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I have some friends from NYC coming over to Dallas. Please advice on the best route to drive them around to show the city.
Thanks
Take the I-30 W, 32.4 mi, exit 15C to merge onto US-287 North toward I-35W N/Denton, 0.8 mi, onto TX-280 Spur, 0.9 mi, turn right onto Commerce St, 0.4 mi, slight right to stay on Commerce St, continue onto N Main St, 2.3 mi, turn right onto E Exchange Ave, destination will be on the right.
That is a good starting place! Search function is your friend, people
I have also posted some "driving directions" for seeing the best of Highland Park and Lakewood before.
In general, things I would take/show a visitor (tailored to their interests, of course):
-Shopping: Highland Park Village & NorthPark are king. No need to go anyone else. If they are girly & young (late teens to 20's), I'd also include the boutiques along Lovers Lane near Tollroad in UP & the boutiques in Snider Plaza.
-Arts: The Nasher is my one "don't-miss" for Dallas. The Arboretum is great for an afternoon visit, too. The fall pumpkin festival there is so creative! If they like theatre, check out what's on stage at the Wyly or Winspear (large performances) or Theatre Three / Theatre Too (local actors, good performances though!). If they're into music, check out the calendars at some of the better small venues- Granada, Kessler, Palladium.
-Food: Dallas has great food! I'd take them to the Farmer's Market for breakfast on Sat or Sun- Pecan Lodge is a "hidden" gem restaurant that's actually in the Farmer's Market. For Tex-Mex, Mia's on Lemmon is the best in my book. Definitely take them to the Bishop Arts District and eat at Bolsa, Tillman's, or Eno's Pizza. The restaurants along Knox/Cole are also great, especially in good patio weather (Tavena, Villa O, Trece, Tolouse).
-For showing them the city, I'd do a drive through a couple of my favorite neighborhoods:
The Park Cities- drive a loop starting at Armstrong & Oak Lawn by the fountain. Left on Armstrong & follow it north to Mockingbird Lane. Right on Mockingbird and drive though Highland Park Village which is just to the east. Right on Preston, left on Beverly Drive (one of HP's iconic streets, home to at least one of the world's billionaires Bob Rowling, CEO of Omni Hotels). Take Beverly to St John's (just past the creek). Right on St John and wind your way to Euclid. The Spanish style building is HP Town Hall and was built by the same architects who built LA'sBeverly Hills. In fact, the town of HP was developed by the same men who developed Beverly Hills. Take a right on Euclid, left on Lakeside and follow lakeside back to Armstrong, where you'll find the fountain where you started. The home on Preston @ Armstrong that backs up to lakeside (not visible from street) is Jerry Jones' home.
-Lakewood/ East Dallas I'd do a quick loop, take Lakewod Blvd east from Abrams and take it all the way to the dead end at the lake. Take a left and then a left on Williamson (before the bridge). Williamson north to Mockingbird, right on Mockingbird, right on the W Lawther exit, and take Lawther around the perimeter of White Rock Lake's west bank. Many gorgeous estates on hills to see here! Wind your way back to Lakewood Blvd and keep going. Right on Tokalon to drive one of Dallas' prettiest streets. Tokalon will spit you back out onto Lakewood Blvd. Lakewood Blvd back to Abrams, left on Abrams, right on Gaston, right on La Vista, left onto Swiss Ave. Drive all the way down to the gates at Fitzhugh for a complete tour of these turn of the century through 1930's mansions.
- Uptown: drive the loop up McKinney Ave to Knox St and then back down Cole.
- Kessler Park/North Oak Cliff. Drive from Sylvan to Hampton via Colorado Blvd for some beautiful 1920's mansions nestled up in the hills. Kessler Parkway also has some cool mid-century modern "tree houses"'up in the hills. Lots of pretty streets off Colorado so wind around at your leisure.
I'd take a day to visit an edit of TurtleCreek80's recommendations. Dallas is wonderful and has much to see. Then spend a day in Fort Worth. Museums in the AM, then lunch at one of the funky places in W7th. Afternoon in the Stockyards, dinner at Joe T's. Add an evening of bar hopping in Sundance Square and/or an event at the Bass or tickets to 4 Day Weekend (best entertainers in FWD). Fort Worth is a terrific introduction to all the richness of Texas. I've done this FW tour to out of towners many times, including for some from NYC. They loved it! Have fun.
