After I inform folks I stay in Dallas, I obtain two responses. The most typical is, “I’ve by no means actually thought of visiting Dallas.” The opposite? “I’ve visited however I didn’t actually know what to do or the place to go.”
Right here’s the factor: as somebody who has lived in Dallas since 2015, I can completely perceive why town has flown beneath the radar as a journey vacation spot. Past the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas State Honest, Dallas’ points of interest are extra low-key and centered on neighborhood exploration. It additionally doesn’t assist that town is a complicated mass of highways, and infrequently misconstrued as a Western honky-tonk, due to the Nineteen Eighties TV present Dallas (it’s something however that – belief me).
The Dallas I do know is a metropolitan metropolis with a shocking skyline, a rocking arts scene and artistic eating places that led to it being named the 2019 Restaurant Metropolis of the Yr by Bon Appetit. However until you might have a neighborhood information to paved the way, you would possibly miss out on what makes D-town so particular, so try this Dallasite’s 4-day itinerary to expertise the very best of town’s tradition, historical past, artwork and out of doors adventures.
Day 1 is for artwork and historical past in downtown Dallas
You don’t must lease a automotive if you happen to keep in downtown Dallas. From right here, you may benefit from numerous public-transit choices: a free D-Hyperlink bus that serves the downtown and Deep Ellum areas, two free streetcars with routes to Uptown and Bishop Arts, a number of DART rail stations, and an underground-tunnel strolling system. Plus, rideshares to the locations on this itinerary gained’t be too costly.
Our top-choice resort is the Thompson Dallas, for its mid-century fashionable luxurious fashion and three of the very best eating places on the town, Kessaku, Catbird, and Monarch. You may also contemplate the HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, which mixes artwork, magnificence and an outstanding location within the Arts District.
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Spend the morning revisiting the previous
Hop on the free D-Hyperlink bus that runs each quarter-hour by downtown Dallas and get off close to Ellen’s Restaurant within the West Finish. Have a mimosa with shrimp and grits or a latte with southern breakfast favorites like biscuits and gravy. After breakfast, hit the pavement to expertise Dallas’ notable historical past.
It’s only a few blocks to the John Neely Bryan Cabin, the primary home ever inbuilt Dallas (or at the least a reproduction constructed within the Thirties). From there you may knock out the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture (at the moment being renovated however simply the constructing itself is gorgeous), in addition to Dealey Plaza and the Kennedy Memorial. The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is properly value visiting, as is the Sixth Flooring Museum, the place you may study extra in regards to the assassination of John F Kennedy and see the room the place gunman Lee Harvey Oswald watched the Presidential limo method.
Spring for a sit-down lunch or seize a chew to go
Stroll to Klyde Warren Park, which is positioned on high of a freeway, and seize one thing to eat from the meals vehicles that line the park. Take a second to loosen up within the 5.2 acres of inexperienced area beneath the shadow of the skyline.
If meals vehicles aren’t for you, hop on the free McKinney streetcar (there’s a cease on the facet of the park) and journey into Uptown, the place there are many sit-down eating places like San Martín Bakery and Haywire. While you’re executed, you may take the streetcar again to Klyde Warren Park.
Museum-hop by the afternoon
Do you know that Dallas is residence to the most important contiguous arts district in america? It’s positioned throughout the road from Klyde Warren Park and options a mixture of artwork museums and live performance halls.
Begin on the Dallas Museum of Artwork earlier than heading into the Nasher Sculpture Middle and the Crow Assortment of Asian Artwork. The primary is free, with tremendous partaking displays and 24,000 artistic endeavors in its everlasting assortment. Discover calmness and larger-than-life sculptures within the Nasher’s displays and gardens, and a compact and compelling assortment of Asian works on the Crow Assortment of Asian Artwork.
Have an evening out in Deep Ellum
After a refreshing afternoon relaxation, flip east into Deep Ellum, a hip district with all types of leisure for the night. That is the center of Dallas’ stay music scene and has been since singers like Blind Lemon Jefferson had been busking on Elm Road.
Gasoline up with Texas-style barbecue from the Pecan Lodge, Mexican bites from Yellow Rosa Cocktaileria, pizza from Cane Rosso, or Cajun delicacies from the Free Man Cajun Cafe & Lounge.
Iconic venues just like the Bomb Factory, Three Links and Trees e-book the newest bands and musicians, however if you wish to hear native acts, attempt your hand at Twilite Lounge or Double Broad. There’s limitless avenue artwork and murals upon which to feast your eyes as you barhop by Deep Ellum: head to Ruins for an evening of dancing, or merely benefit from the laid-back courtyard setting at Dot’s Hop House & Cocktail Courtyard. And if you happen to get hungry once more, Severe Pizza is a favourite for when the late-night drunchies hit.
