Visiting Dallas- Need input (Houston, Fort Worth: appointed, hotel, theater)

[H'ton]

I love to explore cities when I visit and its been a while since I've really explored Dallas. I know there have been many positive things going up in the city so it is time that I 'familiarize' myself with the city.

I am starting to do research so I can put together an itinerary for my visit.

-I will be coming from Houston

-I will be there 3 days/ 2 nights....... in March

-I will be staying in a hotel in downtown.

-How reliabe is the DART system if I want to use it to visit around Dallas. What is within easy walking distance from a train stop? What are the hours?

-What should I check out??? Remember, I am starting out downtown...the New Perot Museum?? other museums worth visiting?? new parks?? new urban districts worth visitng??? etc.?? Any suggestions are welcom

-Does the DART extend to Fort Worth? If so, can I get to the StockYards from the train or would it be best to bring a car?

-Restaurants? I know for one of the nights I want to take my girlfriend to a restaurant for a romantic dinner- any sugestions in or very close to downtown where we will be staying? I need to find a place.

Also, any other local restaurants I should check out for more casual meals?

Please help me put together an awesome trip to Dallas...I am starting to plan early so I would love to hear your input- Thanks!

[TrueDat]

1) The Perot Museum of Science and Nature is well worth visiting. But call ahead and reserve your tickets and time. Most days it has been selling out and people who just walk up expecting to get in have been leaving disappointed.

2) From the Perot Museum you can walk to the new Klyde Warren Park which is sort of equivalent to Discovery Green in Houston. It's built over the Woodall Rogers Freeway and is a cool green space linking downtown with Uptown. It's not a huge park but it's fun and people seem to be using it, something that I think is surprising some people. Sometime this year, there will also be a cafe opening there as well though it's probably not going to be open by the time you visit.

3) If you like museums, you should check out the other downtown museums like the Dallas Museum of Art (which is now free except for special exhibits), the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Crow Museum of Asian Art. If you're interested in the performing arts, you might want to take in a performance at the Winspear Opera House, the Wyly Theater, or the Meyerson Symphony Center. Along with the museums, they're all next to each other and make up the Arts District.

4) Not far away is the Sixth Floor Museum which is at the site where JFK was shot. The museum, chronicling his last day, is very good. This is the 50th year of the assassination and the museum is having some special events this year. Though not sure if any are going on when you're here.

5) The Dallas World Aquarium is also nearby. It's not as big as Atlanta's but it's a decent aquarium.

6) If you're in the Arts District, you can take the free trolley up McKinney Avenue into Uptown where there are lots of bars/restaurants and some shopping. It's the most urban/walkable part of town. You can also take the DART train from downtown to CityPlace Station, which is the stop for Uptown. DART is pretty reliable but it mostly likely is not going to go everywhere you want to go as the DFW area sprawls so much.

7) To get to Fort Worth without a car, you need to take the TRE train (not DART) from Union Station downtown. The train will drop you off in downtown Fort Worth and you'll have to grab a cab or bus to get to attractions beyond downtown. Once in Fort Worth, you should check out the Stockyards for a bit of Old West flavor. They have rodeos on Fridays and Saturday evenings. They also have really good museums there as well: The Kimbell (which has a good exhibit of Bernini sculptures starting this weekend and running through April), the Modern Art Museum, the Amon Carter (for American art and photography), and the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. There's also a science and history museum but if you've already done Perot, not sure you need to do Fort Worth's as well. The good thing is all the museums are within walking distance of each other.

8) If the weather's nice, check out the Dallas Arboretum and nearby White Rock Lake. The lake has a nice running and cycling path.

9) As for restaurants, maybe you should check out the Bishop Arts District in the North Oak Cliff area of Dallas (southwest of downtown). There are several highly regarded restaurants there that would make for a great date: Boulevardier (French) and Lucia (Italian) are two current ones that are much talked about. Make sure to call for a reservation in advance as I think they can be tough to get into. Bishop Arts is fun to walk around on the weekend and make sure to stop in to the gourmet chocolatier called Dude, Sweet. They're often giving away tasty samples.

10) You might also want to check out the bar at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the top of Reunion Tower. It revolves which is admittedly a touristy gimmick but it offers a great view of the entire area. There's also a great downtown view from the balcony bar at BarBelmont at the Belmont Hotel on the Oak Cliff side of the river.

Hope this helps.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by H'ton

-Does the DART extend to Fort Worth? If so, can I get to the StockYards from the train or would it be best to bring a car?

The TRE train runs between Dallas and Fort Worth. Home - Trinity Railway Express (TRE) It does not run at all on Sundays.

Fort Worth's public transit system is The T. The T | Fort Worth Transportation Authority | Fort Worth, TX - Home. There are buses that go from the TRE station downtown to the Stockyards and the Cultural District, but you may find it more convenient to drive over.

[Willsson]

Originally Posted by H'ton

I love to explore cities when I visit and its been a while since I've really explored Dallas. I know there have been many positive things going up in the city so it is time that I 'familiarize' myself with the city.

Spoiler

I am starting to do research so I can put together an itinerary for my visit.

-I will be coming from Houston

-I will be there 3 days/ 2 nights....... in March

-I will be staying in a hotel in downtown.

-How reliabe is the DART system if I want to use it to visit around Dallas. What is within easy walking distance from a train stop? What are the hours?

-What should I check out??? Remember, I am starting out downtown...the New Perot Museum?? other museums worth visiting?? new parks?? new urban districts worth visitng??? etc.?? Any suggestions are welcom

-Does the DART extend to Fort Worth? If so, can I get to the StockYards from the train or would it be best to bring a car?

-Restaurants? I know for one of the nights I want to take my girlfriend to a restaurant for a romantic dinner- any sugestions in or very close to downtown where we will be staying? I need to find a place.

Also, any other local restaurants I should check out for more casual meals?

Please help me put together an awesome trip to Dallas...I am starting to plan early so I would love to hear your input-

Thanks!

H'ton, look up a google map and search Dallas, Tx. Leave the view on map (rather than satellite), and on the list of add-ons, choose Transit.

You will see the rail lines in appropriate color and their routes about the DFW, including the TRE. You can zoom to a particular area to see both bus icons as well as rail icons. Click on them to discover their number/colors and schedules. If there is a More Info link then it will give an extended schedule.The last I knew the TRE did NOT run on Sunday. Clicking the rail icon will give a link to DART.

[H'ton]

Thanks for the responses. I will keep this in mind as I start to plan my visit

[seat21d]

If you're into shopping, you can visit NorthPark Center fairly easily with DART.
DART.org - NorthPark Center Shuttle Information
You can also go to Mockingbird Station on the Red/Blue/Orange line for shopping and dining.

The McKinney Avenue Trolley also drops downtown (St. Paul St/Ross @ The Fairmont) and offers access down McKinney Ave including the West Village for more shopping....so it's not necessary to take DART to CityPlace to catch the free McKinney Ave trolley.
http://www.mata.org/

Uptown is full of fine dining, and there are a few spots downtown as well. Stephan Pyles on Ross and Bob's at the Omni are probably the best downtown in addition to the ultra high end Five Sixty (Wolfgang Puck's at Reunion Tower) mentioned above. I also like Samar (another Stephan Pyles restaurant). Uptown is also full of great choices including Nick and Sam's, Capital Grill, Truluck's, and many, many more.