To Ad to TC80's Arts (well specifically the Theatre) Recommendations. I'd recommend going to the Bathhouse Cultural Center. Usually a good play, or a good art exhibit, or both available. Then go out on the back balcony and look out over White Rock Lake. Often a good way to cap off a day after going to the Arboretum.
Also you might see what Nouveau 47 Theatre has going on. They are in The Magnolia Lounge in Fair Park. It was Margo Jones's old theatre so lots of history there. Good way to end the evening after walking through the fair grounds, maybe stoping at a museum.
I would like to make a few other suggestions, as well, for driving tours that are sure to impress if your guests are interested in the urban nature of Dallas.
Suggestion 1:
The absolute most impressive big city view of Downtown Dallas is coming into the city on Stemmons Freeway.
Shortly after Stemmons merges with 183 heading south towards Downtown, the view from the freeway from that point on is nothing short of phenomenal.
The highrise towers on both sides of Stemmons from there all the way to Downtown SCREAMS you are in a major urban city, starting with the dense cluster of towers in the Dallas Medical District on the left and the office towers, hotels, etc. on the right.
And as you get a little closer to Downtown, there is a particular nexus of view that is breathtaking in that central Dallas looks absolutely mammoth .... at this nexus one can see all of the towers of Turtle Creek, Uptown and Victory Park flowing as one huge visual eye candy into the stunningly beautiful forest of CBD skyscrapers that from this view point are stretched very wide in their orientation.
Even after passing the nexus the view is still very impressive with all of the towers of Uptown and Victory on the left hand side and the new 23 story apartment tower (1400 Hi Line) under construction on the right hand side of Stemmons across from the American Airlines Center.
I wish I had a wide angle motion picture camera to shoot this sequence and put it on YouTube because as mentioned above central Dallas looks absolutely huge, which it is but sometimes it is more difficult to get the "full effect".
The Stemmons Freeway view is the absolute best freeway entrance into Downtown.
After experiencing the incredible wide angle view of central Dallas afforded from Stemmons, continue on the freeway and take the Woodall Rodgers Freeway exit.
As the exit rises in its elevation, you can see the Calatrava Bridge quite clearly to the right. As the elevated exit begins to curve toward Center City the view of the forest of skyscrapers of the traditional CBD to the right and the wall-to-wall towers of Victory and Uptown to the left is very impressive, especially when one considers that the vast majority of towers in Victory Park and Uptown were constructed between 2006 and 2010!
It is almost difficult to take it all in, all at once, as there is so much to see on both sides of Woodall you don't know where to look first!
Of course the Perot Museum's crane to the left and Museum Tower's imposing presence and crane to the right show Dallas is still building while other cities have stopped (and you will have already just passed the dual construction cranes for the 23 story 1400 Hi Line apartment under construction on Stemmons).
Suggestion 2:
As an alternative, a driving tour that shows the huge number of office towers in the central city from a larger and broader point of view is also impressive.
In May of this year I had guests in from Philadelphia who were staying in a hotel just east of the Galleria. I picked them up at their hotel and proceeded to go up to Alpha Road and make a left to take Alpha to the North Dallas Tollway (it may be labeled "Parkway" at this point) intersection and entered it.
The North Dallas Tollway (may be labeled "Parkway" at this point) passes by the Dallas Galleria and rises up on an elevated portion that provides an incredible view of the Galleria Business District as one can see the four or five towers of Lincoln Center on the south side of LBJ and the four or five towers of the Galleria on the north side and the other really tall tower on the northwest corner.
From the elevated portion I turned left to enter LBJ Freeway heading towards Central Expressway. As you drive east on LBJ one gets a good view of all the towers that comprise the High Five Business District at Central and LBJ.
Plus the High Five interchange itself is the tallest stack interchange in the United States, no other is taller not even in Los Angeles. LA has the second tallest stack interchange in the country but Dallas' High Five is the tallest at 120 feet tall (12 stories tall).
