Dallas
Travel Guide North America USA Southern United States Texas Dallas
Introduction
When you think of Texas, you think of cattle, wide-open spaces and dirt lanes. But Texas also calls to mind the cities it's famous for - San Antonio, South Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Austin, Houston and, last but not least, Dallas. Dallas is the third-largest (as estimated by the United States Census Bureau on 1 July 2006) city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The city covers 385 square miles and is the seat of Dallas County.
Neighbourhoods
Center
Downtown is undergoing a slow-pace urban renewal, as well as expansion. Traditionally bound within a belt of above-ground expressways and consisting of anonymous highrise towers between parking craters, it is now rediscovering walkability, street-level retail and public transit such as the M-Line tram, operated using historic vehicles. It has also expanded northwards and merged with a part known as Uptown immediately north of it thanks to a new park developed between them, while artsy locals flock east to a low-rise neighbourhood behind the freeway known as Deep Ellum. It is in Downtown that you will find most of Dallas' surviving historic architecture and monuments, as well as major cultural institutions, museums and art galleries. It also has multiple concentrations of restaurants and bars and a number of upscale hotels for the monied traveller to choose from.
North Dallas
North Dallas includes several upscale neighborhoods, north of the Park Cities and mostly south of LBJ and extends far north to Addison. It encompasses Lake Highlands, a largely residential area bordering Garland on the north and Mesquite on the east, as well as Park Cities - Highland Park and University Park - one of the wealthiest areas of the city, mostly residential, but also offer world-class shopping opportunities. University Park is home to Southern Methodist University (SMU), the Meadows Museum at SMU, and the George W. Bush Presidential Library.
South Dallas
South Dallas includes areas south of the I30 Interstate Highway and the southwestern bank of the Trinity River. It is home to the Texas State Fairgrounds, Fair Park is open all year and is home to multiple museums. The Cotton Bowl is at Fair Park, and the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma face off on the gridiron here every year in the fall during the Texas State Fair. The Exposition Park neighborhood across from Fair Park and the DART Fair Park stop, is a little hamlet of hipster bars, clubs, and restaurants.
In its west, across the Trinity River, you will find Oak Cliff - a large low-income, mainly residential district southwest of downtown. North Oak Cliff or "Kessler Park" is another "streetcar suburb" and is home to upscale homes, from vintage 1930's bungalows, to mid-century modern, to new contemporary. The Bishop Arts District, centered on Bishop and Davis streets, is one of the City's hottest areas for new restaurants, cafes, and boutiques, drawing an eclectic crowd in which the creative class and the gay community are well-represented. North Oak Cliff is a slice of Austin in Dallas.
West Dallas
West Dallas refers to actually a tiny part of the Western part of Dallas right south of the Trinity River, largely a blighted area of poverty, but it does feature the one-of-a-kind Belmont Hotel, which has arguably the best views of downtown. West Dallas is easily connected to the Oak Cliff area, and is poised for re-development as part of the Trinity River Project, and the under-construction Hunt-Hill Bridge across the Trinity River, designed by famed Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava.
Suburbs
Some area attractions often thought of as Dallas attractions are actually located in the suburbs, notably the following:
- Addison, almost surrounded by North Dallas, has a lot of restaurants and shopping packed into its 4 square miles.
- Arlington, home to the new Cowboys Stadium, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, and the ballpark of the Texas Rangers.
- Irving, former home of the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium, it serves as the gateway to the massive DFW airport.
- The suburbs of Carrollton and Lewisville, north along I-35E have less to offer in terms of attractions, but provide ample tourist accommodations, plenty of restaurants, and are reasonably close to any Dallas destination. The same might be said for Richardson and Plano, which lie north from Dallas along US-75.
- Grapevine has a nice historic main street area and numerous wineries.
Sights and Activities
- SEA LIFE Dallas Aquarium - Family orientated tourist attraction which includes up close views of seahorses, sharks, rays and much more. Features 360° underwater Ocean Tunnel and more than 5,000 sea creatures. Address: 3000 Grapevine Mills Pkwy, Grapevine, Phone: 469-444-3050
Night Life
If you like the nightlife, Dallas' arts and entertainment district Deep Ellum is for you. Many streets in Deep Ellum are blocked off on the weekends, but finding parking isn't a problem. Full of all kinds of music (rap, rock and indie music are the most popular), Deep Ellum has quite a collection of clubs to choose from. With art galleries, restaurants, tattoo parlors, live music venues, bars, and dance clubs, you're sure to find something in Deep Ellum to interest you.
