Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in Dallas, Texas (cc)

Dallas Travel Guide

Introduction

Dallas is the "Big D" – a city where life is lived large, in big mansions, with big American cars and big, 10-gallon hats. One of TV's longest running series, Dallas, is centered on the city; one of NFL's most high-profile franchises, the Dallas Cowboys, is based here; one of major league baseball's most celebrated pitchers, Nolan Ryan, finished out his spectacular career here with the Texas Rangers; and one of the world's largest retail-cum-wholesale trade complexes, the Dallas Market Center, which encompasses some 175 acres, is located here. Dallas is also home to such iconic all-American retail giants as Nieman Marcus, which was founded here in 1907, and JC Penney, which continues to be headquartered here. The city itself is unapologetically conservative, yet unabashedly cosmopolitan, with a profound religious ethic, yet strong commercial underpinnings, overwhelmingly and surprisingly white-collar, where businessmen don three-piece suits even in the sweltering 100-degree summers. The city has an impressive skyline, fabulous old mansions in its richer pockets, and a well-preserved, pedestrian-only historical district comprising 20-plus blocks of shops, offices, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Dallas' biggest claim to fame, however, is that it has more shopping centers per capita than any other city in the U.S., with the accompanying boast that comes with a dash of Texas bravado and swagger – "if can't be bought in Dallas, it can't be bought anywhere!"

Location

Dallas is situated in the northern part of the State of Texas in southern United States. It is the principal city in what has come be known as the "Metroplex," an all-encompassing complex that includes Dallas, adjacent Fort Worth, and dozens of smaller communities that surround the two cities.

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Dallas is a hub for several domestic airlines, with the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport located only 20 miles or so from the center of the city and scores of flights in and out of Dallas daily; so flying into Dallas is one of your best options. If you're driving, depending on where you are traveling from, the east-west Interstates 20 and 30 and the north-south Interstate 35 feed directly into Dallas.

Sightseeing

Main Neighborhoods

Downtown Dallas -

West End Historical District -

Dallas Alley

Greenville Avenue - Greenville is a large area to the east of Downtown that comes in three parts: Upper Greenville that offers an exuberant slice of life with high-end restaurants and nightlife; Lower Greenville which takes a low-key approach with its boutique-style shops and casual outdoor dining options; and Lowest Greenville, a Bohemian pocket brimming with antique shops, pubs and bars, and multi-ethnic restaurants.

Highland Park - Upscale neighborhood, laid out by David Wilbur Cooke, the same architect who also planned Beverly Hills in southern California. Here, along Lakeside Drive, you'll find some of Dallas' most ornate homes, with fabulous old shade trees.

Deep Ellum - Historical neighborhood, east of Downtown, bounded by Central Expressway, I-30 and Parry at Fair Park. During Prohibition, several jazz and blues venues flourished here. It now offers an alternative to the mainstream crowd at Downtown's West End.

Uptown - Located just north of Downtown and connected via trolley to the Arts district, Uptown is a lively neighborhood with red-brick streets lined with shops and restaurants. The neighborhood is often referred to as the McKinney district, and the trolley through here as the "McKinney Trolley," since McKinney Avenue runs through the heart of it.

How to Get Around

Where to Party

For a night out in Dallas, particularly for the younger lot, one needn't look beyond the Dallas Alley, an area smack in the heart of downtown, packed with a dozen or so nightclubs offering a wide range of musical genres, from country to jazz to pop to rock, and most of them accessible with just one cover charge.

Where to Eat

In Dallas, eat Texas-style and hit the city's steakhouses, notable among them Y.O Ranch Steakhouse (214-744-3287) and Hofbrau Steaks (214-742-4663) in the Downtown West End district, as well as the upscale Stampede 66 (214-526-3848) in McKinney/Uptown for some authentic Southwest-cum-TexMex cuisine in a fancy setting.

Where to Stay

Trivia

The Dallas Market Center is one of the largest wholesale trade complexes in the world, comprising 9.2 million square feet, spread over 175 acres, and boasting more than 200,000 customers annually with more than $7.5 billion in sales.

Know Before You Go