Take Central Expressway South. From the moment you enter Central all the way to Downtown Dallas, Central is lined with dozens and dozens of office towers, one after another. It just shows the enormous urban environment that Dallas has become with the density of highrises that goes on for miles and miles and miles, starting at the Dallas Galleria, along LBJ and then down Central.
Of course as one gets closer to Downtown and after passing dozens and dozens of towers along Central, all of a sudden Downtown emerges into view with its forest of skyscrapers and with the 42 story CityPlace East Tower on the left hand side and the 21 story Mondrian residential tower on the right hand side of the freeway sort of acting like the ceremonial skyscraper entrances to the Downtown Dallas corridor.
The set of directions above is probably the 2nd best freeway entrance into Downtown.
I took the Woodall Rodgers Freeway exit from Central to show all of the massive growth of Uptown and Victory to the right and Museum Tower rising to the left with the deck park under construction. The Perot Museum is on the right of course as you emerge from the tunnel with the CBD to your left. I took the exit off Woodall for Commerce Street (rather than getting onto Stemmons) and from it you can see the Calatrava Bridge in all its glory.
Suggestion 3 (a driving tour of Downtown Dallas)
Where Suggestion 2 leaves off above, I followed the access road to the redlight where it forces you onto Commerce heading west; at the very next intersection of Commerce and Industrial I did a "U" turn to turn around and head back toward Downtown.
I took Main Street at the triple underpass where Kennedy was shot to go through the Main Street District. Of course the obligatory hundreds of Kennedy tourists are everywhere, along with Dealey Plaza and Old Red Courthouse/Museum on the right after passing across Houston St.
Dallas' tallest skyscraper, Bank of America, at 72 stories and 921 feet is a few intersections down. As you drive down Main St. there are dozens of restaurants, incredible hotels, etc., that now line the street for several blocks. And of course so many of the older commercial buildings that line Main Street have been renovated into residential towers with thousands of people now living in Downtown Dallas (Kirby Building, Mercantile Bank Building, Wilson Building, Titche-Goettinger Building, etc.)
The chic 5 Star, 21 story boutique Joule Hotel is on the right in a Gothic skyscraper (one of only two in Downtown, the other being the Kirby Building), which is expanding. On the left is a pass through walkway between Main and Elm Streets that is the landscaped Stone Street Gardens, lined with restaurants, pubs and bars, located across the street from the Joule Hotel.
And of course you will then pass the one and only original Neiman Marcus in Downtown Dallas. After passing Main Street Gardens, turn left on Harwood.
Make a left on Elm Street to go down it to see Elm. You pass the historic Majestic Theater on the right and a little further down on the right is the old 33 story LTV Tower which is being renovated into the Grand Ricchi residential tower and a little further down from it is Elm Place, the 52 story 1.3 million sq ft building, also being renovated into residential. Go to Market St. and make a left (point out that the West End is just a couple blocks up Market to the right).
Go to Commerce St. and make a left to head up Commerce. You'll pass Belo Park under construction on the left with the Metropolitan Condo Tower overlooking it. Commerce has revitalized almost to the same extent as Main St has with the numerous commercial buildings that have been renovated into residential towers and hotels.
You'll pass the Adolphus Hotel on the left, the Magnolia Hotel on the left, the AT&T World Headquarters on the right, the historic Art Deco Dallas Power & Light building on the right (now residential above and retail on ground floor), Neiman Marcus again this time on the left of the street, the 31 story historic Mercantile Bank Building with its fabulous Art Deco neon lighted clock tower with spire on the left (now residential), a new residential tower on the left just to the east of Mercantile, and the Beaux Arts style old Municipal Building on the left (slated to become a law school).
Make a left on Cesar Chavez Street, continuing north on it passing Main and Elm and immediately after crossing Pacific veer to the left at the "Y" (going to the right will put you on Central Expressway). Going to the left is actually Crockett Street but after it crosses Live Oak it turns into North Pearl Street.