Travelling with Children
If you're traveling with kids, or a nature/animal lover, the Dallas Zoo, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens and Dallas World Aquarium are good places to visit. If you're up for the short ride into Grapevine, they hold several carnivals/festivals: Main Street Days Outdoor Adventure and GrapeFest. If you want to take a trip to Ft. Worth, there's the Kimball Art Museum, Ft. Worth Zoo and the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens. Dallas also hosts the State Fair of Texas.
Art and Culture
There are also several choices in the way of culture and art, including the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Majestic Theater, the Dallas Opera, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, which performs in the I.M. Pei-designed Morton Meyerson Symphony Center.
Shopping
Dallas may be best known for its shopping. Downtown Dallas is home to the original Neiman Marcus department store at Main and Ervay. World-class shopping can be found at NorthPark Center at US 75 and Loop 12. NorthPark features its own Neiman Marcus store as well as Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillard's, Barney's, and the Apple Store. Further north, at I-635 and Dallas Parkway is the Dallas Galleria. This giant complex features three levels of shopping beneath a vaulted glass ceiling, an ice-skating rink, a Westin Hotel, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and a number of restaurants including Mi Cocina (offering views of the ice rink) and the Grand Lux Cafe.
Events and Festivals
Holidays
- New Year’s Eve - The US celebrates the outgoing of the old year and incoming of the New Year quite dramatically. Every state boasts its own parties to ring in the New Year, but none is more extravagant than New York’s Time Square, which sees people overflowing into the neighboring restaurants, bars, parks, beaches, and neighborhoods.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King's birthday, January 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.
- St Patrick’s Day - March 17 celebrates the US’s large Irish population. Many cities around the country boast boisterous parades and Irish-themed parties, especially New York and Chicago, where the river is dyed green. Be wary of the drunkenness that dominates as this is definitely a party-day.
- Memorial Day - Memorial Day is an important holiday throughout the United States, but not for crazy festivities. Parades commemorating wartime heroes are often held and the day is also the ‘unofficial’ start of summer. Most visitors follow the crowds to parks and beaches, which are capped off with informal BBQs.
- Independence Day - Also known as the Fourth of July, Independence Day celebrates the US’s break from the British during the 18th century. Barbecues, street parties, beach trips, and weekend getaways are commonplace to appreciate freedom.
- Labor Day is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor.
- Halloween - Halloween is a fun holiday on October 31 for all generations to dress up in costumes and relive their youth. Children walk around the neighborhood trick-or-treating for candy, while adults attend parties. Other seasonal events include haunted houses, pumpkin farms and carving, and corn mazes.
- Thanksgiving - On the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving is held in almost every home in the US. Tourists will have a hard time finding anything to do as the country essentially shuts down in observation. A typical Thanksgiving meal consists of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie commemorating the original Pilgrim’s feast at Plymouth Rock.
- Christmas - On December 25, Christians celebrate Christmas as the pinnacle of their calendar by attending church and opening gifts from Santa Claus. Almost everything shuts down to promote family togetherness. The northern regions hope to experience a “white Christmas,” with trees and festive lights blanketed by snow.
Sport
- Super Bowl Sunday - the world’s most watched sporting event and one of the highest grossing TV days of the year, Superbowl Sunday is a spectacular extravaganza. Held the first Sunday in February, the Superbowl is the final playoff game between the NFL’s top two teams. The venue rotates every year around America, yet the local parties seem to remain. Pubs, bars and restaurants are great places to enjoy the Superbowl or locals throw their own parties with different variations of betting.
- The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League (AL) champion team and the National League (NL) champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, and the winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played during the fall season in North America, it is sometimes referred to as the Fall Classic.
Other Events and Festivals
The State Fair of Texas is held annually in Fair Park, approximately two miles east of downtown. Fair Park is home to the world's largest collection of Art Deco exhibit buildings, most of which were built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition and were painstakingly restored in the 1980s. The State Fair is held several weeks during the fall. To coincide with the State Fair, the Fair Park Music Hall usually hosts a Broadway musical.
