conspiracies. (411 Elm St. on Dealey Plaza. ☎747-6660; www.jfk.org. Open M and Su noon-6pm, Tu-F 10am-6pm, Sa 10am-8pm. $10, ages 6-18, seniors, and students $9. Audio tour $3.50.) The Kennedy Memorial, a sculpture by Philip Johnson, looms nearby at Market and Main St. Conspiracy hounds have expounded upon the missing pieces of the puzzle for decades.
Art And Architecture. The architecture of the Dallas Museum of Art is as graceful and beautiful as its impressive collections of Egyptian, African, early American, Impressionist, Modern, and decorative art. (1717 N. Harwood St. ☎922-1200; www.dm-art.org. Open Tu-Su 11am-5pm, Th until 9pm. $10, ages 12-17 and seniors $7, students with ID $5. Admission includes audio tour. Free Th 5-9pm and 1st Tu of each month. Jazz concerts Th 9pm in summer.) The Nasher Sculpture Center displays modern works both indoors and in the garden. Life-sized human sculptures reach heights of 100 ft. in Walking to the Sky. (2001 Flora St. ☎242-5100. Open Tu-Su 11am-5pm, Th until 9pm. $10, seniors $7, students $5, under 12 free. Joint passes to the Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Center $16, seniors $12, students $8.) Just across Harwood St., the Crow Collection of Asian Art has Japanese prints, Chinese jade, and Indian ivory carvings, among other pieces. (2010 Flora St., at Hardwood and Olive St. ☎979-6430. Open Tu-Su 10am-5pm, Th until 9pm. Sculpture garden open 24hr. Free.) Architect I.M. Pei lists several Dallas landmarks among his many achievements. The Wells Fargo Building, at Ross Ave. and Field St., makes an indelible mark on the city’s skyline. Fountain Place, in the building’s plaza, consists of cascading pools, fountains, and water gardens. Pei also designed downtown’s Energy Plaza, at Bryan and Ervay St., and One Dallas Center, at Bryan St. between St. Paul and Harwood St., but it is the striking City Hall, at Ervay St. and Young St., that marked his career breakthrough.
Fish, Flora, And Flight. The Dallas World Aquarium fits an awful lot into one urban city block, including leopards, manatees, and a multi-tiered rainforest. (1801 N. Griffin St. ☎720-2224; www.dwazoo.com. Open daily 10am-5pm. $17, seniors $14, ages 3-12 $10). At the Dallas Arboretum, 20 themed gardens occupy 66 tranquil acres near the shore of White Rock Lake. Try parking on a nearby residential street to avoid the parking fee. (8617 Garland Rd. Bus #60. ☎515-6500. Open daily 9am-5pm. $8, seniors $7, ages 3-12 $5. Parking $5.) The American Airlines C. R. Smith Museum traces the history of the world’s largest airline. Exhibits give a behind-the-scenes look at airline operations using flight simulators and historic aircraft. For those who want a taste of the good life, the auditorium has first-class airplane seats. (4601 Hwy. 360, at the FAA Rd. Exit just south of the airport. ☎967-1560. Open Tu-Sa 10am-6pm. $4; children, seniors, and students $2.)
Fair Park. Home to the State Fair since 1886, Fair Park has earned national landmark status for its collection of 30s Art Deco architecture, the largest such collection in the country. The Texas Star ferris wheel dominates the park’s skyline. (Visit www.bigtex.com for info on the State Fair, held each Oct.) The 277-acre park also hosts college football’s Cotton Bowl. (Jan. 1, 2008.) The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future has exhibits covering everything from Lucille Ball to birth control. Built in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute, this new museum has a dramatic atrium as its centerpiece. (3800 Parry Ave. ☎915-0860; www.thewomensmuseum.org. Open Tu-Su noon-5pm. $5, seniors and students $4, ages 5-12 $3.)
Historic Dallas. Old City Park contains 35 restored 19th-century structures. There’s a fee to tour the buildings, but the pleasant grounds are free. (1717 Gano St., across I-30 from downtown. ☎421-5141; www.oldcitypark.org. Grounds open daily 5am-5pm. Exhibit buildings open Sept.-July Tu-Sa 10am-4pm, Su noon-4pm; Aug. Tu-Sa 10am-2pm, Su noon-2pm. Mar.-June 14 and Oct.-Dec. $7, seniors $5, children $4; June 15-Sept. and Jan.-Feb. $5, seniors $4, ages 4-12 $3.) The West End Historic District is a brick-lined neighborhood of shops and restaurants a few blocks north of Dealey Plaza. Dallas’s mansions are in the Swiss Avenue Historic District and along the ritzy streets of Highland Park, between Preston and Hillcrest Rd.
The Observer is a free alternative weekly with unrivaled entertainment coverage. For the scoop on Dallas’s gay scene, pick up copies of the Dallas Voice and Texas Triangle in Oaklawn shops and eateries.
The Shakespeare in the Park festival is held in Samuel-Grand Park, just northeast of Fair Park, from mid-June through July with other performances during the spring and fall. (☎559-2778. Performances Tu-Su 8:15pm. Gates open 6:45pm; arrive early. Free tickets Tu-Th and Su.) At Fair Park, Music Hall hosts Broadway tours in the Dallas Summer Musicals series. (☎691-7200 for tickets; www.dallassummermusicals.org. Shows June-Oct. $11-134.) The Dallas Symphony Orchestra plays in the downtown Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. (☎692-0203, tours 670-3600; www.dallassymphony.com. Box office open M-Th 9am-6pm, F 10am-6pm. Tickets $12-100. Free tours F-Sa 1pm.)
The Mesquite Championship Rodeo, 1818 Rodeo Dr., is one of the most competitive in the country. Take Exit 4 from I-635 S. and stay on the service road. (☎972-285-8777; www.mesquiterodeo.com. Shows Apr.-late Sept. F-Sa 8pm. Gates open 6:30pm. $12, ages 3-12 and seniors $7. Pony rides and petting zoo $3. Barbecue dinner $11, children $7. Parking $5.)
In Dallas, the moral order is God, Texas, country, and the Cowboys. See “The Boys” play football from September to January at Texas Stadium, at the junction of Rte. 12 and 183, west of Dallas in Irving. (☎972-785-5000. Ticket office open M-F 9am-5pm. Tickets $60-139.) Ameriquest Field, 1000 Ballpark Way, hosts the Texas Rangers from April to September. (☎817-273-5100. Ticket office open M-F 9am-6pm, Sa 10am-4pm, Su noon-4pm and 9am-9pm on game days. Tickets $6-105.) Experience the mystique of the game with a 1hr. tour of the locker room, dugout, and the press box on the ballpark tour, which also includes admission to Legends of the Game Museum. (☎817-273-5600. In-season non-game days tours every hr. M-Sa 9am-4pm, Su 11am-4pm; night-game days M-Sa 9am-2pm, Su 11am-2pm. Low season Tu-Sa 10am-4pm. $12, students with ID and seniors $10, ages 4-18 $7.)
Head east of downtown to Deep Ellum, a haven for blues legends in the 20s, and for musicians of every type since the area was revived in the 80s. The 1st Friday of every month is Deep Friday (www.deepfriday.com), when an $8 wrist band gets you into eight Deep Ellum clubs featuring local rock acts. Other nightlife centers include Lower Greenville Avenue and Yale Boulevard, near SMU’s fraternity row. Gay nightlife centers on Cedar Springs Road, a bit north of downtown in Oaklawn.
 |
 |
 |
 |
For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube
Foursquare
Newsletter
RSS Feed
Overview