North Pearl will take you through the heart of the northeast portion of downtown's skyscrapers with Plaza of the Americas on the right, Chase Bank Tower (with keyhole top) on the right, 2100 Ross Avenue Tower on the left, Cathedral Guadalupe on the right (with the tallest belltower in Dallas with the largest and most number of bells of any church tower that only recently was completed), past Flora Street with the Meyerson Symphony Center to the right and the Arts District off Flora in either direction, Museum Tower under construction to the left, across Woodall Rodgers Expressway and the Urban Deck Park, and into Uptown.
After going over Woodall into Uptown, at Mckinney Avenue you might then pick up the McKinney Avenue driving tour that was suggested by TurtleCreek80.
Suggestion 4
For a picture postcard view of Downtown Dallas, take your guests to The Belmont Hotel for cocktails. They have a smallish outdoor patio area with a couple of tables that afford the best view (but still a big huge portion of Downtown can't be seen from here). But it is still nice to sip cocktails here overlooking the City. There are many more tables in an inside area that if you sit on the outer edge, you can still see Downtown fairly well from there.
From the smallish outside patio you can go through a little gate and take the path that leads around the hotel. If you do this, you will be rewarded because you will see an unobstructed and complete view of Downtown Dallas, and THE VIEW IS ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!
Since the Belmont is situated up on a small hill, as stated if you follow the path around from the outside patio of the bar area, from this particular vantage point Dallas looks incredibly huge and dense, which it is, but this provides a very clear view of just how huge and dense it is.
From this path you can continue to walk up to the highest point on the grounds of the Belmont, which is a paved driveway area, and again the view from here is absolutely stunning! Have cameras ready!!
The density of skyscrapers and towers in Victory Park, Uptown, Turtle Creek and stretching further north along Stemmons Freeway and Central Expressway, coupled with the forest of skyscrapers in the traditional CBD, all flowing seamlessly into one huge and very long cityscape makes urban Dallas almost look surreal.
Go a little before sundown so you can see the lights of Downtown come on and your guests can be afforded both late day and evening views.
And as a suggestion for after cocktails at the Belmont, dinner at the adjoining "Smoke" restaurant is exceptional. It is barbeque, but barbeque that NYC people will write home about! Really, really good food.
Conclusion
At a minimum, please drive the Stemmons drive into Downtown after its merge with 183 .... that is the most spectacular driving view into the City!
And take your guests to The Belmont Hotel for drinks and its view, too!
Sorry for the length of this note!
Last edited by skys the limit2; 09-06-2011 at 07:27 PM..
You think somebody from NYC is going to be impressed by the Dallas Skyline?
Quote:
Originally Posted by skys the limit2
.
TurtleCreek80 has great suggestions!
I would like to make a few other suggestions, as well, for driving tours that are sure to impress if your guests are interested in the urban nature of Dallas.
Suggestion 1:
The absolute most impressive big city view of Downtown Dallas is coming into the city on Stemmons Freeway.
Shortly after Stemmons merges with 183 heading south towards Downtown, the view from the freeway from that point on is nothing short of phenomenal.
The highrise towers on both sides of Stemmons from there all the way to Downtown SCREAMS you are in a major urban city, starting with the dense cluster of towers in the Dallas Medical District on the left and the office towers, hotels, etc. on the right.
And as you get a little closer to Downtown, there is a particular nexus of view that is breathtaking in that central Dallas looks absolutely mammoth .... at this nexus one can see all of the towers of Turtle Creek, Uptown and Victory Park flowing as one huge visual eye candy into the stunningly beautiful forest of CBD skyscrapers that from this view point are stretched very wide in their orientation.
Even after passing the nexus the view is still very impressive with all of the towers of Uptown and Victory on the left hand side and the new 23 story apartment tower (1400 Hi Line) under construction on the right hand side of Stemmons across from the American Airlines Center.
I wish I had a wide angle motion picture camera to shoot this sequence and put it on YouTube because as mentioned above central Dallas looks absolutely huge, which it is but sometimes it is more difficult to get the "full effect".
The Stemmons Freeway view is the absolute best freeway entrance into Downtown.
After experiencing the incredible wide angle view of central Dallas afforded from Stemmons, continue on the freeway and take the Woodall Rodgers Freeway exit.