Weather
Dallas has a humid subtropical climate, yet this part of Texas also tends to receive warm, dry winds from the north and west in the summer. Winters are generally mild, with typical daytime highs between 10 °C and 18 °C and nighttime lows between -1 °C and 10 °C. However, strong cold fronts known as "Blue Northers" sometimes pass through Dallas, plummeting nightly lows below zero. Snowfall is seen on average 2-4.5 days out of the year and snow accumulation is typically seen at least once every winter. A couple of times each year, warm and humid air from the south overrides cold, dry air, leading to freezing rain, which often causes major disruptions in the city if the roads and highways become dangerously slick. On the other hand, daytime highs above 65 °F are also not unusual during the winter season. In sum, extremes in weather are more readily seen in Dallas and Texas as a whole than along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, due to the state's location in the middle of the U.S.
Spring and autumn bring pleasant weather to the area. Vibrant wildflowers (such as the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush and other flora) bloom in spring and are planted around the highways throughout Texas. Springtime weather can be quite volatile, but temperatures themselves are generally mild. The weather in Dallas is also pleasant between late September and early November, and unlike springtime, major storms rarely form in the area.
Getting There
By Plane
There are several airports in Dallas, though most travelers will only need to know of two of them.
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (IATA: DFW, ICAO: KDFW, FAA LID: DFW) is about fifteen miles (24 kilometres) northwest of the centre of Dallas and about the same distance northeast of downtown Fort Worth. This is the largest airport in the region and the one most international visitors will arrive at when visiting Texas. It is the largest, and main, hub for American Airlines and its affiliate, American Eagle. The airport has five semi-circular terminal buildings designated by letters (A through E). Terminal D is the newest, and is the designated international terminal. All terminals are served by a new, elevated, fully-automated tram system called Skylink. The Skylink system is free to use and runs every two minutes. All stations are inside the security perimeter, so transfers between terminals can be made without having to pass through security a second time.
To/from the airport
- Rail: The airport is served by the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line at CentrePort/DFW Airport Station, south of the airport. The line serves both downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth. To reach the airport from the station, you have to take a shuttle bus and transfer to another bus serving either Terminals A and C, Terminals B and E, or Terminal D.
- Bus: Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) offers bus service to downtown Dallas and Irving on Route 310 to Express Route 202 at the North Irving Transit Center.
- There are some shuttle services and plenty of taxis available. Also, rental cars are available with many companies, including Hertz, Avis, Budget, Alamo/National, Enterprise and Trifty.
- Dallas Love Field (IATA: DAL, ICAO: KDAL, FAA LID: DAL) is Dallas' second-largest airport and is about five miles (8 kilometres) from the centre of Dallas. Love Field was the main airport for Dallas until DFW opened in the early '70s. With only three runways and twenty gates, Love Field isn't as busy as DFW, which some people prefer. Love Field is primarily served by Southwest Airlines, though a few other carriers have operations there as well. Note that Southwest Airlines does not operate out of DFW, so any travel involving that carrier will be through Love Field.
By Train
The Texas Eagle operated by Amtrak travels between Dallas and Chicago, stopping in St Louis as well. It also goes south towards San Antonio.
By Car
Dallas is well served by a number of Interstate and other limited-access highways which offer direct access to all of the major urban centers in the region, including Houston, Oklahoma City, Austin, and San Antonio. High-quality maps are offered for free at the state's visitor centers. The map, along with a free travel guide, can be requested in advance of a visit by visiting the state's tourism website.
By Bus
Greyhound Bus Lines serves Dallas. Their terminal is located downtown at 205 South Lamar Street. The terminal is three blocks from the DART light-rail line as well as numerous city bus lines.
Getting Around
By Car
Dallas is much easier to see by car than cities like San Francisco or Chicago. Ample free parking can be found anywhere outside of the downtown districts. A large network of freeways lays over the city like a web, and a grid of wide arterial surface streets makes navigation easy. Freeways should be avoided during morning and afternoon rush hours on weekdays. Plan your trips around these times and most traffic snarls can be avoided. Toll roads to be aware of are the Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike, operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (see their website for toll rates).
Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.
For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.
By Public Transport
Dallas has the most extensive light rail system of any city in Texas. Both the light rail system and the city bus system are run by DART, for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Both the Red Line and the Blue Line connect downtown Dallas to the West Village shopping and entertainment area (via Cityplace Station) and Mockingbird Station, home to several restaurants as well as the Angelika Theater. The Red Line also stops at the front gate of the Dallas Zoo. The Green Line extends to the east and serves the front gate of Dallas Fair Park, home to the State Fair of Texas as well as Deep Ellum and Baylor Hospital. The Green Line will eventually offer a station at Dallas Love Field (airport); until it does, both it and DFW (the larger, international airport) can be reached from downtown by bus.