Day 2 is all about Oak Cliff and the Bishop Arts District
Go for a restorative morning hike
Sleep in a bit earlier than mountaineering off final evening’s debauchery at Cedar Ridge Protect. This 600-acre nature protect has 9 miles of mountaineering trails, a few of which attain an elevation of 755ft.
Then drive into Oak Cliff, town’s traditionally Hispanic space, for a hearty, conventional Mexican breakfast at Gonzalez Restaurant on Jefferson Blvd. Order some chilaquiles or a bowl of menudo (tripe stew, a remedy for hangovers) and a facet of the very best tortillas on the town.
Whereas away the afternoon wandering town streets
After breakfast, stroll alongside Jefferson Blvd, the historic coronary heart of Dallas’ Hispanic neighborhood. There are some basic buildings right here that reveal the district’s practically century-old historical past, just like the Texas Theatre, the place Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested.
However the true charms are the lengthy strips of brick storefronts filled with classic Tejano albums, botanica cures and quinceañera attire. Search for mural artwork that celebrates Latino heritage and icons equivalent to Tejana singer Selena. Subsequent, pay a go to to the Oak Cliff Cultural Center to study extra in regards to the neighborhood that gave the world T-Bone Walker, Dennis Rodman and Stevie Ray Vaughn. They provide gallery area to native artists and placed on occasions and exhibitions.
A stroll by Kessler Park or Winnetka Heights Historic District with a espresso from Xamán Café is a pleasing manner to take a look at Dallas’ historic properties and get a really feel for Oak Cliff, a neighborhood with a protracted and various historical past that is run the gamut from upscale Victorian to mid-century den of the Ku Klux Klan to as we speak’s blue-collar and Hispanic neighborhood with an artsy facet.
As you stroll, pop in your headphones and hearken to De Colores Radio, an award-winning podcast that arose from the Oak Cliff neighborhood. Host Eva Arreguin and her sister and producer, Pat Arreguin, talk about historic, cultural and political life in Dallas and the South, and in addition suggest Oak Cliff occasions, companies, eating places and artists.
Seize snacks within the Bishop Arts District
Proceed to the Bishop Arts District, which is residence to tons of cute little outlets and galleries, together with spots for antiques, homewares, attire, Mercado369 (a must-shop vacation spot for Latino artwork) and the stunning Wild Detectives indie bookstore and low store. In case you’ve bought kiddos, Dallas Zoo is on this a part of city and is undoubtedly value visiting.
In spite of everything that strolling, seize a snack. For one thing candy, go to Cretia’s Eatery and Bake Shoppe or Emporium Pies. Tribal All Day Cafe is a good cease for wholesome bites, whereas Dallas Grilled Cheese Co is the right place for tacky delights.
Have a straightforward night within the Design District
Head west to the Design District for dinner and a low-key night. Earlier than going to eat, cease on the Sweet Pass Sculpture Park and Dallas’ graffiti and mural artwork park, referred to as the Fabrication Yard, for Insta-worthy photographs of sculptures, graffiti and mural artwork.
Take pleasure in dinner at Trinity Groves, a 15-acre foodie hotspot with 14 eating choices, sitting on the base of the glowing spirals of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. As you eat, you may take pleasure in unbelievable views of the Dallas skyline, together with the well-known Financial institution of America Plaza outlined in inexperienced lights (locals name it the Jolly Inexperienced Big) and the glittery lollipop that’s Reunion Tower.
For extra views of downtown, plus a close-up of the Trinity River and Dallas’ flood plain, the Trinity Skyline Trail stretches 4 miles and results in the Trinity Overlook, a brief stroll from Trinity Groves.
In case you’re nonetheless up for some enjoyable, see how good your intention is at Lone Star Axe Throwing. For just a little nostalgia, have a bowling evening at Bowlounge or play 170 classic arcade video games and pinball machines at Cidercade, which serves cider and wine.
Day 3 is for meals excursions, tradition and leisure
Spend the morning taking a chew out of Black historical past
Rise and shine for a cultural journey in Dallas. Bypass an enormous breakfast for a cup of espresso and a pastry from a Deep Ellum espresso store like Fiction Coffee, Merit Coffee Co. or Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, then drive to Honest Park, a 277-acre campus that opened in 1886 with the primary Texas State Honest.
Right this moment this artwork deco haven is a middle of leisure and cultural and historic establishments, such because the African American Museum of Dallas, which homes a complete assortment that traces the historical past of Black People from Africa by enslavement and Jim Crow and on to the current. The museum additionally boasts one of many largest collections of African-American folks artwork within the nation, and commonly companions with organizations like Remembering Black Dallas for lectures and different instructional occasions.