As the exit rises in its elevation, you can see the Calatrava Bridge quite clearly to the right. As the elevated exit begins to curve toward Center City the view of the forest of skyscrapers of the traditional CBD to the right and the wall-to-wall towers of Victory and Uptown to the left is very impressive, especially when one considers that the vast majority of towers in Victory Park and Uptown were constructed between 2006 and 2010!
It is almost difficult to take it all in, all at once, as there is so much to see on both sides of Woodall you don't know where to look first!
Of course the Perot Museum's crane to the left and Museum Tower's imposing presence and crane to the right show Dallas is still building while other cities have stopped (and you will have already just passed the dual construction cranes for the 23 story 1400 Hi Line apartment under construction on Stemmons).
Suggestion 2:
As an alternative, a driving tour that shows the huge number of office towers in the central city from a larger and broader point of view is also impressive.
In May of this year I had guests in from Philadelphia who were staying in a hotel just east of the Galleria. I picked them up at their hotel and proceeded to go up to Alpha Road and make a left to take Alpha to the North Dallas Tollway (it may be labeled "Parkway" at this point) intersection and entered it.
The North Dallas Tollway (may be labeled "Parkway" at this point) passes by the Dallas Galleria and rises up on an elevated portion that provides an incredible view of the Galleria Business District as one can see the four or five towers of Lincoln Center on the south side of LBJ and the four or five towers of the Galleria on the north side and the other really tall tower on the northwest corner.
From the elevated portion I turned left to enter LBJ Freeway heading towards Central Expressway. As you drive east on LBJ one gets a good view of all the towers that comprise the High Five Business District at Central and LBJ.
Plus the High Five interchange itself is the tallest stack interchange in the United States, no other is taller not even in Los Angeles. LA has the second tallest stack interchange in the country but Dallas' High Five is the tallest at 120 feet tall (12 stories tall).
Take Central Expressway South. From the moment you enter Central all the way to Downtown Dallas, Central is lined with dozens and dozens of office towers, one after another. It just shows the enormous urban environment that Dallas has become with the density of highrises that goes on for miles and miles and miles, starting at the Dallas Galleria, along LBJ and then down Central.
Of course as one gets closer to Downtown and after passing dozens and dozens of towers along Central, all of a sudden Downtown emerges into view with its forest of skyscrapers and with the 42 story CityPlace East Tower on the left hand side and the 21 story Mondrian residential tower on the right hand side of the freeway sort of acting like the ceremonial skyscraper entrances to the Downtown Dallas corridor.
The set of directions above is probably the 2nd best freeway entrance into Downtown.
I took the Woodall Rodgers Freeway exit from Central to show all of the massive growth of Uptown and Victory to the right and Museum Tower rising to the left with the deck park under construction. The Perot Museum is on the right of course as you emerge from the tunnel with the CBD to your left. I took the exit off Woodall for Commerce Street (rather than getting onto Stemmons) and from it you can see the Calatrava Bridge in all its glory.
Suggestion 3 (a driving tour of Downtown Dallas)
Where Suggestion 2 leaves off above, I followed the access road to the redlight where it forces you onto Commerce heading west; at the very next intersection of Commerce and Industrial I did a "U" turn to turn around and head back toward Downtown.
I took Main Street at the triple underpass where Kennedy was shot to go through the Main Street District. Of course the obligatory hundreds of Kennedy tourists are everywhere, along with Dealey Plaza and Old Red Courthouse/Museum on the right after passing across Houston St.
Dallas' tallest skyscraper, Bank of America, at 72 stories and 921 feet is a few intersections down. As you drive down Main St. there are dozens of restaurants, incredible hotels, etc., that now line the street for several blocks. And of course so many of the older commercial buildings that line Main Street have been renovated into residential towers with thousands of people now living in Downtown Dallas (Kirby Building, Mercantile Bank Building, Wilson Building, Titche-Goettinger Building, etc.)
The chic 5 Star, 21 story boutique Joule Hotel is on the right in a Gothic skyscraper (one of only two in Downtown, the other being the Kirby Building), which is expanding. On the left is a pass through walkway between Main and Elm Streets that is the landscaped Stone Street Gardens, lined with restaurants, pubs and bars, located across the street from the Joule Hotel.