By Bike
While Dallas does have marked bike routes throughout the city, it does not have many designated bike lanes or paths. The city government has published The Dallas Bike Plan, which can be viewed at their website.
Eat
Areas with high concentrations of restaurants include the following:
- Beltline Road through Addison and North Dallas, just north of I-635, has perhaps the most restaurants per-capita in the U.S. If there is a type of food you like then you can probably find it there.
- Greenville Avenue running north to south in East Dallas, has many restaurants along its length, particularly in Lower Greenville.
- Knox and Henderson streets (the "Knox/Henderson" neighborhood), off US-75 Uptown have many laid-back, stylish restaurants.
- McKinney Avenue, is the heart of Uptown, with a wide variety of quality establishments.
- The West End in the northwest part of Downtown has a good mix of original local restaurants and successful chain establishments.
Dallas has a good number of its own chain restaurants which have become quite successful in the area, offering unique local flavors:
- Spring Creek Barbecue - Spring Creek Barbeque has 15 Texas style restaurants across the North Texas area. The menu is very simple. Beef, ham sausage, turkey, chicken, and ribs are available for entrees (you can have combinations also). Side items available are corn, beans, potato salad, cole slaw, and baked potatoes. In addition, fresh homemade bread rolls are served with each dish and more are delivered to your table during each meal. Even with large servings, the most expensive menu is only about $10 so all of the dishes are available at a reasonable price. edit
- Cristina's - Several DFW locations. Lunch specials are very reasonably priced. Service across all of the family owned and operated locations is blindingly fast no matter the location. The chips and salsa are arguably some of the freshest and best in the Metroplex. A unique signature menu item is the "Queso Flameado" where the server melts cheese by fire tableside and then wraps the gooey cheesey goodness in several freshly made tortillas
Drink
The area bound by Haskell on the north, Woodall Rogers Freeway on the south, Turtle Creek on the west and Central Expressway on the east is where Dallas' beautiful people go to see and be seen. Trendy to the nth degree, this neighborhood contains very upscale fashionable clubs. Some of the hottest clubs, Medici, the Candleroom, and Sense are private. If you want to check out one of these places be sure to go with someone that is a member or have a concierge call ahead for you. Wish and Republic are also cool nightspots, with no membership required. No shorts, jeans, team jerseys, tennis shoes, or flip-flops.
Neighbourhoods
- West End - This is an attractive enough historic neighborhood with buildings in a turn-of-the-century redbrick vernacular - the notorious Book Depository is one of them - in the northwest quadrant of downtown. The area is mostly popular with suburbanites and tourists out for dinner and a quick stroll around the neighborhood but has a number of bars as well.
- Deep Ellum is a district of bars, dance clubs, music venues and tattoo shops east of downtown on Main, Elm and Commerce streets. It is a hipster haven for young people and a weekend destination for music lovers of all ages. Lately, it has been stigmatized by a purported "crime wave," be sure to go in groups if you go on a weeknight.
- Uptown and McKinney Ave - This is where Dallas' beautiful people go to see and be seen. Trendy to the nth degree, this neighborhood contains very upscale fashionable clubs.
- Lower Greenville has many older drinking establishments.
- Downtown is home to a burgeoning nightlife district and upscale restaurants.
- Addison has some famous drinking spots tucked in amongst its many restaurants, notably The Flying Saucer.
Beer/Wine/Liquor Stores
If you're looking to fill a mini-fridge or cooler with your own beverages a bit of planning might be required. Alcohol is only sold in certain parts of the city and in certain suburbs so getting to a liquor store can involve some travel. Also, Texas' liquor laws specify that any store that sells liquor cannot open on Sunday nor stay open after 9PM any other day. Stores that sell beer and wine cannot sell either from 12AM to 12PM on Sunday. A smartphone app that locates liquor stores is very useful as many of those stores in the Dallas area tend to be well inside neighborhoods as opposed to along highways, and hotel desk staff can tell you if you're in a 'wet' or 'dry' area of Dallas. Liquor stores can become quite crowded after 8PM (especially on Saturday) and remember to be extra-alert after dark. In 'wet' areas beer and wine is easily and safely available at grocery stores.
Sleep
The heaviest concentrations of hotels can be found in North Dallas along I-635 and North Central Expressway and in Northwest Dallas along I-35E, while Downtown offers more high-end accommodations.