It is on the museum the place Soul of DFW Bus Tours launches its four-hour Meals and Black Historical past bus tour. Beginning at 10am, you’ll go to native African-American landmarks and cease in Black-owned eating places for soul meals and dessert tastings.
Within the afternoon, see historic paperwork and immersive artwork
Earlier than you permit Honest Park, cease by the Corridor of State to see the place the Dallas Historic Society holds the unique Juneteenth doc that freed the final remaining enslaved peoples in Texas and the South on June 19, 1866. Return to downtown Dallas to expertise the gorgeous Immersive Frida Kahlo exhibit, which brings the works and private historical past of the famed artist to life.
When you have time, cease downtown on the J Erik Jonsson Central Library. On the seventh flooring, you’ll uncover a duplicate of Shakespeare’s First Folio, one in all 250 on the planet, and a duplicate of the Declaration of Independence, one in all 25 on the planet.
Hit the city for dinner and a present
Dinner choices are limitless in downtown Dallas, particularly on Essential and Elm Streets. You would have an upscale meal at the subterranean restaurant Dakota’s Steakhouse, or at the French Room within the Adolphus resort. For one thing extra relaxed, Campisi’s, Jaxon Beer Garden and CBD Provisions are at all times good selections.
Finish the night with a live performance, play, opera, musical or present at one in all Dallas’ premiere venues, just like the Moody Performance Hall, Morton H Meyerson Symphony Middle, the Winspear Opera Home and the Wyly Theatre (each on the AT&T Performing Arts Middle).
For one thing extra upbeat, contemplate Latin dancing to a stay salsa band at Gloria’s in Addison, or an evening out on the strip in Oak Garden, Dallas’ LGBTIQ+ neighborhood. Lovingly known as “the Gayborhood,” Oak Garden was residence to the primary homosexual bar and the primary Homosexual Satisfaction Parade in Texas, and continues to be an vital vacation spot for queer tradition. At evening, the neighborhood’s bars and golf equipment come to life on Cedar Springs Highway. Favorites embody two-stepping on the Round-Up Saloon, late-night drag exhibits at Station 4 and Texas’ oldest lesbian bar, Sue Ellen’s.
Day 4 is all in regards to the outside
Spend the morning on the Dallas Farmer’s Market
Dallas isn’t simply barbecue and Mexican meals – the wholesome coronary heart of town may be discovered on the Dallas Farmers Market. The market started as a spot for native farmers to promote their produce, however like with the whole lot in Texas, it’s gotten greater and higher.
Begin on the Shed, an outside pavilion with produce on the market and meals stalls serving up breakfast and lunch. Cool off contained in the Market Outlets, a 26,000-sq-ft meals corridor and market with artisans promoting native wares and specialty meals.
Gasoline up with brunch in Decrease Greenville
Decrease Greenville is a beloved Dallas neighborhood for good purpose – it is full of outlets, eating places with patios, and the Granada Theater, which has been alive and kicking since 1946 and is now one of many metropolis’s finest stay music venues, internet hosting touring acts just like the Avett Brothers, ZZ High, Graham Nash, Adele and TV On The Radio. On Sundays, the neighborhood can also be residence to the Underground Market, which has stalls promoting residence décor, artwork, and trinkets.
Begin the day without work proper with brunch at Company Café and Bar, Halcyon, the Libertine or HG Sply Co. Libertine has hefty burgers and hollandaise, and HG Sply Co affords more healthy bites and probably the greatest rooftops in Dallas. Then once more, Firm Café serves up Southern breakfast favorites, and Halcyon, bottomless mimosas and fried rooster and waffles.
Get lively on the arboretum and White Rock Lake
Subsequent up, head to the close by Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, the place hundreds of thousands of vegetation and several other Chihuly sculptures add as much as probably the greatest botanical gardens within the south, based on Southern Residing journal.
Then take in some solar at White Rock Lake. You’ll be able to hit the 9.4-mile loop path on foot or bike, get out on the lake in a kayak or canoe (leases obtainable on-site) or set sail on an journey with the Spirit of Dallas.
Wrap up the journey with an alfresco night
After spending time at White Rock Lake, head again to Decrease Greenville for dinner on a patio – take pleasure in ramen at Wabi House, Tex-Mex bites at Desert Racer, or sliders and shakes at Son of a Butcher.
Don’t go away with out grabbing a glass of wine at Leela’s Wine Bar, a tiki cocktail at Swizzle or a drink at the Truck Yard, a magnet for locals who collect in a big, open beer backyard that generally hosts stay music. Attempt native brews like Oak Cliff Black Lightning or By the Horns’ Helles Lager. The Truck Yard additionally serves draft cocktails and frozen drinks, equivalent to bourbon lemonade and salted watermelon margaritas.