And of course you will then pass the one and only original Neiman Marcus in Downtown Dallas. After passing Main Street Gardens, turn left on Harwood.
Make a left on Elm Street to go down it to see Elm. You pass the historic Majestic Theater on the right and a little further down on the right is the old 33 story LTV Tower which is being renovated into the Grand Ricchi residential tower and a little further down from it is Elm Place, the 52 story 1.3 million sq ft building, also being renovated into residential. Go to Market St. and make a left (point out that the West End is just a couple blocks up Market to the right).
Go to Commerce St. and make a left to head up Commerce. You'll pass Belo Park under construction on the left with the Metropolitan Condo Tower overlooking it. Commerce has revitalized almost to the same extent as Main St has with the numerous commercial buildings that have been renovated into residential towers and hotels.
You'll pass the Adolphus Hotel on the left, the Magnolia Hotel on the left, the AT&T World Headquarters on the right, the historic Art Deco Dallas Power & Light building on the right (now residential above and retail on ground floor), Neiman Marcus again this time on the left of the street, the 31 story historic Mercantile Bank Building with its fabulous Art Deco neon lighted clock tower with spire on the left (now residential), a new residential tower on the left just to the east of Mercantile, and the Beaux Arts style old Municipal Building on the left (slated to become a law school).
Make a left on Cesar Chavez Street, continuing north on it passing Main and Elm and immediately after crossing Pacific veer to the left at the "Y" (going to the right will put you on Central Expressway). Going to the left is actually Crockett Street but after it crosses Live Oak it turns into North Pearl Street.
North Pearl will take you through the heart of the northeast portion of downtown's skyscrapers with Plaza of the Americas on the right, Chase Bank Tower (with keyhole top) on the right, 2100 Ross Avenue Tower on the left, Cathedral Guadalupe on the right (with the tallest belltower in Dallas with the largest and most number of bells of any church tower that only recently was completed), past Flora Street with the Meyerson Symphony Center to the right and the Arts District off Flora in either direction, Museum Tower under construction to the left, across Woodall Rodgers Expressway and the Urban Deck Park, and into Uptown.
After going over Woodall into Uptown, at Mckinney Avenue you might then pick up the McKinney Avenue driving tour that was suggested by TurtleCreek80.
Suggestion 4
For a picture postcard view of Downtown Dallas, take your guests to The Belmont Hotel for cocktails. They have a smallish outdoor patio area with a couple of tables that afford the best view (but still a big huge portion of Downtown can't be seen from here). But it is still nice to sip cocktails here overlooking the City. There are many more tables in an inside area that if you sit on the outer edge, you can still see Downtown fairly well from there.
From the smallish outside patio you can go through a little gate and take the path that leads around the hotel. If you do this, you will be rewarded because you will see an unobstructed and complete view of Downtown Dallas, and THE VIEW IS ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!
Since the Belmont is situated up on a small hill, as stated if you follow the path around from the outside patio of the bar area, from this particular vantage point Dallas looks incredibly huge and dense, which it is, but this provides a very clear view of just how huge and dense it is.
From this path you can continue to walk up to the highest point on the grounds of the Belmont, which is a paved driveway area, and again the view from here is absolutely stunning! Have cameras ready!!
The density of skyscrapers and towers in Victory Park, Uptown, Turtle Creek and stretching further north along Stemmons Freeway and Central Expressway, coupled with the forest of skyscrapers in the traditional CBD, all flowing seamlessly into one huge and very long cityscape makes urban Dallas almost look surreal.
Go a little before sundown so you can see the lights of Downtown come on and your guests can be afforded both late day and evening views.
And as a suggestion for after cocktails at the Belmont, dinner at the adjoining "Smoke" restaurant is exceptional. It is barbeque, but barbeque that NYC people will write home about! Really, really good food.
Conclusion
At a minimum, please drive the Stemmons drive into Downtown after its merge with 183 .... that is the most spectacular driving view into the City!
And take your guests to The Belmont Hotel for drinks and its view, too!
Sorry for the length of this note!
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