Some travelers may find it more convenient to stay in Irving closer the DFW airport, in Arlington near the amusement parks, or in one of the northern suburbs such as Lewisville, Carrollton, Plano, or Richardson.
- Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 North Olive St (Financial district), toll-free: +1-866-716-8134. Spacious rooms, quality furnishing. Reasonably sound proofed and quiet air conditioning (for USA). Connected to Convention Center.
- SpringHill Suites Dallas Downtown/West End, 1907 North Lamar St, ☎ +1 214 999-0500.
- La Quinta Inn & Suites Dallas Downtown (formerly Lawrence Hotel), 302 South Houston St, toll-free: +1-877-396-0334. An historic boutique hotel in the West End, which has been renovated. Across from the George Allen Courthouse and the closest hotel to Dealey Plaza and the Kennedy Sixth Floor Museum.
- Dallas Marriott City Center, 650 North Pearl St, ☎ +1 214-979-9000.
- Hotel Crescent Court, 400 Crescent Ct, ☎ +1 214 871-3272. Offers European-style rooms, a day spa, business center, meeting space and wedding facilities, and a private club.
- Magnolia Hotel, 1401 Commerce St, ☎ +1 214 915-6500, toll-free: +1-888-915-1110, fax: +1 214 253-0053. Re-opened in 1999 and is in the oldest high-rise building in downtown Dallas. Adorning the top of the building is a red lighted Pegasus, which is a permanent fixture in the Dallas skyline. The hotel offers great features, location and amenities, such as: complimentary beer, wine, soft drinks, breakfast and cookies and milk at bedtime.
- Le Méridien Dallas, The Stoneleigh, 2927 Maple Ave, ☎ +1 214 871-7111, e-mail: [email protected]. This renovated luxury boutique hotel is an historic property that is a staple of the neighborhood. This unique property features a skyline penthouse, Bolla Modern Italian restaurant, a full-service spa and top-of-the-line accommodations.
- The W Hotel, 2440 Victory Park Ln, ☎ +1 214 397-4100, fax: +1 214 397-4105. Very nice and has a modern feel. Check out Ghost Bar if you stay there.
- Hotel ZaZa Dallas, 2332 Leonard St (Uptown), ☎ +1 214 468-8399, toll-free: +1-800-597-8399. This boutique hotel features a variety of concept suites, meeting and wedding facilities, luxury day spa, and dining and nightlife spaces.
Keep Connected
Internet
There is a very small internet bar/cafe culture in the USA. Even then most of the internet bars/cafes tend be located in major urban centers. Accessible WiFi networks, however, are common. The most generally useful WiFi spots are in coffee shops, fast-food chains, and bookshops, but also restaurants and hotels more and more have a network to connect on. Some of them might require you to buy something and you might need a password too, especially in hotels.
Phone
See also International Telephone Calls
The general emergency phone number is 911. The USA has a great landline phone system that is easy to use. The country code for the U.S. is +1. The rest of the telephone number consists of 10 digits: a 3-digit area code, and a 7-digit number. Any small grocery store or pharmacy has pre paid domestic or international phone cards. These phone cards are very cheap and offer good rates. The once ubiquitous pay phone is now much harder to find. Likely locations include in or near stores and restaurants, and near bus stops. The cellphone network in the states is slowly getting better but is still not as good when compared to other western countries. Cell phones tend to operate using different frequencies (850 MHz and 1900 MHz) from those used elsewhere in the world (2100 MHz). This used to prevent most foreign phones from working in America. Phones must be tri- or quad-band to work in the U.S. Fortunately, technology has meant that most phones should now be able to pick up one of the U.S. networks. Prepaid phones and top-up cards can be purchased at mobile phone boutiques and at many discount, electronics, office supply and convenience stores. A very basic handset with some credit can be had for under $40.
Post
The US Postal Service is a very good and well priced mail system. There are post offices in every small and large town for sending packages internationally or domestically. Although some might keep longer hours, most are open at least between 9:00am and 5:00pm. If wanting to send a letter or postcard it is best just to leave it in a blue mail box with the proper postage. First-class international airmail postcards and letters (up 28.5 grams) cost $1.10. There are also private postal services like FedEx, UPS, TNT and DHL, which might be better value sometimes and are generally very quick and reliable too.
Accommodation in Dallas
We have a comprehensive list of accommodation in Dallas searchable right here on Travellerspoint.
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